Following the death of a Port River dolphin last week the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) has released its interim investigation report into the health of dolphins in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS).
Announcing the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Investigation Interim Report, the Department said the investigation, which was expected to take several months to complete, aimed to identify the sources for what could be impacting the health of dolphins and ecosystems within the Port River and Barker Inlet.
Director for Conservation and Wildlife at DEW, Lisien Loan said the four-year old male dolphin, known as Squeak (Mimo), had been found dead near the Fletcher’s Slip area of the Port River by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Marine Parks team.
Ms Loan said Squeak was the younger sibling of former resident dolphin Hunter, which was recently euthanised due to severe ill health, and a post mortem would be carried out by experts at the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the South Australian Museum.
She said the Interim Report set out what had been achieved to date and highlighted research and other initiatives currently being undertaken or planned as part of the investigation.
“What we know so far is that initial testing of the three recent dolphin deaths (‘Tallula’, the ‘Semaphore dolphin’ and ‘Hunter’) indicates the dolphins were suffering from infections and diseases that affected their health with varying degrees of severity,” Ms Loan said.
“The reports however don’t show a definitive cause or common links between the dolphin deaths beyond possible suppression of their immune systems.”
Ms Loan said with no specific causes of illness identified so far, the investigation team has expanded its field of investigation.
The six-page Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Investigation Interim Report can be downloaded at this PS News link.
