Why do dolphins strand?
There are probably many reasons why cetaceans strand, including illness, injury, being lost, or following a sick individual ashore. Perhaps the dolphin has come ashore because it is too weak to go on and cant defend itself against predators. This is the reason why it is NOT recommended to push these animals back out to sea. Sometimes they strand singly and sometimes en masse. In all cases of cetacean strandings, however, something is wrong and the situation needs to be evaluated by the professionals of the Stranding Network. The Dolphin and Whale Hospital has been authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service, a federal agency that regulates marine mammal issues, to respond to cetacean strandings. In our experience, the vast majority of single dolphin stranding events involve an animal that is severely injured or extremely ill. Injuries include entanglement with fishing gear, bite wounds from predators such as sharks, and wounds, including broken bones, from other cetaceans.
