
DATE: Wednesday, March 19, 1997             TAG: 9703190761

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   99 lines

DOLPHIN DIES DESPITE VOLUNTEERS' EFFORTS

A 60-hour battle to save the life of a year-old female dolphin that had washed up at the North End ended at midnight Tuesday.

The Atlantic white-sided dolphin, a rarely seen deep-sea species, died as veterinarians were attempting to remove what they thought was a wad of plastic near its intestinal tract.

The black-and-gray dolphin rallied briefly during the delicate procedure, but the time between its breaths lengthened, its heart rate plunged and it expired despite gallant efforts to save it.

It is certain that it would have died had it not been discovered floundering in the surf Sunday near 65th Street and rushed to a Virginia Marine Science Museum Stranding Team annex off Birdneck Road.

Tearful staff and volunteers gathered around Tuesday as the animal stopped moving. The medical team had decided not to take any heroic action if its condition deteriorated.

``She's not completely lost to us,'' Stranding Team Director Mark Swingle said. ``We're going to learn a tremendous amount from her. We're going to have some of the best people in the

country looking at her to find out why she died.''

During the procedure, the team removed the dolphin from the tank, placed it on foam pads on its side and inserted an endoscopic tube through its esophagus into its stomach. They were able to see what they had seen earlier in the day - a mass of orange fiber or plastic. They tried to remove it, but were unable to.

The dolphin had been listless and listing to one side for nearly two days, but after receiving a mixture of glucose, medication and vitamins Tuesday afternoon, it began moving its flipper vigorously, undulating its body in a swimming motion and blowing mightily.

Volunteers who had been holding it up because it lacked the energy to swim got a workout keeping up.

``That's a tremendous amount of activity, compared to what I've seen,'' said Mark Swingle, the museum's Stranding Team director, earlier Tuesday.

But it took a turn for the worse later in the day, its breathing rate dropping from a high of 24 breaths every five minutes to seven. It was belching loudly, vomiting parasites and generally slowing down.

The team of about 150 volunteers, many of whom have taken time off from their jobs this week, seemed quite willing to help the creature to whom they had clearly become attached.

``I mean, look at her; how could you not try to help?'' asked Rosemary Winkler, a Realtor who had been scheduled for the midnight-to-4 a.m. shift, before the dolphin died.

Because the dolphin had been weak and unable to rise to the surface to breathe, the volunteers had staged a round-the-clock vigil, taking turns walking around a tank of chilly, waist-deep water for more than two days.

And they seemed to love it.

``It's very satisfying,'' said Sonia Thompson, a biology student at Old Dominion University. ``I have the opportunity to do something that is part of what I care about.''

She had just stepped out of the tank, which resembles a portable swimming pool. She had been holding the black, white and gray dolphin and could feel its heartbeat.

The volunteers had been working in groups of three, keeping it afloat, feeding it and measuring vital signs like heart rate, respiration and temperature.

Joyce Moore, a retired Fairfax County schoolteacher who lives near Fort Story, was taking it all down on a chart, complete with comments each time the dolphin displayed some new behavior.

In the next room, Bob Marchant was on the phone to a volunteer.

``Do you have a wet suit?'' he asked. ``Do you mind getting in the water? OK, great.''

Marchant, a retired New York City mounted police officer, and his wife, Kathy, a former school aide, both now living at the Beach, are volunteer dispatchers for the team.

The work in the pool was chilly and tiring. Even though the 175-pound dolphin was relatively light in the water, holding it for three or four hours was hard work.

But Winkler, who had held the dophin for several hours Sunday, observed, ``You kind of don't think about yourself. You just want to help her.''

Volunteers for the Stranding Team are trained to know the biology of the animals they might be dealing with and the programs offered by the museum. They are organized in shifts that are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For information, call the museum at 437-4949. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot

An Atlantic white-sided dolphin, found Sunday in Virginia Beach,

died Tuesday during an attempt to remove an obstruction in its

digestive tract.

Graphic

STRANDED ANIMALS

The Stranding Team on average responds to more than 150

strandings a year, including:

50 to 70 loggerhead turtles

35 to 40 dolphins

20 harbor porpoises

6 to 10 harbor seals