Beached dolphin had 7 sets of teeth missing, died of possible starvation: Qatar ministry

Dolphin

A large dolphin that was found to have washed up on the Al Dhakira Beach recently had died of starvation or old age, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said, ruling out collision with a vessel or getting stuck in fishing net as possible causes.

The dolphin, which measured 227 cm in length and 70 cm in height, had seven sets of teeth missing on each side of its jaw bone.

"It [was] a large, old male dolphin, a type of dolphin [that is found] in the Pacific and Indo-Pacific seas," the ministry said.

"There are no signs on him that he collided with a ship or that he was stuck in fishing net…it turned out that he lost 7 teeth on each side of the jawbone and his body was slender.

"And this indicates that he had died of starvation or old age. After completing the necessary measurements, the body was buried and its location recorded so that it could be retrieved in the future." 

The ministry called upon seafarers to report such cases immediately, to take the necessary measures and follow up on everything related to the marine environment in Qatar.