There is a high probability that the deceased bottlenose dolphin is an approximately 40-year-old male named "Mischief", who once inhabited the coasts of Scotland and Denmark, but had gone missing in recent months, according to Head of the Fish Resources Research Department of the BIOR institute for food safety, animal health and environment, Didzis Ustups.
On Monday, February 27, the body will be transported to BIOR, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of the animal's death.
Ustups told LSM revealed that the particular shape of the dead dolphin's dorsal fin indicates it is likely to be the renowned sea mammal.
"Dolphins have a very unique dorsal fin, it is a very social animal that often comes to boats. When we take pictures with good quality cameras, we get images that allow scientists and naturalists to recognize each animal individually. There is a small notch in the dorsal fin of this dolphin, which you can also see in the photos - like a cut in the back part. You can differentiate this dolphin very well from others because of that," said the researcher.
Ustups noted that dolphin life span records extend to about 60 or 70 years and if this one it does turn out to be "Mischief", the cause of death will be of great interest to marine biologists.
"For the first 35 years, it lived near the waters of Scotland, but if I'm not mistaken, around 2020, together with four or five other dolphins, it swam to the coast of Denmark for the first time. He was even like the leader of the pack. After that it went away from its pod in a pair with another dolphin and there was no information about it for the last few months," said Ustups.
The representative of BIOR stated that the institute had been in touch with experts from Scotland and Denmark, to consult on what analysis should be carried out in order to obtain useful information.
