We received a call on the morning of March 30th regarding a deceased bottlenose dolphin that had washed ashore on Pawleys Island. One of our volunteers in Horry County, Molly Duda, was able to quickly head to the scene and stay with the animal until our arrival. With the additional help of Pawleys Island Police Department, the dolphin was loaded into our truck and taken back to the necropsy lab in Charleston.
Externally, this dolphin appeared significantly underweight and had numerous rake marks across the body. Rake marks are typically caused by other dolphins during social interactions and are not uncommon to see. Internally, there were no significant findings as to what lead to the animal's death. Regardless, we were able to collect samples that will be archived for any future studies.
Thank you to Molly Duda, Pawleys Island Police, Riley Ross, and Maggie Knight for assistance on this case!
Rake marks
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