‘Just tore me apart’: More than a dozen dolphins die in mass stranding around Cape Cod

‘After [the dolphin] passed, I was just heartbroken, to see such a magnificent, majestic animal die, it was a tragedy happening,’ a resident who saw the stranded animals said

More than a dozen dolphins died over the weekend after 125 of the mammals became trapped in shallow water near Cape Cod.

Animal rescuers managed to lead approximately 100 of the Atlanticwhite-sided dolphins away from the shallow waters off the Massachusetts coast, but an estimated 13 ultimately died. One of the animals had to be euthanized, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The fund, a nonprofit advocating for the protection of animals, helped to lead the rescue efforts, and said the mass stranding was the largest it had dealt with on the Cape in its 26-year history in the region.

Rescuers said there's no single reason why the dolphins ended up stranded other than the location. Cape Cod has been identified as a global stranding hotspot due to the shape of its shores and the movement of its tides, WSFA12 reports.

On Saturday, rescuers in Massachusetts found a group of 10 stranded dolphins swimming in extremely shallow water. They managed to guide the dolphins back into deep water.

Rescuers assist stranded dolphins caught off the coast of Cape Cod. Approximately 125 dolphins were stranded in late June, but rescuers managed to save all but 13 of the animals (screengrab/WCVB5)

After that, a second group of 25 dolphins was spotted swimming dangerously close to the shore in Eastham, according to the fund. Rescuers again worked to herd them back into safer waters.

The bulk of the dolphin deaths occurred on Friday at a spot called “The Gut,” which is near the Herring River in Wellfleet. The Gut has been notorious for stranding events, according to marine experts.

One resident near The Gut spotted a dying dolphin lying stranded on its side, and described her anguish at its suffering to USA TODAY.

“I jumped in the water, crying, because I heard it suffering. It’s giving out little noises, and I didn’t expect to hear that, and that just tore me apart," Marina Costello, 54, told the outlet. "After it passed, I was just heartbroken, to see such a magnificent, majestic animal die, it was a tragedy happening.”

She tried to save the dolphin herself, but the animals was 300 pounds, much too large for her to move on her own.

Rescuers had to overcome muddy terrain to reach the dolphins, which were spread out across a wide area along the eastern coast.

“It was a 12-hour exhausting response in the unrelenting sun, but the team was able to overcome the various challenges and give the dolphins their best chance at survival,” Misty Niemeyer, the fund’s stranding coordinator, told the broadcaster.

The rescuers walked into the shallows to coax the dolphins away from the shore. Once they were in deeper waters, boats equipped with underwater pinging devices — which make noises underwater — were used to push the animals further out into deeper water.