A little over a month after a dolphin tragically died after washing up in the toxic Gowanus Canal, another sea mammal has died in Brooklyn: a baby porpoise died after washing up on a beach near the Coney Island Boardwalk on Saturday. Photographer Cassandra Giraldo, who shot the photos above, told us: "The dolphin was discovered on the shore by Boy Scouts during their Klondike derby, then reported to the police and animal patrol after a representative at the local aquarium evaluated it."
Brooklyn Daily spoke with Kent Woo, who was organizing that Boy Scouts trip. “It was quite a find,” he told them, adding that the porpoise appeared sick when he found it near Stillwell Avenue around 8 a.m. that morning. A good Samaritan brought the porpoise back to the water in an attempt to get it to swim away. “A half hour passed, then someone walked past and then stripped down to his boxing shorts and took the dolphin out doing the breast stroke,” said Woo.
Alas, it was to no avail—the porpoise was apparently too sick, and was brought back to shore where it died. If you ever come upon any sick animal like this, make sure you call the Riverhead Foundation in addition to NYPD/FDNY—the sooner you call, the better chance the animal has of surviving.
