Dolphin that washed up on Astoria beach may have been ailing and hit by boat: necropsy

The bloody dolphin that washed up dead in Astoria last week was likely struck and killed by a boat — which it may have been too sick to dodge as it was battling kidney stones, animal experts said Wednesday.

The tragic mammal suffered deep slashes, blunt force trauma and serious bruising consistent with a vessel collision — but also had evidence of renal failure, according to a necropsy conducted by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

“The fact that there’s evidence of the blunt force trauma, I would lean towards that this happened before the animal died … until we get the pathology report, we wouldn’t say anything definite,” said Rob DiGiovanni, chief scientist of the AMCS, told The Post Tuesday.

The presence of kidney stones and evidence of renal failure in the animal, shows it may have been a “compromised” animal, meaning its sickness could have contributed to its proximity to a boat or other large object that could have killed it.

There was food in its stomach, so the dolphin was strong enough to feed before its final moments.

“If it was compromised, that might be a natural thing that makes it more susceptible to something else,” DiGiovanni explained.

“The renal failure looks like that was something that was ongoing a lot longer. The blunt force and sharp force trauma is something that’s more acute because the animal was feeding, but what was the animal operating at optimum efficiency? That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Although experts suspect the trauma killed the dolphin, it is too early to say for certain if it preceded its death.

The animal appears to have been dead for about four days before it washed up on Hallet’s Cove Beach Friday — with several sightings coming in of the floating body knocking against the marine walls of the 34th Street NYC Ferry station.

The necropsy results have been sent out for an additional pathology report, which DiGiovanni expects to take roughly a month to be returned.

The animal’s death shocked Astorians Friday — just days after a pair of dolphins dazzled the Big Apple by frolicking in the East River.

The duo had been spotted dancing through the waves near NYC Ferry vessels in recent weeks, sparking concern from residents that the boats may have been to blame for the tragedy.

It is not clear if the dead dolphin is one of the pair — but if it is, it would mark the second time in as many months that a beloved sea mammal was allegedly struck dead by a vessel.

In January, a Humpback whale named NYC0393, which became well-known to whale watchers for her unusually acrobatic displays, was found dead on the shore in Long Beach after an apparent boat strike.

“It’s always a concern when we have us moving into their environment to make sure that we understand that they don’t necessarily know what we’re doing with our vessels, and making sure that we give them as much space as possible. It’s a natural tendency to want to get closer to an animal, but that doesn’t always mean that it’s in the best interest of the animal itself,” DiGiovanni stressed.

“Think about it like the signs that you see, ‘Slow children at play’ at the school ground. We just need to be aware that these animals are in our waters on a fairly regular basis, so we should be taking that into account.

“You can’t just drive around thinking nothing’s going on. These animals are here. It’s not like it was 20 years ago where we had very infrequent sightings.”

DiGiovanni urged those who witness wildlife in Big Apple waters to report the sightings to organizations like AMCS and Gotham Whale so that experts can gain a stronger understanding of just how popular the city’s waterways are, and ultimately advocate for conservation policies.

About The Author

Stephen Collopy

See author's posts