By: CECÍLIA PIRES
DOLPHINS ARE back in the Guadiana River thanks to the cleaner waters and the quantity of food available.
However, they only risk going a little north of the international bridge that connects Portugal to Spain.
The search for food, in particular mackerel, seems to be the main reason for these mammals to make a detour from their normal route.
At the Capitania de Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA), the local maritime authorities, Commander Rocha Pacheco told The Resident that the Polícia Marítima, the maritime police, has been receiving reports from people spotting small groups of dolphins in recent weeks.
“Two weeks ago, a group of three dolphins was spotted a little up north from the Ponte Internacional do Guadiana”, he said, adding that, in the previous week, another group of five dolphins was also seen at the same location.
“We believe they are getting in to the Guadiana in their search for food, in particular the mackerel, their favourite at this time of the year,” he said. “The waters of the Guadiana River are now cleaner and these species are very demanding about the pollution levels of their feeding locations.” After feeding, the dolphins usually return to the sea and continue their journey to warmer waters between the cold Atlantic Ocean and the warmer Mediterranean Sea, near Gibraltar.
Emergency
The maritime police do not usually register these sort of reports. “This information is obtained through unofficial reports from the life saving department of this police force, existing in the mouth off the Guadiana River,” said Rocha Pacheco.
However, authorities do act in specific emergency situations. That was the case when, two years ago, there was a dolphin that went further north of the Guadiana River.
“Unfortunately he died of hunger and weakness, although there was a huge joint effort between the local maritime police and the Zoomarine animal rescue team to save him,” said Rocha Pacheco.
If you would like to report a dolphin sighting, particularly if in an emergency situation, please call the area’s maritime police department or contact Zoomarine on 289 560 300.
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