Table Mountains

Crew cuts ice for dolphins but bid may have backfired: expert

Friday, February 20, 2009 | 7:27 AM NT

Distressed by the suffering of a group of trapped dolphins, men in a small Newfoundland outport took matters into their own hands on Thursday and cut a path through ice in a bay.

The crew claims three dolphins — five of the mammals had been seen earlier this week in a small patch of open water near Seal Cove, White Bay, on the island's northeast coast — made it out safely to another area. The four men and a teenage boy counted four dolphins in the water when they started their effort, which involving towing one of the creatures with rope.

However, a whale rescue expert said the well-meaning effort may have actually endangered the dolphins, whose plight attracted international media attention this week.

"The people who went out in the boat thought they were doing good for the animals," said Wayne Ledwell, who arrived in Seal Cove on Thursday, but too late to prevent the crew from cutting through the ice.

I have great respect for Wayne Ledwell's work but to wait for him to go through channels to get a reluctant Government Department to react would of probably meant the death of those Dolphins. People like 16 year old Brandon Banks should be awarded for their courage in this situation.Here's the true Hero!