Article content“I am proud of all of them for reacting the way they did,” Lynk said, pointing out that she was relieved to find out later that the stranded dolphins made it back to safety.Article contentAdrian Johnstone of The Valley Eye Photography also captured several photos of the rescue. He said it was concerning at first to see residents in the muddy basin, but after getting a better look, they managed to work together to help free the dolphins and get them into more adequate water.Article content“They had what appeared to be a canoe and ropes to anchor themselves, certainly a risky but well-done job by all the locals who aided in the rescue,” Johnstone said.Article content Bailey Ansems wriggles across the mud in the Habitant River to try to reach dolphins stranded by a low tide. Photo by CHRISSY LYNK PHOTO /CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentNo people needed rescueArticle contentCanning fire chief Jeff Skaling said his department didn’t play a significant role in the rescue effort. Firefighters were on scene briefly on a couple of occasions to make sure none of the people involved were getting into trouble. Fortunately, no people had to be rescued.Article contentArticle content“The conditions, obviously in the upper part of the Habitant River, are exceptionally muddy, you could say dangerously muddy. It’s very deep and the mud is very treacherous,” he said.Article contentThe pod had as many as 28 stranded dolphins at first. Skaling said a group of civilians managed to get about 15 of the dolphins turned around as the tide was going out.Article contentMARS was called in from Halifax, and Mike Huntley, of Huntley’s Diving and Marine Services, offered the use of his boat. Skaling said they were able to wrangle the remaining 12 or 13 dolphins that were stranded over low tide back out toward the Minas Basin once the water began to rise again in the evening.Article content Dolphins were left stuck in the mud in the Habitant River near Canning on Aug. 3 after the tide turned and water levels dropped. Photo by CHRISSY LYNK PHOTO /CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentSkaling said MARS deployed a drone and counted 12 or 13 animals stranded over a 1.1-kilomemtre stretch from the aboiteau at Canning Aboiteau Road on the Habitant River out toward the Minas Basin.Article contentArticle content“They were spread out a little bit but the majority of them were very close to the aboiteau road,” Skaling said.Article contentHe said firefighters heard from people on the scene that there were around 16 to 20 people down in the mud or involved in the initial rescue efforts, and a crowd of at least a dozen people on shore.Article content This drone shot from The Valley Eye Photography shows dolphins stranded by the outgoing tide in the Habitant River on Aug. 3. Photo by THE VALLEY EYE PHOTOGRAPHY /CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentSkaling said the fire department didn’t hear about the stranded dolphins until low tide, but after they arrived, there were anywhere between six and 10 people parked or standing alongside the road to observe at any given time. The animals were visible from the road in places, and from the riverbank.Article content“The people in the earlier part of the day certainly did the hard work. They did a good job of getting most of the dolphins turned around,” Skaling said.Article content A pod of dolphins was stranded in the Habitant River due to the tide going out on Aug. 3. Photo by CHRISSY LYNK PHOTO /CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentDolphins in riversArticle contentSkaling said he remembers dolphins getting stranded in the Cornwallis River in the Port Williams area before, but this is the first time he knows of that it happened in the Habitant River. They made it all the way to the aboiteau and couldn’t have gone any further.Article contentGiven the extreme fire risk, he said they were hesitant to put a lot of firefighters into the rescue operation. Skaling said that in hindsight, it’s a good thing they didn’t, because they ended up getting called to a baler and straw field on fire that evening as well.Article contentMARS executive director Tonya Wimmer couldn’t be reached for comment prior to deadline for this article.Article content Representatives of the Marine Animal Response Society used a drone to get a bird’s-eye view of dolphins stranded in the Habitant River. Photo by THE VALLEY EYE PHOTOGRAPHY /CONTRIBUTEDArticle content
Residents, marine response group save dolphins stranded near Canning, N.S.
