CITIZEN SCIENCE

HOTLINE: +353 89 4625374.

What to do if you find a stranded marine mammal?

- Keep a safe distance (100 meters) from a marine mammals (seal, dolphin, whale, porpoise).

- Keep dogs on a lead and away from live and dead stranded marine mammals to reduce the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

- For Dead Strandings; Log a report via the Observers App and upload images.

- For Live Strandings & Entanglements; Call our stranding HOTLINE!

HOTLINE +353 89 4625374.

ORCA Ireland’s First Responders will be in touch with you to find out details and assess the situation, please have your GPS location and images/videos to send. (Note: please send your images to welfare.orcaireland@gmail.com

Finding a Stranded Cetacean:

HOTLINE: +353 89 4625374.

● In most cases a stranded whale or dolphin will be unable to be “re-floated” without the help of trained volunteers who can first assess the situation correctly. ● If you find a stranded whale or dolphin, check if it is alive or dead. Signs to look for include; ● Is it breathing? – watch for 10—15 minutes, ● Are its eyes moving? ● Take photographs of the animal to provide validation of species identification. ● Inform local stranding response network-

Report to ORCA’s Stranding HOTLINE , or use the “Observers App” available free on

Google Play and for iphone.

Finding a Stranded Cetacean:

● Validate record - species I.D. ● Useful Images include; ● 1. lateral shots of the entire body and head with something to scale if no measuring tape is available. 2. Close up ventral region (i.e. genital area). 3. Close up of mouth for baleen whales and teeth for small cetaceans.

Note unusual markings, whether natural or man-made. ● Take a note in the Observers App using the Observers Tool-kit to keep notes on anything else unusual (bad weather the weeks previous). ● Take sample tissues - blubber & skin - store in freezer or alcohol solution.

HOTLINE: +353 89 4625374.

Report a Stranding:

Do’s

ASSESS the situation- if it’s a seal pup watch for a few hours to make sure it’s mother isn’t near

CHECK to see if the animal is alive

STAND in a safe area and keep away from the cetaceans blowhole/ seals mouth

COVER the animal with wet blankets

KEEP the animal cool and dig hole in sand for flippers/pectoral fins

LEAVE them to get help if in water above waist level

HOTLINE: +353 89 4625374.

Don'ts

DO NOT drag the animal by the tail flippers or flukes

DON’T TOUCH the blowhole, eyes or mouth

DO NOT COVER a cetaceans blowhole or eyes

DO NOT pour water from high above the animals body.

DO NOT make loud noises or startle the animal