Trapped tsunami dolphins 'a symbol of hope'
Frustrated rescue workers will have to wait until Saturday to make a third attempt to free a humpback dolphin and her calf from a small Thailand lagoon where the Asian tsunami dumped them 10 days ago, a wildlife expert said today.
The dolphins, spotted on Monday about half a mile from the beach by a man searching for his missing wife, have become a symbol of hope amid the death and destruction caused by the massive waves that crushed posh tourist resorts in the surrounding Khao Lak area.
“When we heard … about survivors, even though they’re dolphins, it’s great news,” said Suwit Khunkitti, Thailand’s minister of natural resources and environment. ”I’m sure that everyone is happy to see at least some life after the tsunami.”
The first rescue effort failed Monday when teams of Greek divers from the Athens fire department found that the nets they had were too small to catch the elusive dolphins.
Local fishermen tried again yesterday, but uprooted trees and other debris on the bottom of the lagoon apparently ripped holes in their nets and raised concerns about the safety of the rescuers.
“That’s what the holdup is. … The bottom is too dangerous for divers,” said Sherry Grant, Asia director for Humane Society International.
She said local officials have been asked to dredge a corner of the lagoon, where they hope to trap the animals in nets on Saturday and transport them back to the Andaman Sea.
In addition, Richard O’Barry, who helped train dolphins for the television series “Flipper” in the 1960s, is expected to arrive Friday to help in the rescue effort. He is founder and director of the Dolphin Project, which aims to free the mammals from captivity.
Edwin Wiek, a Dutchman who is director of the Wildlife Friends of Thailand Rescue Centre, said he would feed the dolphins live fish as part of efforts to help them survive in the meantime.
The larger dolphin, about seven feet long, appeared to have a back injury but otherwise seemed all right. The dolphins were expected to survive for up to a few more days in the murky, stagnating water. During the rescue attempts, volunteers have found several human bodies in the nearby vegetation, and one in the lagoon.
Local fishermen did manage to trap and free a dugong – a type of sea mammal - yesterday that had been trapped in a lagoon near a navy base in Phang Nga province.
