Dead Dolphin found!!

Maybe completely wrong on this but have looked at the picture a couple of times and it seems to me (just my own opinion) like maybe an attack from a shark or some other see creature, the head does look like it was torn off and i would expect a cleaner cut on the fin if this was done with a knife, i know there is no damage to the flank of the dolphin but or could it be a possible run in with a boat engine as i said just my own couple of observations. If this was a deliberate attack there is no condoning it as Dolphins are a magnificent creature, have had them come in very close up around Fanore (there is a resident dolphin in the area) with a calf, great to see

Im unsure myself Conger aswell from seeing the picture, doubt we will ever know what really happened unless further inspection was done on the corpse of the dolphin, but either way, sad 2 see it washed up on the shore in the condition that it was in!!

Maybe completely wrong on this but have looked at the picture a couple of times and it seems to me (just my own opinion) like maybe an attack from a shark or some other see creature, the head does look like it was torn off and i would expect a cleaner cut on the fin if this was done with a knife, i know there is no damage to the flank of the dolphin but or could it be a possible run in with a boat engine as i said just my own couple of observations. If this was a deliberate attack there is no condoning it as Dolphins are a magnificent creature, have had them come in very close up around Fanore (there is a resident dolphin in the area) with a calf, great to see

Im unsure myself Conger aswell from seeing the picture, doubt we will ever know what really happened unless further inspection was done on the corpse of the dolphin, but either way, sad 2 see it washed up on the shore in the condition that it was in!!

Have to agree really sad to see such an animal in that condition

Its a Harbour Porpoise the size gives it away, look at the feet in the picture, my gues is the head was cut off and its been in the water for some time hence you would get natural scavenging, anything from fish, seagulls etc. taken nibbles, But the cut around the head is the same as you do sword fish (the knife would easily get through the vertabrae) as for the fins hmm Dolphin and sharks have cartilage and bone structure in thier dorsal and Pectoral Fin, (hence when reflotation of these animals you have to be careful not to bend them the wrong way and break them..) But the cartilage breaks down fairly quickly.. once it does the bones fall out and animals scavenge the remaining flesh, very hard to tell if they were cut but strongly suggest it, as the rest of teh carcas is intact without any bite or bill marks, interestly take a look at the area just before the tail fluke where the white fatty tissue is exposed. hmm all I can say really yes a knife was used and the carcas has been in the water for sometime Send the Irish Whale Dolphin group a photo, they might be able to make more out of it then I can. mailto:coordinator@iwdg.ie

also it could have died naturally, washed up and someone took its head for a trophy

people can be weird like that

also it could have died naturally, washed up and someone took its head for a trophy

people can be weird like that

Well thats a whole different type of weird, lol, Couldnt imagine any1 that would start 2 cut the head of a dolphin for a trophy!!

the head is cut far too short to make a trophy, and as well we can see on the picture some remaining skin from the lower jaw, which wouldn't make a nice trophy ...
As Creep said, it looks like the type of cutting, professional fisherman are doing on big fish like billfish or tuna ...
As well the carcass doesn't look dry and attacked by birds, which suggest that it fresly washed on the beach. Cuts would be more straight and clean if done just before discovery.
And defo the fins have been cut with a sharp tool.
We may never know what happened, but for me everything is here to make me believe that this animal has been dismembered at sea and dumped ... Very, very sad to see ...

Maybe its head just fell off,

Maybe its head just fell off,

Headache?

Over the last few weeks I have seen 2 of these things that you have a photo of washed up in Ballyheigue bay, the heads were also gone and in the last 2 weeks 2 dolphins 1 large and 1 small were also washed up in ballyheigue bay the heads were attached. One of the dolphins is still below in the beach I saw him this morning. Strange to see so many creatures washed up.

Contact the whale dolphin group Dex, they'll send someone out and have a lookie if there no obvious sign of injury they'll be interested

If that poor animal was cut,the butcher must have been using a spoon,,,,deffo doesnt look like knife inflicted wounds,,,looks like a juvenile dolphin too.