Dolphin found stranded on riverbank miles from ocean in Belgium. ‘A rare appearance’

A dead dolphin was found on a riverbank in Belgium miles from the ocean in what officials labeled “a rare appearance.”

Kobe Vercruyssen stumbled upon the creature’s remains along the rocky shores of the Scheldt River in Burcht, a village near Antwerp, on March 7, according to a news release from the Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

The animal, which measured about 5 feet long, was missing most of its skin, and its mouth was agape, revealing rows of white teeth.

“It was a strange surprise,” institute said in the release.

Concerned that the river — which flows into the North Sea — might carry away the heavily decomposed corpse, Vercruyssen fastened a rope to it.

Afterward, a team of firefighters and shelter workers came and removed the creature, which was transported to a nearby town for examination by the Agency for Nature and Forests.

Their analysis revealed that the dolphin was a young female, which weighed between about 150 and 170 pounds.

Due to the level of decomposition, a cause of death could not be determined, and it was difficult to pinpoint its exact species. However, its teeth indicated it was a common dolphin, or Delphinus delphis.

In a “surprising twist,” the news of the stranded dolphin led a local ferryman to contact the Institute of Natural Sciences, telling them he had recorded footage of a dolphin in the river on Jan. 31.

“From the images it could be concluded that it was a common dolphin,” the release said. “It is very likely that this was the same animal that was found dead in Burcht 35 days later.”

Common dolphins are pelagic, meaning they live in the open ocean. As such, they are not adapted to living in rivers — and it’s not clear why this individual swam up the Scheldt.

The Institute of Natural Sciences’ Jan Haelters said the appearance of the animal is “rare.”

“In the past ten years, only a few cases of living common dolphins are known from our country…” he said.

Common dolphin strandings are also rare in Belgium, the release said.

This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Dolphin found stranded on riverbank miles from ocean in Belgium. ‘A rare appearance’."