Diver Wilfred C. Manuel and his group of regular swimmers were on their routine early morning long swim in the calm waters of the sea at Moolankuzhy beach on February 4.
To their surprise, an injured dolphin rolled on to the sandy bank. Wilfred with his experience in marine life immediately began to attend to the injured mammal.
Bruises on belly
“It had bruises on its belly and fins,” he said, adding that the dolphin was nearly two metres long and would weigh approximately 75 kg. According to him, such injuries are caused by boat propellers.
His friends and 16-year-old daughter, Angel, too an expert swimmer, carried the dolphin far into the sea but to their dismay found it coming back to the shore repeatedly. “We did not know what to do with it. This behaviour was not familiar,” said Wilfred. The group gave up their efforts and broke for breakfast. After an hour, he rushed back when he received a call that some miscreants were trying to hurt the animal.
He along with Angel and friend Patrick Bernard, a strong swimmer, made one last attempt to leave the dolphin back in the open sea. They swam a kilometre into the water and finally met with success. “We were thrilled that the dolphin swam steadily back into its world,” he says.
Wilfred who had founded Inter Dive Adventure Sports Company in 2006, offering marine services, was honoured by the State government In 2018, during the floods, when his team rescued 450 persons.
He also runs a similar facility in Dubai and rues the fact that unlike Dubai there is no helpline here for injured marine animals to provide quick first aid to them. “We were totally at a loss when we found the injured dolphin,” he says but happy that he could reach the animal back to safety.
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