Reiss stranding confirmed as dolphin
THE carcase of a dolphin was discovered washed up on Reiss Beach on Saturday morning.
Most people’s idea of a dolphin is the beaked version of the cetacean but this one has a bulbous forehead with no beak and the mouth line slopes up to look like a smile.
After much speculation on social media as to whether it was a pilot whale, a beluga, a harbour porpoise or even a young orca, the Caithness Sea Watching (CSW) Facebook page confirmed that the dead animal was a Risso’s dolphin.
CSW was set up by Colin Bird, from Lybster, to monitor and record the movement of whales, dolphins and harbour porpoise around the coasts of Caithness with the help of the general public, commercial operators and observers.
Risso’s dolphins are quite an unusual species that has not been well studied, mainly due to their preference for deep, oceanic waters.
However, they do seem to be much more visible when swimming around the Caithness coastline for some reason.
Mr Bird believes that the dolphins visibility around our coastal waters could to do with their feeding patterns as they chase squid.
“I had a look at the dolphin on Sunday at Reiss. It seems like quite an old bull judging from the teeth and it looks like it could have been dead for some time.
“It’s not an endangered species but it’s been less well studied than other cetaceans. They’re classed as an offshore animal but Caithness is one of the few places in the world where they can be viewed from the clifftops,” he said.
Mr Bird informed the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) based at Inverness about the dead dolphin. He hopes they will conduct a necropsy to ascertain the cause of death.
As we have frequently reported, plastic pollution is a serious threat to marine life around our coastline so the SMASS will be investigating whether it played any role in the creature’s death.
“Plastic bags and balloons are very common finds within various cetaceans and have become an increasing problem,” said Mr Bird.