What is it, and was it attacked by sharks?

The corpse of an unknown marine mammal washed up in Eastpoint last week and the owners of the beach where it came ashore want some answers.

            On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 25, Sheryl and Alvin Mitchell noticed something unusual on their strip of beach along the Apalachicola Bay,

            The Mitchells have a bayfront home on the east end of Eastpoint. When they noticed a dark form on their shore, they investigated and found what they believed was a dead dolphin. The animal was about 10 feet long, with numerous deep gashes, and appeared to have been attacked by sharks.

            Sheryl immediately sought help in removing the carcass.

            The following Monday, Alvin visited the Carrabelle office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). They promised to send an investigator who would remove the carcass for an autopsy, but by Friday nobody had contacted the Mitchells.

            Next Sheryl contacted the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) who gave another number to call.  She listened to a recorded message and left a request for help.  She never received a response to the call.  In a later interview, Seth Blitch director of ANERR said, “There used to be a DEP office dedicated to whale and dolphin research., but, with all of the budget cuts, the program may have been cancelled.”

            Meanwhile, the Mitchells had a sticky, stinky problem on their hands. How do you dispose of several hundred pounds of dead meat? The animal is still on the beach a week after it appeared and has now been washed further in by high surf.

            On Monday, the Mitchells contacted “bear whisperer” and FWC wildlife biologist, Adam Warwick, who did some investigating and was able to put the proper FWC office in touch with the Mitchells.

            Sheryl said a crew from the Franklin County landfill arrived on Tuesday afternoon and carried the corpse away with a front loader.