Drama for marine wildlife

A TRAPPED dolphin was rescued and released at the Bay of Palma just one day after a gargantuan shark was found washed ashore. On Boxing Day a team of divers were dispatched to cut the net the female dolphin had become entangled in, likely saving her life. 

She had been spotted the week before by a team of marine researchers having difficulty, and again on Christmas Eve by some youngster playing watersports. They reported the situation to Cofib, the Balearic body which helps rescue wild animals in trouble. 

On Monday experts were finally able to find the three metre long mammal, cut the net and set her free. Cofib thanked the public for their wariness and said the call to 112 made the difference between life and death.

Unfortunately a huge shark wasn’t so lucky. The mammoth 3.8 metre bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus, was found dead on the bank of the Molinar on Christmas Day. 

Dozens of onlookers stood by as animal rescue services photographed the deep sea dweller and took samples. It had already begun to decompose and the cause of death wasn’t immediately clear. There is speculation that it may have been caught up in a trawler catching shrimp or lobster and then discarded.