QuickCheck: Was a dolphin rescued by fishermen in Penang?

WITH fewer and fewer places to go due to a steadily-increasing human presence in natural habitats, encounters between people and wildlife are becoming more regular.

Due to the dramatic nature of such encounters, news tends to go viral quickly – especially if there are photos or videos to go with it.

It was claimed recently that fishermen rescued a dolphin in Teluk Kumbar, Penang. Is this true?

VERDICT:

TRUE

This is in fact true, with the incident taking place at 6pm on Tuesday (Nov 5) after one of the fishermen received a call from his friend who sighted the mammal while at sea.

“I received a call from my friend at about 5.30pm and we mobilised five fishermen to help us to take the dolphin measuring around 150cm back to sea,” said 46-year-old fisherman Shamsuar Hashim when contacted.

“The entire process took about 40 minutes; we pulled the dolphin using a fishing net to deeper waters, where it swam away safely.

Shamsuar said this was the first time a dolphin was rescued alive, as there were several cases where they died after being tangled in fishing nets.