In Distress

  Sometimes watching nature on the Bayou can make me extremely sad.  A turn of events can create dire circumstances for some of my critter friends.  Just a few days ago, one such thing was observed and it has left a nagging feeling inside of me.  While Mark and I were on the pier, my brother called out to us.  He brought to our attention a bottlenose dolphin that was breaching nearby. "That poor fellow doesn't have his fin!"  He yelled at us.  Sure enough, with the next breach, we noticed that the dorsal fin had been severed.  The dolphin was trying its best to catch mullet but was having difficulty in diving correctly.  With each breach, it became more and more apparent that the dolphin was in great distress. My heart started breaking as I knew there was nothing we could do to help this poor creature.

  A bit later, I asked a marine biologist friend if the dolphin had even the slightest chance of survival without this all important fin.  "No, the dolphin will most likely die a slow death." was his answer.  I wanted to cry.  He did reassure me that he would pass along the information I had given him to the proper rescue folks.  "Perhaps, they can capture the dolphin and try to help."  It was all the hope I had for my critter friend. 

  This morning, there was an entire pod of bottlenose dolphins in the Bay.  The injured one stayed in the far corner of the inlet so I was not able to get photographs of it.  Mark and I watched the healthy dolphins corral the mullet and seemingly steer them toward the hurt one.  It appeared that the healthy ones were trying to help their injured pod mate.  If this is true, then these creatures are some of the most understanding and caring beings on this old earth.

  Hopefully in the morning, I will have a front row seat on our pier to watch the rescue team at work.  It would make me elated to know that someone is trying to amend what has happened to the poor creature.  Also, hopefully, the rescue team will find that this was just an accident and not an intentional act of brutality.  As I said, my heart aches.