105 Santa Rosa BlvdFort Walton Beach, FL 32548
www.ecwildliferefuge.com
The ECWR Marine Mammal Stranding Team
(850) 650-1880
The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge (ECWR) has provided marine mammal response for the western Florida panhandle since 1994. ECWR is authorized by NOAA to handle these federallyprotected animals as a member organization of the national marine mammal stranding network.Our coverage area spans Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia counties includingChoctawhatchee Bay, Santa Rosa Sound, Pensacola & East Bay, Big Lagoon, and Perdido Bay,an area of over 85 miles of Gulf beaches and 350 miles of inland shoreline.
Historically, there are about 15 to 20 marine mammal strandings per year in our coverage area.We also periodically experience Unusual Mortality Events where 40 to 100 dolphins have washed ashore dead in conjunction with red tide outbreaks. The majority of strandings are bottlenose dolphins, but we also find a number of offshore species including spotted dolphins, dwarf sperm whales, spinner dolphins, tropical baleen whales, and manatees. Although most are deceased, we typically respond to four live animal calls per year.
The ECWR stranding team is composed of experienced marine wildlife professionals including three veterinarians, trained animal care specialists, and a group of dedicated volunteers. Our team is able to respond to calls about stranded animals 24 hours per day year round. We are equipped to transport injured animals to the regional rehabilitation facility in Panama City, and we recover all carcasses for examination and proper disposal. Our facility is located on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, and we usually can send our response team to a stranded animal within 90 minutes throughout the coverage area.
The winter months are when most of the strandings occur. This is likely due to sudden temperature drops that stress weak and older animals causing them to become ill. Mother dolphins usually give birth in the early spring months, and occasionally we see infant strandings in conjunction with disease outbreaks or hard freeze conditions. As a result, we define our “stranding season” as the months from November through May. We will get reports of dolphins injured by boat props or entangled in fishing gear at any time of year and we are always prepared to quickly respond to these calls.
The stranding history in this region shows that most have occured on Okaloosa and Escambia shorelines. By comparison, Walton and Santa Rosa counties have long expanses of undeveloped shorelines where stranded animals can easily go unreported. Studies conducted in the past 5 years indicate there are dolphins present across all the estuaries throughout the year, therefore it is predictable that injured/deceased animals should strand randomly on all shores across time. Yet the majority of stranding calls are in developed areas, with relatively few reports in the less populated parts of Perdido Bay, East Bay in Santa Rosa County, and along Choctawhatchee Bay in Walton County. Thus we encourage the public to notify us about sightings of stranded or injured animals, especially in the more remote areas of our estuaries.
On many occasions, stranded animals are pushed back to sea by well-intentioned beachgoers that are trying to help. However, this can leave an ill or injured animal without treatment and they often will wash back ashore within a short time.
We recommend that persons who encounter stranded marine wildlife (dolphin, whale, manatee, turtle, or seabird) immediately contact wildlife authorities to report the incident.
When safe to do so, we advise persons on the scene to try to keep an injured marine mammal comfortable by securely holding it in shallow water with its head up where it can easily breathe and to wait for our trained medical team to arrive. There are circumstances where it us unsafe to enter the water to help a stranded animal, such as in high surf, when the animal is extremely large, is struggling violently, or when there are sharks circling around it. Persons should never attempt to assist an injured marine mammal alone without first notifying others about their situation and they should never risk suffering personal injury when trying to help injured wildlife.
ECWR has a robust outreach program to educate the local communities about wildlife conservation and rehabilitation. We conduct public presentations at community events, during classroom visits at local schools, at academic conferences, and through in-house camps for youths. Presentations include content about our stranding program, the issues and threats facing marine mammals, and steps that individuals can take to help protect animals and their habitats.
Please contact us to inquire about scheduling an outreach event for your group! ECWR will shortly announce our Wildlife Academy Zoological Charter School for area middle school students beginning in Fall 2012.
If you find a stranded marine mammal or encounter an injured animal while boating, please call the Southeast Region Stranding Network 24-hour hotline: 877-WHALE HELP (877-942-5343) or contact ECWR at (850) 650-1880.Thanks for your assistance!Steve ShippeeECWR Stranding Team Coordinator
