Rescuers rush to help dolphins stranded on Welsh beach - but one dies
A dolphin has died after rescuers spent the day looking after a pod that became stranded on a beach in Wales.
Marine medics and coastguards rushed to rescue six dolphins that had become stuck on a beach in Valley, on Anglesey, on Wednesday morning at around 8.40am.
Volunteers from Cemaes Bay Coastguard Search and Rescue teamed up with British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) marine medics to monitor the pod - made up of four adults and two juveniles - until the tide came back in.
A team from RAF Valley was also asked to attend for support.
While most of the dolphins appeared to be in good health, one of the adults - which had lost its dorsal fin some time ago - appeared to be underweight and struggled in the water once the tide had risen and they were swimming again.
A spokesperson from the BDMLR said: "Two dolphins disappeared in the early afternoon on high tide and could not be located, while the remaining four stayed close to shore.
"At around 4.40pm the team became anxious they would re-strand on the outgoing tide and so a few medics entered the shallows to help redirect them out to open water.
"The group finally turned seaward and headed out of sight into deeper water shortly afterwards."
Sadly, on Thursday morning, one of the pair of dolphins that had disappeared was found deceased nearby.
The BDMLR said it will be collected for a post-mortem examination with the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.
Common dolphins are found in abundance, especially along the west coast of the UK.
Mass strandings may occur for several reasons, including an ill or injured member of a group being followed by others into danger, human activity, or simply by becoming disoriented in an unfamiliar habitat.
