Vietnam's male dolphin believed dead on female’s 1st death anniversary
A dying male dolphin was found off the coast of Binh Dinh Province on May 17, near a temple where a dead female dolphin was buried exactly a year earlier.
Fisherman Nguyen Minh Ty said the creature nuzzled his coracle repeatedly while he was fishing some 200 meters off Bai Xep Beach in Quy Nhon town early that morning.
“It continued to stick to my boat though I tired to take him out to sea several times. Finally, I decided to take him to shore.”
The village head, Vo Loi, 80, and other fishermen then attempted to take the dolphin to sea again but it kept swimming to shore.
The fishermen then decided to take the dying dolphin, which weighed about 100kg, to the nearby Nam Hai Temple, where they worship dolphins and whales.
The dolphin was about 2.5 meters long and had several infected injuries, Loi said.
It died in the afternoon and the fishermen buried it in the temple yard.
Loi said a female dolphin was found dead a year ago and they had buried it near the temple.
“According to local rituals, today is the 1st anniversary of her [the female dolphin] death and burial at Bai Xep, and we held a reburial ceremony to move her remains to the temple to worship.
“Maybe he [the male dolphin] was somehow aware of it and decided to swim here to die.”