40 dolphins stranded in Thoothukudi

According to Thennavan, a fisherman from Punnakayal and a member of ‘Green Peace’, the dolphins started to wash up on the coast of Punnakayal close to ‘Thoondil paalam’ at around 6 pm on Monday. Despite the rain, villagers and fishermen started guiding the dolphins back into the sea. More than 20 dolphins were successfully sent back, but by 10pm on Monday night, five had died. Thennavan said that the rescue operations would go on through the night. 

Local environmental activist, Gunaseelan, said that change in weather conditions and chemical waste from a private chemical company situated nearby could have driven the dolphins into the fresh waters of the estuary.

Marine biologist, Rahul Muralidharan said the mammals were Spotted dolphins, commonly seen in TN waters but this kind of stranding was a rare occurrence. The last such case took place in August 1999, when a group of 12 Spotted and Spinner dolphins got stranded in Thoothukudi.