After a sad stranding of a male finless porpoise last October on Dubai shores, we were again called in for two strandings this time in the Abu Dhabi Emirate on Saadiyat Island.
The strandings were recorded in November, 10 days apart to one another, and in both cases they were male bottlenose dolphins. There were no clear sign that could allow us to identify the cause of death. The first animal was still in pretty good condition and we were able to conduct a necropsy collecting the stomach content, sampling the different organs and skin for genetic analysis. The necropsy revealed that it was a male sub-adult, as the reproductive organs were still not fully developed. In the second case the carcass was in a bad condition, but we were still able to collect all the important morphological information and a samples for the genetic analysis.
Strandings are sad events but are extremely important for researchers. Please if you come across a dead dolphin let us know!
Thanks to Arabella from Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas for contacting us and helping gathering the data, TDIC to give us access to the animals, Ana from Dolphin Bay, Atlantis the Palm, for her invaluable help and expertise in conducting the necropsy and Camilla for helping on the site.