On Saturday, animal rescue workers were busy luring dolphins away from the shallow waters around Cape Cod after 125 of them became stranded in “dangerous mud” the previous day.

The white-sided dolphins were caught Friday off Great Island in the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, sparking a rescue effort, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said.

Stacey Hedman, IFAW communications director, said the area – also known as “The Gut” – is difficult to access and is often the scene of strandings.

“There is no clear reason why these dolphins are stranding,” Hedman said. “Cape Cod is a global hotspot for strandings because of the curvature of our coastlines and tidal fluctuations.”

When rescue teams arrived on site on Friday, ten dolphins had already died.

Misty Niemeyer, the organization's stranding coordinator, said rescuers faced many challenges, including difficult mud conditions and the fact that the dolphins were scattered over a large area. She said teams spent 12 “exhausting” hours trying to capture the dolphins and herd them to deeper waters.

The rescue operation, which involved a team of 25 fund staff and 100 volunteers, lasted through Saturday. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the Center for Coastal Studies, AmeriCorps of Cape Cod and the New England Aquarium are also supporting the effort.

They rely on three small boats in the water to guide the dolphins and on underwater noise measuring devices to guide them in the right direction.

Hedman noted that this was “the largest single mass stranding incident in IFAW’s 25-year operational history.”

With News Wire Services