Twos and threes ! | marji's Blog

Five dolphins are trapped behind a block of drifting ice near Newfoundland. The animals have been stuck within the mass for five days and are believed to be in danger.

The 8-foot dolphins have been swimming in circles in the small area near the town of Seal Cove. They’re said to be just about 100 feet from the shore. Seal Cove’s mayor says the entire bay is frozen, and the dolphins have no way of getting out.

“They keep going round circles, trying to keep this little pool of water open so that they can have their breathing area,” he tells the Associated Press.

“You can hear [them] crying all night long,” he says.

Experts suspect the dolphins went into the harbor area to find fish. A storm, it is believed, likely blew the ice in and trapped them while they were feeding.

The mayor has called upon Canada’s Fisheries Department to send crews in to break up the ice and set the dolphins free. The concern is that as more ice forms, the areas in which the dolphins can reach the surface for oxygen will continue to become smaller. Eventually, if not helped, they could drown.

The mayor says the Fisheries Department has told him “no boats were available,” the AP reports.

The following report from the CBC shows video of the dolphins trapped in ice, along with some expert insight into the situation and how it could be resolved.