ORCHID — Orchid Island residents grew concerned when they noticed a lone dolphin was becoming a regular fixture in the shallow estuary behind their homes.
In the quiet of the night, they could hear her cutting through the water, coming up for air and taking full-breathed exhalations. During the day, they’d observe her swimming up and down a short stretch of water.
As much as they delighted in her movements, residents hoped she’d resume her life out in the Indian River Lagoon where she belonged.
But “Solo,” befittingly named by Tracy Lamport of Orchid, didn’t budge from the area.
Lamport, along with her husband, Allan, and other neighbors, took great interest in Solo. Their actions were a call-to-action to help a displaced marine mammal that is revered for its intelligence and adored for its sweet smiling countenance.
They contacted the gated community’s access control unit, which in turn reached out to Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.
“You don’t want a fish like that to be in distress,” said Allan Lamport. “Even though at first the dolphin wasn’t in distress, it was getting increasingly difficult for it to feed.”
Once Harbor Branch got involved, concerned citizens were able to step back and watch the professionals who are knowledgeable and highly trained in dolphin rescue take over.
Harbor Branch officials speculate that Solo swam in to the estuary with about 10 other dolphins through a narrow channel off of the lagoon during a recent full moon when the tides were high.
They were likely seeking food sources. Eventually, all of the dolphins except Solo returned to the lagoon.
Twice a day for over a week, a Harbor Branch marine mammal expert came out to observe her activity.
Given that the dolphin wasn’t in danger of alligators, sharks or commercial nets, officials wanted to give her some time to leave the estuary on her own.
However, Solo wasn’t making that move.
“It may have been getting its groceries,” said Steve McCulloch, founder of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation program at Harbor Branch, explaining why Solo’s pod went into this area where dolphins haven’t been spotted before.
With the alarming reduction in seagrass, some species are perhaps being forced to go into areas they normally wouldn’t – such as the shallow estuary Solo was in – to forage for food.
About 25 Harbor Branch staff and volunteers descended last month on the estuary to set up a 300-yard net. The estuary is about two-feet deep in that area.
Orchid resident and avid outdoorsman, Tait Johnson, was recruited by Harbor Branch to lead the dolphin into a dead end of the estuary by maneuvering his Bass Hunter 10-foot long boat to the south end of the waterway. That was highly effective in moving the dolphin.
When Solo swam into the nets, her tail ferociously slapped the water thrusting rescuers into a bit of a struggle to secure her.
Workers calmed her down before hoisting her upon a Navy mat where veterinarian Juli Goldstein examined her and determined that she was fit to be released into the lagoon.
An identification tag with a GPS device was attached to the dolphin before she was released. That way, Harbor Branch can monitor her indefinitely.
“You just don’t want to see an animal like that in distress,” Allen Lamport said, relieved the dolphin had finally returned to more suitable waters. “You want to do something about it. It’s difficult enough to keep dolphins alive in the river, and not destroyed. You don’t want to see them come into an area where they don’t belong, where they aren’t happy.”
Now, the dolphin is safely out in the river.
McCulloch wanted to emphasize two main points after the rescue.
Public funding through specialty license plates and other help – including volunteerism – make dolphin rescues by Harbor Branch possible, he said.
Another point he wanted to make was the importance of dolphins: “They are long-lived apex predators, the sentinels of human and ocean health.”
“By way of dolphins, we hope to continue to learn a lot more,” said McCulloch. “We also hope to educate people about the impact we as humans have on the lagoon, and the environment overall.”
