Beached dolphins rescued in Oman

Seven of eight creatures safely returned to sea

The stranded dolphins, which may have become spooked by a killer whale

A pod of dolphins has been rescued after washing up on an Omani beach.

The incident occurred on Tuesday in Hasik district, said the Directorate General of Environment in the Dhofar Governorate.

It said it did not know why the eight Risso's dolphins became stranded on the beach, although they could have been driven ashore because of a threat posed by a killer whale.

“There were no nets seen during the rescue efforts, and none of them had wounds on them at first,” said Essam Al Busi, the head of the marine environment conservation department at the directorate.

“Specialists, in co-operation with citizens and fishermen, made several attempts to return the dolphins, but these attempts failed and the dolphins returned to the beach.”

Oman's Environment Authority posted a video of the incident on social media. It said seven of the dolphins were rescued and were in good health. One died of friction caused by contact with rocks amid strong waves.

Marine conservation specialists were sent to the site to work on permanently returning the dolphins to the sea. This took about four hours.

Samples and measurements from the dead female dolphin were taken to conduct laboratory tests.

Typically, Risso's dolphins are found in pods of 10 to 30. Sometimes referred to as grey dolphins, they are found in the temperate and tropical zones of oceans around the world.