A dead dolphin and a turtle pile up on Sinnapadu beach

Puttalam Wildlife Assistant Director Eranda Gamage said today (8) that a dolphin and a turtle that had died off the coast of Mundalama Sinnapadu had been referred to the veterinarian for examination on orders obtained from the Puttalam court.

On the 7th evening, the dolphin and the turtle were spotted by fishermen at Sinnapadu beach and the relevant authorities were informed. The Assistant Director of Wildlife said that the bodies of the dolphin and the turtle were sent to the North-western Wildlife Veterinarian following an order obtained after they were referred to the Puttalam court on the 8th.

He also said that the animals had been referred to the wildlife veterinarian to find out if they had died due to a chemical substance derived from the X-Press Pearl. He said the turtle that had landed on the beach was nearly 15-years-old and the dolphin was nearly 3-years-old. Wildlife officials have revealed that the turtle had been dead for several days before landing and that the dolphin had died after landing on the beach. However it was evident that a small amount of debris from the X-Press Pearl to have been piled up on the beaches of Sinnapaduwa in recent times.

(Text and pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe)