August 20th - Dolphin Stranding on Kiawah Island

We got a call on August 20th regarding a dead dolphin on North East Kiawah Island. Brooke jumped into action and coordinated with volunteers to head out with the Kiawah Island Nature Center to find the animal. Upon arriving to the last known location of the dolphin, they were informed it had been buried by some beachgoers. It took a little more effort to find where it was buried, but they were able to retrieve it to conduct a partial necropsy.

This dolphin was a 114 cm neonate that was in an advanced stage of decomposition. This calf still had the umbilicus attached and the stomach and intestines felt empty when palpated. Stomach and intestines were collected for further microplastic analysis. No clear cause of death was determined for this animal. This is the 35th stranding so far this year.

Thank you to Brooke Brown, Captain Brad (Kiawah Island Nature Center), and LMMN volunteers Laura Christensen, Kelly Cusick, Pamela Carr, and Josh Brown for braving the heat on a Sunday to respond to this animal!

~Nicole