14 Dolphins Stranded On Cape Cod, 3 Dead In 'Unprecedented' Stranding

CAPE COD, MA — The largest mass stranding of bottlenose dolphins in the northeast was recorded earlier this week on Cape Cod, officials with the International Fund for Animal Welfare said.

Officials said they were notified that 14 dolphins were stranded on Monday afternoon at Linnell Landing in Brewster.

A marine mammal rescue team that responded to the area confirmed that three dolphins died in the stranding while they were able to rescue 11 others.

“Upon arrival, 11 dolphins were still alive, and the team immediately began preparing to refloat them with the changing tide,” said Kira Kasper, Biologist and Animal Responder at IFAW. “In just the last two weeks, we have responded to 26 dolphin strandings, both common and bottlenose, so we have been on high alert and monitoring their movements closely.”

Monday's dolphins were marked with temporary identification tags and one dolphin was fitted with a temporary satellite tag to track its movements post-release, officials said.

Tuesday morning, that satellite tag helped alert responders that the dolphins had restranded in Wellfleet, prompting another response from the rescue team.

"Just before 7 [a.m.] the next morning, we learned that all 11 dolphins had restranded at Lieutenant Island in Wellfleet,” Kasper said. “The tide was incoming until 11:16 [a.m.], but the dolphins could not be released where they stranded. Our team moved quickly to extract the animals from treacherous mud, provide necessary health assessments and treatments, and transport the dolphins to Herring Cove in Provincetown, where they were all released back to the ocean.”

Officials said bottlenose dolphin strandings have increased over the years, but this marked the first time that a group of this size was stranded in the area, given that the species is typically found further from shore.

It also marks the end of a busy summer for rescuers, officials said.

"This mass stranding comes toward the end of an unprecedented summer for our team due to the sheer number of dolphin strandings," Kasper said. "Since the end of June, the team has responded to 175 live stranded dolphins, which is over 2.5 times our annual average."