A holidaymaker says she was shocked to discover a dead dolphin and seals a mile and a half from the sea. The dolphin, two seals and seal pup along with several birds were spotted on the Lincolnshire coast..
Raquel Trotter was on holiday in the area when she saw them laying in the sand. They were found at around 8pm on Tuesday August 16 at Freiston Marsh near Boston.
Lincolnshire Live reports Mrs Trotter's daughter made the discovery just off Drove Road when she was on a walk. She then texted her mum a photograph and asked her if it was a dead dolphin.
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Raquel went out with her husband Derek to see if it was real and reported the incident to the relevant animal authorities. "I was stunned when I saw them," Mrs Trotter said. "The first dolphin I've ever seen in the wild was dead and a mile-and-a-half away from the ocean.
"It was so peculiar. This isn't Skegness beach - it's Freiston marsh." She added that there was no evidence of damage to the animals' bodies, so she didn't think that someone had dumped them there as a joke. Though it may have made for a strange sight, a spokesperson for the Wildlife Trust said that it was not too uncommon.
"Unfortunately, dead seals and dolphins do occasionally get washed onshore, particularly on high tides," she said. The seal in Mr Trotter's picture was "long dead," she added, and had probably been floating offshore for some weeks until it washed up onshore on a high tide.
At the moment, the trust was not aware of any significant death rates in seals. However, the dolphin was a common dolphin, which is not often seen along the Lincolnshire coast so constituted a "significant find". She added that it should be reported to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, which has monitored the strandings of dolphins, whales, porpoises, marine turtles and basking sharks on the UK coastlines since 1990.
"No obvious injuries can be seen on the photo and it's also likely to have died out to sea and been washed up," she said. "It is very upsetting to see these animals in this way and we do abreast of such reports so that we can respond if we are seeing unusual levels of mortality."
She put the death of the sea birds down to the severe bird flu outbreaks amongst wild birds in seabird colonies around the UK. "Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust staff have collected a number of dead birds, mostly washed up on the beach and we continue to monitor shorebird populations on our coastal reserves and report any suspected cases to the relevant authorities," she said.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that the risk to the general public from dead animals like these is very low. The spokesperson advised that people should continue to visit the countryside as normal but avoid touching any dead or visibly sick birds that they might find and report them, especially wetland birds such as seabirds, swans, ducks, and geese, to the Department of Environment (DEFRA) helpline on 03459 335577.
"We would also advise dog owners to follow any onsite restrictions and where dogs are allowed, keep them under close control on beaches to ensure that they do not come into contact with birds that have been washed up on the sideline," she said.
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