A dying dolphin mom was caught on camera attempting to save the life of its calf following an oil spill that caused pristine Mauritius waters to turn black.
Following thousands of tons of oil getting spilled into the sea surrounding Mauritius after a tanker ran aground last month, both animals and locals have been struggling to get through the environmental disaster.
In one video captured by 31-year-old local Yasfeen Heenaye, a mother dolphin was seen trying to keep her calf’s head above the water filled with oil.
As Reuben Pillay explained, the mother dolphin died shortly after attempting to save its calf by nudging its head above the water.
According to the reports, dozens of dolphins have died due to the contamination of their natural habitat following the oil spill.
As Heenaye, who is a fisherman, explained, he saw up to thirty dolphins dead on Friday as he and other locals attempted to herd the remaining live animals out of the contaminated area into the open sea.
“Some were injured and some were just floating,” Heenaye said.
“Inside the reef there is oil spill on the water – if they stay inside maybe all of them will die – but if they go outside maybe they will survive.
“We were trying to push the dolphins outside the reef, making noise in the boat to make the dolphins go outside the reef.”
Speaking of the heartbreaking moment they came across the mother attempting to save her calf, Heenaye added:
“There was a mother and her baby … He was very tired, he didn’t swim well. But the mum stayed alongside him, she didn’t leave her baby to go with the group.
“All the way she stayed with him. She was trying to protect him … to push the baby to get back with the group.”
As the upset fisherman expressed, he broke into tears after seeing the calf and its mother die struggling.
“When I was seeing this, there was tears in my eyes. I am a parent of a little daughter, it is very difficult for me to see the mother struggle and try her best to save her baby,” he said.
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