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By: chochphoto

Jan 20 2012

Category: Uncategorized

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WELLFLEET — 011912 — IFAW volunteers Swede Plaut of Wellfleet, left front, Mike Giblin of Eastham, right front, and John Beardsley of Wellfleet, rear far left, help fellow volunteers and staff move one of five dolphins found alive and stranded on Great Island in the gut of the Herring River on Thursday afternoon.

I ended up getting up close to some beautiful creatures yesterday. I’m not really an animal person. I mean, I like them and all, but I don’t usually get affected by them, excluding my cats, of course. So, when I had my first close encounter with a stranded dolphin I was surprised at how moving it was to see so many people gathering to rescue them. I watched as about six volunteers moved a squealing, flopping dolphin from the back of pick-up truck into the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) rescue trailer and I was awe-struck. Luckily, I snapped out of it quick enough and then swiftly befriended the volunteer driver, Curtis. I jumped in the back, where the dolphin in distress had just been laying. I was told when I arrived on the scene, that I wouldn’t be able to access the rescue site because it was not passable by car and the walk would probably take me a long as the whole rescue. I was certainly glad to meet Curtis, a friendly local guy with a truck who is friends with one of the IFAW stranding coordinators. Without him, I might not have been able to make the pictures I made…

As I sat in the truck bed, trying to hold on to my cameras, my body flailing around just as the dolphin was, Curtis navigated through the National Seashore sand dunes (with a park ranger escort) and I thought to myself: “This is awesome, we’re on a dolphin rescue mission!” We get to the mud flats and I start seeing all of the dolphins scattered about, 1, 2, 3….Five alive and one that had died. There was another one dead further away too. Certainly a powerful scene against the canvas of the ashy clouds, rippling mud flats and the peaceful dunes. I was greeted by my friend and fellow photographer, Julia Cumes, who was already on the scene. She started filling me in while I tried to keep my footing. At the advice of my photo editor, chief photographer and the IFAW volunteers at the staging area, I put on the pool waders in the trunk of the company car, even though they are about 3 sizes too big for me. It’s not easy to move around in these things on solid ground, let alone in the sinking mud flats. I got a few fair warnings when I felt stuck, almost lost my balance and then recovered but it was inevitable, I was going to go down at some point. So that feeling hits you…”Here I go, I’m falling!” and what do I do, I throw my arms out and instinctively try to grab on to Julia, my friend! Luckily I think I realized how stupid it was to try brace myself on someone else who was smart enough to wear boots that fit correctly so I let go and bit the muck. SPLAT! Mud all over me and my camera. No matter. Even though I almost sabotaged Julia, she was nice enough to help me up. I figured out that it was best to keep moving. If I stayed in one place for too long, it would be an instant replay of the last tumble.

After spending an hour or so photographing the scene in “the gut,” I hitched a ride back with the park ranger and filed at the library. I decided that even though it was getting dark, I would try to photograph the dolphin release at Herring Cove Beach in Ptown. It was bitterly cold and I was hungry but I’m glad I went. It was quite a site to see, all of the staff and volunteers coordinating to get those dolphins back to where they belong.

I decided to switch back to my regular work boots, which was nice and comfortable for a while but proved to be a stupid idea. This was a situation when I would actually need the waders. The volunteers brought each dolphin down one by one with a sort-of beach wheel barrel. The tide was coming in fast, lapping up at my heels, closer and closer every few seconds. A volunteer gestured toward the water (you’re supposed to be quiet for the dolphins) meaning “Watch out, the tide is coming in!” Naively, I thought, I’ll be fine, these boots are waterproof, even though everyone near me is in a survival suit. It was definitely dark out at this point (6:00) and before I knew it I looked around all sides of me and I was on a little island surround by knee deep freezing ocean water. Damn it! There was no way I could leap out of it, if I fell, my cameras would get submerged. So, I figured, I’ll stay, watch the release and maybe some hulking volunteer will give me a piggy back ride out of here. Well, the piggy back ride didn’t happen. Everyone clapped and cheered as the dolphins swam to back to freedom, I turned around and trudged into that water, cursing myself, “Why didn’t I just put those waders back on!!!” I scurried to my car and concerned volunteers were asking me, “Are you all right?!?” I was fine, but I needed to get the boots off immediately. It was all worth it, of course, but these rookie mistakes are starting to get a little silly. As long as they only effect me, I guess that’s the best I can hope for…

If you want to see more pics from the rescue and release check out the gallery: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/_flash/gallery/gallery.html&Site=CC&Date=20120119&Category=MEDIA01&ArtNo=119009996&Ref=PH