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ROQUETAS & ALMERIMAR

20-26 MARCH

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The Memory of Marcos Remains, But What Next For His Rescuers?

REPORT & PHOTO BY MARTIN SHORTLAND It’s been almost two months since Marcos the dolphin died. Two months in which the wildlife protection organisation Promar has carried out an assessment of the five months which it spent trying to bring the young dolphin back to full health. It wasn’t easy and as we all know, they failed in what was an heroic attempt at the near impossible; when Marcos was pulled from the sea near the port of Roquetas last August, he was close to death. But through the diligence of the volunteers who worked round the clock caring for him, the dolphin regained his health, at least partially. If he had not been spotted close to the beach on that hot summer morning, he would certainly have

died soon after. There were people who said nature should have been allowed to follow its natural course, but the vast majority felt everything should be done to save this endearing creature. Marcos was young, about ten months old and would not even have stopped feeding from his mother; he had none of the skills required to survive alone. The Promar volunteers had to do everything for him, including in the early weeks, supporting him in the water as he was too weak to swim. It has to be remembered, through the power of the internet, the Marcos story went global, and when he was alive it appeared everyone was in favour of the

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huge rescue operation conducted by Promar. Local radio, television and newspapers covered the story on a daily basis and thousands flocked to the beachside sea pen to watch his youthful antics. The Promar website and face book pages were inundated with messages of support and most importantly, pledges of money, without which the operation could not continue. It was only when news of his death first hit the headlines the mood of support towards the whole Marcos rescue changed. Within hours, their face book page was flooded with some very spiteful posts from around the world. They were accused of misappropriation of donated money and of not giving the right treatment to the dolphin. Although totally false, the allegations understandably hurt all those who had been involved and the websites were temporarily closed. Since then, the organisation has been slowly getting back to normal. After a week of reflection, the headquarters site in Almerimar, which had been home for almost five months, was dismantled and a farewell party held for all the volunteers (See Photo). Things have changed and for the better. The profile of the Promar organisation has been raised considerably by the Marcos saga and is proving beneficial for the schools, colleges and societies in the area. Senior members of the team are now giving regular lectures at these institutions on all matters concerning the protection of wildlife being carried out in Andalucia. Head of Operations Rosa Henche told me the most popular section of these lectures was always the bit about Marcos. She said, “We have learned so much through our time working with the dolphin. It was very hard for all of us when he died, but we are stronger now and when the next situation comes along, feel better equipped to deal with it.” The Promar face book page is now open again, with details of their work and lecture engagements.

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