Dolphin stuck in Suffolk’s Bennett’s Creek has officially left

A dolphin that had been stuck in a Suffolk waterway for about a month has officially left the area.

According to an update from Suffolk Fire & Rescue, Fire Boat 1 and the Virginia Aquarium’s Stranding Response team have confirmed the dolphin has “moved on” from Bennett’s Creek.

Dolphins can get stuck in brackish or freshwater due to a number of factors, and it’s impossible to know what happened in this case, according to Alexander Costidis, senior scientist on the aquarium’s Stranding Response team. It’s possible the dolphin got “beat up a little” by other dolphins, which made it run away into the creek.

Or, the stranding could be a behavioral response to a major disruption, like a loud noise or something that affected the dolphin’s cognitive abilities. Dolphins sometimes respond to humanmade structures in shallow water in strange ways, according to previous reporting, and might not want to swim past a submerged pipe or cable.

The amount of time a dolphin can survive in freshwater varies, depending on salinity and temperature of the water — and food the supply. The aquarium’s team had observed some lesions on the dolphin, which can occur when bacteria develops on the animal’s skin in freshwater.

Aquarium leadership had told The Virginian-Pilot that capturing a dolphin is a last resort for rescue because it can be dangerous for the animal and people. Before resorting to capture, the team goes through a number of steps. First, they make sure the dolphin isn’t entangled in anything or at risk for drowning. If the dolphin is physically able to swim out of its own accord, the team would attempt to herd it out of the river.

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com