If you find a stranded marine mammal . . . 



Photo by Hilda Livingstone 



Grampus stranding at Nags Head Beach, February 1981 



Fact: There is a marine mammal 

 stranding along the North Carolina 

 coast nearly every week. While the 

 bottlenosed dolphin is the most com- 

 mon species, whales occasionally wash 

 up, and, even less frequently, a seal or 

 two. Stranded animals may be alone or 

 in a group, dead or alive, but most still 

 provide valuable sources of informa- 

 tion in marine mammal biology. What 

 do you do if you find a stranded 

 marine mammal? 



First, you should be aware that 

 marine mammals come under the 

 jurisdiction of the federal Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Un- 

 der its provisions, it is unlawful for 

 anyone without a permit to handle, 

 harass or possess any marine mammal, 

 dead or alive, and there are stiff fines 

 and possible imprisonment for 

 violators. Agencies or institutions with 

 legal responsibility should be notified. 

 David Lee of the State Museum of 

 Natural History and Charley Potter of 

 the Smithsonian Institution's Marine 

 Mammal Salvage Program suggest the 

 following steps: 



What is it? 



Before you notify the authorities, 

 gather as much information as possible 

 on the stranding without handling the 

 animal. Is it a shark or a mammal? 

 Sharks have vertical tail fins, and 

 whales have horizontal tail fins. Is it a 

 mass or individual stranding? Is it a 

 seal, manatee or whale (including 

 dolphins and porpoises)? Is it a 

 toothed whale or a baleen whale? 

 Toothed whales have a single 

 blowhole; baleen whales have two. If it 

 is a toothed whale, how many teeth are 

 present on the upper and/or lower 

 jaw? (Do not attempt this search if the 

 animal is still alive.) What is the shape 

 of the head? Are there any obvious 

 color markings? Estimate the length 

 either by measuring or by walking off 

 the length of the animal. For seals, 

 note color and texture of fur or hair, 

 presence or absence of external ear 

 flaps and length of the animal. Finally, 

 is the animal dead or alive? 



David Lee, who is working on a 

 book now with James Mead on marine 

 mammals and strandings in North 

 Carolina, suggests estimating the 

 length as closely as possible. "If it's 

 over a certain number of feet, we can 



immediately rule out that it's a bot- 

 tlenosed porpoise, which is the most 

 common stranding," he says. "If you 

 knew the length and reported whether 

 it had teeth or not, and then if you 

 really had time and could count how 

 many teeth it had and which jaws they 

 were in, we could probably guess 

 within one or two species what it is. 

 And, if we knew the color, we could 

 probably rule out one of those and 

 make an intelligent guess." 



Where is it? 



It is extremely important to deter- 



mine the exact location of the 

 stranding site. When calling to report a 

 stranding, be sure to describe the loca- 

 tion so accurately that someone can 

 find it, even in the dark if necessary. 

 Precious hours may be lost if the loca- 

 tion is not accurately pinpointed. How 

 accessible is the stranding site? Is a 

 .boat necessary or can it be reached by 

 a four-wheel-drive vehicle or an or- 

 dinary car? 



Whom do I call? 



There are biologists, government 

 agencies and knowledgeable contact 



