NAVI MUMBAI: An adult male dolphin was washed ashore at the popular Kihim Beach, close to Alibag in Raigad district, on Saturday.
Environmentalists have informed that this is the second such incident in the past fortnight, thereby raising concern about the situation of marine life around the Konkan coast.
"The carcass of dolphin found at Kihim on Saturday was bleeding from the mouth, and one of its fins was also missing. It is possible that the dolphin was injured earlier in the sea after encountering a fishing trawler or a ship. Around 10 days ago, another dolphin had similarly washed ashore at Kihim. Marine biodiversity researchers must study this disturbing situation," said environmentalist Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation NGO.
She added that a dead leatherback turtle was also noticed on Kihim coast, a few metres away from the dolphin carcass.
The range forest officer (RFO), Sameer Shinde, informed that the male dolphin was around 3 metres in length; and the carcass has been properly buried at Kihim coast with the help of a JCB machine, so that wild animals like jackals etc are not able to retrieve it from the sand.
Green activist B N Kumar of NatConnect Foundation commented: "It is unfortunate that dolphins, which are regarded as highly intelligent sea creatures, have been washed ashore along the Raigad coast. Earlier, various whale species were also found in and around Raigad, Ratnagiri beaches. I agree that a proper marine study must be undertaken by the government, with the help of NGOs. Also, there have been instances of turtles getting entangled in fishing nets in the sea. All these factors do affect the marine ecosystem."
