100 Miles, Two Strandings, One Exhausted Network

What the South Carolina Coast Is Telling Us

Our team had a long week with two strandings back to back 100 miles apart. ‘Strandings’ are when a dolphin or whale is in distress (sick, injured, displaced or deceased). These responses require a significant amount of time, resources, equipment, supplies, man power and logistics with our staff and volunteers working late hours and early mornings to coordinate.

The first of two strandings occurred just south of Charleston on Seabrook Island. LMMN has a very strong network of volunteers there who helped us monitor a dolphin in distress earlier in the week.  By the end of the week, a dead dolphin calf washed up on Seabrook Island. This young male dolphin was estimated to be an older calf (over 1 year old) and presented with signs of pneumonia. Pneumonia is not uncommon and can spread just like we share colds, through breath.

On the drive back to Charleston just after the dolphin necropsy, LMMN received a call from the public regarding a floating Humpback whale near Georgetown, SC. The whale was reported on the beach shortly after. With limited daylight and a king tide, the LMMN team quickly jumped into action coordinating a response to help gather valuable information on this animal while it was on the beach.

Trained volunteers in the Myrtle Beach area immediately met the whale on the beach that evening for initial documentation including vital measurements and alerting the public beachside of the hazards associated with such a large stranding.

Unfortunately, the deceased juvenile humpback whale was heavily scavenged as noted by numerous shark bites on the carcass and in an advanced state of decomposition, so disease impacts could not be determined. The animal measured approximately 32 feet in length, which would indicate it to be a juvenile. The goal was to look for any signs of human interaction that may have caused such a stranding.  The team examined the skeleton for broken bones and looked inside the organs and on the surface of the body for any signs of potential vessel strikes or entanglement of marine debris.  Although we could not determine a cause of death, we were still able to collect valuable information about the species. 

Special thanks to all our partners and volunteers that helped make these two responses possible! 

Seabrook dolphin response: Jeffrey Davis, Susan Soden, Cheryl Bluth and Regina Oster

Georgetown whale response: Georgetown County Sheriff's Department, Georgetown Parks and Recreation, Charleston County volunteers (Caroline Simms, Lindsey Kinsella & Emma Tiberian) & Horry/Georgetown County volunteers (Sarah Piwetz, Brooke Perkins, and Saige Thompson) 

These responses rely heavily on public support. Without it, we could not travel to every animal and better understand the health of each individual. LMMN is the South Carolina Stranding Permit Holder and leads the South Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SCMMSN), in partnership with NOAA, to respond to marine mammal strandings along coastal South Carolina.

*all work conducted under the MMHSRP authorization