Body of rare dolphin recovered

Yesterday morning the body of a dolphin of a breed rare to Balearic waters, was found in an advanced state of decomposition, off the coast of Felanitx. The five-metre long dolphin, which weighed some 800 kilos, was towed through the water to Porto Cristo where it was lifted out of the water by a crane. The rescue operation involved the Guardia Civil, the Felanitx Local Police and a team of experts from Marineland. Once on dry land, the Marineland team collected the neccesary parts of the animal for the autopsy in order to establish how or why the dolphin died. Lasy night the exact cause of death was yet to be established, but the dolphin was a an adult female of the Cifius Cavirostris breed which is very rare to the Mediterranean and difficult to find. Marineland sources said yesterday that over the past ten years, as far as they are aware, there have only been three sightings of such dolphins.