By Reuters 
9h ago
The baby dolphin rolled over on its side, floating on the surface. Its mother repeatedly nudged its head above the oily waves in a lagoon in Mauritius, where environmentalists are demanding an investigation into the deaths of dozens of dolphins following an oil spill.
The footage – obtained by Reuters from a fisherman who tried to help rescue the dolphins on Friday (August 28) – showed the last desperate moments of the mother and her calf before they both died.
At least 40 dolphins have been found dead in Mauritius – 38 who washed ashore, as well as the mother and her baby – since Monday (August 24), when a Japanese ship was scuttled after running aground in July and leaking oil.
The death toll may rise: Yasfeer Heenaye, the 31-year-old fisherman who filmed the mother and baby, said he saw nearly 200 dolphins inside the reef Friday morning, 25-30 of them dead.
He said some appeared to be injured and others were just floating. Fishermen were trying to herd the dolphins out of the lagoon into the open seas.
“There was a mother and her baby. …He was very tired, he didn’t swim well. But the mum stayed alongside him, she didn’t leave her baby to go with the group. All the way she stayed with him. She was trying to protect him …to push the baby to get back with the group.”
But the baby wallowed on its side and died in front of them, floating on the waves, he said.
“When I was seeing this, there was tears in my eyes. I am a parent of a little daughter, it is very difficult for me to see the mother struggle and try her best to save her baby,” Heenaye said.
A short while later, the mother had convulsions and died too, said another witness, Reuben Pillay.