Beachgoers in South Carolina recently discovered a creepy, skeleton-like dolphin splayed across the sand, where it could have been slowly drying for months. According to one expert, the animal may have mistakenly become trapped after purposely beaching itself.
On January 14, the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN) received a call concerning a “mummified dolphin” off Hilton Head Island, according to a Facebook post by the organization’s representatives.
LMMN volunteer Amber Kuehn, a marine scientist and coordinator of the Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Patrol, went to the location to measure and gather skin and teeth samples from the body before burying it on the beach.
According to Kuehn, the dolphin was most likely a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and measured about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long. It was unclear how old or what gender the dolphin was, she said.
“It wasn’t actually mummified,” Kuehn explained. “It was simply decomposed.” However, the rate of breakdown was particularly high, she added.
Kuehn feels the carcass may be several weeks old. However, Erich Hoyt, a research fellow at Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) in the United Kingdom and author of several cetacean-related books, told Live Science that the remains could be months old.
According to Hoyt, the corpse appeared to have entirely dried up as a result of its dry environment and constant exposure to sunlight. However, it is strange that the body dried to this amount while staying completely intact, he added.
Normally, scavengers would pick these remnants clean. For example, the day before this carcass was discovered (Jan. 13), LMMN volunteers responded to another bottlenose dolphin body in Botany Bay on Edisto Island. This carcass appeared to be equally deteriorated, but it had previously been thoroughly scavenged.
According to LMMN staff, the mummified dolphin may have dried elsewhere before washing up on Hilton Head Island. But this is difficult to verify. However, an intriguing bottlenose dolphin habit could explain how the two dolphins ended themselves on separate beaches.
Small groups of bottlenose dolphins in South Carolina had previously been witnessed crashing onto the shore, dragging small fish with them, allowing them to pick up the hapless prey before rolling back into the water, according to Hoyt. However, if someone lunges too far, they may become stranded and die before gradually desiccating, he explained.
However, this is only one idea, and Hoyt stated that there is “no evidence of this having happened” in the recent incidents.