Carcass of humpback dolphin washes ashore on Agonda beach

Canacona: The carcass of a female humpback dolphin, weighing about 200kg, washed ashore on Agonda beach in Canacona on Sunday morning.Speaking to TOI, range forest officer of the south marine range, Rajesh Naik, said that dolphins are delicate creatures and this 1.5m dolphin may have been flung against rocks by strong underground currents.Dr Manohar Nagre from the veterinary hospital at Benaulim, who conducted the autopsy, said the dolphin was in the 25-30-year age range.The dolphin may have died just a day prior hence its carcass was not decomposed, he said. After the autopsy, the carcass was disposed of by forest rescuers at one corner of the beach.Naik said that on full moon days (purnima) and during the new moon phase, water reaches beyond the normal line on beaches. So, such creatures are carried ashore, he said.