Dolphin trapped in East Rockaway dies

A dolphin that was trapped in East Rockaway’s Mill River for weeks was discovered dead, according to the NY Marine Rescue Center. The cause of death is unknown.

“The staff is extremely upset about this turn of events and will share the necropsy results when they become available,” the rescue center, a nonprofit based in Riverhead, wrote on Facebook, noting tests were being done to determine the cause.

Before rescuers could begin a herding operation to bring the dolphin out of the shallow river and into the ocean, they were unable to find the mammal. It was later found dead in the Far Rockaway, Queens area and recovered by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

Maxine Montello, the director for the NY Marine Rescue Center, said that when searchers went to find the dolphin on Aug. 13, it ended up swimming south of Lazy Lobster in East Rockaway. Their team then surveyed the site via land, water and air, but could not find the dolphin.

“We didn’t attempt intervention until [Aug. 13] to give the animal a chance to move out of the area on its own,” she explained. “Due to the location of the animal and its active behavior, stranding network biologists, dolphin experts and veterinarians determined that safe intervention options for this care were very limited.”

Over the last few weeks, campers at Rolling River Day Camp in East Rockaway were able to catch frequent glimpses of the mammal after it emerged in the river in late July. It was determined that during high tide, the marine animal went under the East Rockaway Long Island Rail Road station bridge into Mill River, while following a school of fish, but the water level did not rise again, so it was stuck there. Earlier this month, the tides rose again and the marine center waited to intervene based on expert recommendations and due to how active the dolphin appeared to be.

After it was initially discovered, camp administrators kayaked out to assess the situation and placed calls to wildlife conservation and rescue organizations, including the rescue center, which continued to monitor the dolphin in the ensuing days.

Marissa Goodman Allaben, a director at Rolling River, said that the experts told her after it first happened that the dolphin appeared healthy and energetic, and that attempting to rescue or move it could cause more harm than letting it find its way back to the ocean in time. The East Rockaway Fire Department also came to the camp to assess the situation from Rolling River’s marina.

While it brought much excitement to the campers, administrators took a cautious approach to not disturbing the dolphin, including banning the use of motorized boats near it.

“The campers have been excited and have been trying to spot it throughout the day,” Goodman Allaben said last month, “but at the same time, as a camp, we want to make sure we’re doing our best not to injure or disturb the dolphin. It’s been a special week at camp for all of our campers and staff to have such a rare sighting in our river.”