Oregon Coast Team Responds to Dolphin on Washington Beach

Published 07/25/2012

(Seaside, Oregon) – Crews from the Seaside Aquarium and the north Oregon coast arm of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded to a creature a bit out of his element on Monday night: a beached dead dolphin that was near Longbeach, Washington. The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) was seven feet long and a male, according to the aquarium’s Tiffany Boothe, and it was found about two miles north of the town. (Photos by Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium).

"The dolphin had already died before washing in,” Boothe said.

Striped dolphins are definitely an uncommon sight around the Oregon coast and Washington coast, generally preferring much warmer waters.

“They are typically found in the offshore waters off of California and Baja,” Boothe said. “Though they are uncommon to the area, it is not the first time a striped dolphin has washed ashore. In fact, in the past 10 years we have had three.”

Responding to the scene were Seaside Aquarium manager Keith Chandler, the aquarium’s Jason Hussa and his son Toby. The three pulled the dead dolphin from the surf and brought it to the Portland State University office of Dr. Debbie Duffield, head of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network for northern Oregon and southern Washington. She would soon perform a necropsy on the dolphin to find out how it died.

Striped dolphins occur either individually or in small schools. Their sharp teeth are used for snatching up small fish such as herring or cod. Squid also make up a majority of their diet.

Seaside Aquarium staff are part of the Marine Mammal Stranding network, responding to north coast stranding incidents in towns such as Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Warrenton, and Rockaway Beach.

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