By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Rescuers in New Zealand were on Friday trying to save 10 dolphins stranded on a remote beach, soaking them with buckets of water until the tide comes in to hopefully take them back out to sea.
The 10 common dolphins, including one calf, were stranded at Whakanewha Bay on Waiheke Island, off the city of Auckland, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said in a Facebook post.
Volunteers were at the beach, bringing buckets of water to where the dolphins were stranded to keep them wet, the Stuff media outlet reported.
The DOC and Project Jonah, which specializes in rescuing stranded whales and dolphins, said their staff and equipment were on their way to help with the rescue.
The small island of Waiheke is about 40 minutes by ferry from Auckland, and is home to about 10,000 people.
New Zealand has the highest stranding rate for dolphins and whales in the world with hundreds of the mammals getting beached on its shores every year.
Just why the animals get trapped on beaches is still a puzzle for marine biologists.
High tide, when rescuers are expected to try to refloat the dolphins, is at 7:36 p.m. (0736 GMT).
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer)
