A juvenile striped dolphin has had to be put down after being found stranded on Broughty Ferry beach.
Rescuers from Civil Defence Scotland (CDS) based at Broughty Castle Barracks were alerted to the incident at around 8.45am when a dog walker spotted the distressed animal lying on the foreshore at Sandy Beach near the Glass Pavilion.
The team immediately went to the scene and found the dolphin just over one metre in length and believed to be only weeks old in a panicked state and breathing heavily.
An inflated float was slid underneath it to lift it from the sand and workers spent much of the morning ensuring it was comfortable by pouring water over it and rubbing gel around its blowhole and eyes.
Blankets drenched in water were also draped over the creature to prevent it from drying out.
A specialist marine vet from British Divers Marine Life Rescue was called to assess its condition but the decision was taken to humanely destroy the dolphin at around 1pm.
It was felt that it was too young to be released back into the water and its chances of survival were remote.
Afterwards vet Austen Marr said putting the dolphin to sleep was the best option.
“We could not ensure the animal’s well-being if we were to release it back into the water,” he said.
“It is a very sad ending.”
CDS team manager Gareth Norman (49), who oversaw the rescue effort, said, “People have asked me why don’t you just release it back in the water and see how it gets on but I have to remind them that this is not Disney, it’s the real world.
“It is unlikely the mother will still be in the area. What we could end up doing is coming across the same dolphin in a few days’ time stranded on another beach.”
Mr Norman added that the vet’s difficult decision had been taken with the animal’s best interest at heart.
“The dolphin had to be humanely destroyed as it was a juvenile mammal that was dependent on its mother and family group.
“Although it was possible that it could have been refloated, it may not have been able to reform with its family group.”
The dolphin’s carcass has now been placed with British Divers Marine Life Rescue, who will transport it to the Scottish Agricultural College in Inverness for a post-mortem to be carried out.