DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997               TAG: 9703180280

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   86 lines

BEACH VIGIL KEEPS RARE BREED ALIVE THE HANDS-ON CARE OF THE MAMMAL MAY CONTINUE FOR DAYS OR WEEKS.

In a round-the-clock drama that began Sunday and continued through the day Monday, rescuers strove to save the life of a rarely seen species of dolphin that came close to dying on the beach at the North End.

Thanks to a call from a passer-by, the Virginia Marine Science Museum's Stranding Team, an all-volunteer network, saved an Atlantic white-sided dolphin that had been floundering in the surf at 65th Street Sunday afternoon.

And then the vigil began.

At a museum annex off Birdneck Road, museum staff and volunteers fed the dolphin, monitored its vital signs and, working in shifts, patiently, lovingly walked it around in a tank of chilly water.

The drama is expected to continue for days or even weeks as the 1-year-old female marine mammal is treated for dehydration, disease and buoyancy problems.

With luck and constant care, she might be alive today. As of last night, staff said, she was hanging in there.

Monday, she listed slightly to the side as two wetsuit-clad team members swam her around the tank.

They were monitoring her heart beat, temperature and respiration and, every four hours, inserting a tube into her stomach to feed her.

She was placid and seemed to welcome the attentions and constant holding, touching and cool-water bathing of her helpers.

``These animals seem amazingly receptive to our touch and our helping them, as if they realize they need some help,'' said Mark Swingle, director of the Stranding Team.

Swingle said this is not the first time a white-sided dolphin, which typically stays far offshore, has washed up, but it the first one kept alive.

She was far from out of the woods Monday, however, he said.

``She's certainly in very critical condition. She's going to need a lot of attention the next couple of weeks.''

The sleek mammal, about 175 pounds, has a short beak and tall, sharp dorsal fin. She is black on top and brushed with light gray along her flanks, white on her belly with a tan streak toward her flipper. She has bandit-like eye masks.

She was cool and rubbery to the touch, with a temperature holding steady at between 65 and 75 degrees. The rescue team didn't know the normal temperature for this species.

``She seems to be staying within that range,'' said Larry Williams, cradling the dolphin in a makeshift sling as he and fellow staff member Tara Lake moved her through the water.

Every few seconds an explosive puff of air burst from her blow hole.

Dolphins get fluids from their food, but this one had not been eating, so dehydration had set in. She also suffered from intestinal problems, either from parasites or disease, and showed signs of kidney problems.

Every three or four hours she was fed a mixture of vitamins, minerals, glucose and antibiotics.

Staff and volunteers held her and monitored her all night long, working three- to four-hour shifts. They walked her through the water not for her benefit but for theirs. The exercise helped keep their blood circulating as they walked through the cool, waist-high water.

Realizing they could not keep up the hands-on care for several days, the staff was working on rigging a floating sling. But they'll watch her closely and be ready to plunge in if problems arise.

Even though she did not need movement through the water, she seemed to prefer it, reported one staff member who was walking with her.

She moved her flipper listlessly, kept her walnut-size black-rimmed eyes mostly closed and bobbed her snout to the surface as she breathed.

Eventually, if she resumes swimming and regains her strength, she might be returned to her feeding grounds far out to sea.

Meanwhile, the vigil continues. For now, rescuers seem glad to have the rare opportunity to hold, touch and care for a still-alive creature.

``These animals teach us so much when we get a chance to have a close encounter like this,'' Swingle said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot

An Atlantic white-sided dolphin is exercised in a tank at a Virginia

Science Museum annex Monday. The dolphin was picked up from the surf

at 65th Street by the museum's Stranding Team. She is not yet out of

danger as she fights intestinal problems and poor kidney function.

Larry Williams and Tara Lake guide the female dolphin on an exercise

around the tank at the museum annex Monday. The dolphin is weak from

dehydration and has buoyancy problems. KEYWORDS: DOLPHIN RESCUE

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