How the Kotor "knights of our time" returned the little dolphin to its parents!
Unusual visitors interrupted a peaceful morning in the Montenegrin Bay of Kotor.
Vjekoslav Barić, janitor of the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor, went on a regular tour of the field.
He could not have imagined that his rescue mission would begin then
"I am proud to have saved one creature who owed me both as a fisherman and as a sailor," Baric told the BBC in Serbian. The dolphin family was trying to save the youngest member who got caught in a fishing net.
Dolphins are frequent visitors to the Adriatic coast because several hundred of them live in this sea, and since 1995 they have been under legal protection on the Croatian coast, according to the Blue World Institute.
Vjekoslav Barić has been working as a janitor in this research institution for a year.
He likes to watch the sea because he is both a fisherman and a seafarer.
"I see two big dolphins, and then I see a cub fighting for its life. "The big dolphin is moving towards us, emerging from the water - I understand that he is asking for help."
An experienced fisherman realizes that, despite the fact that it is forbidden, he set up a fishing net 200 meters from the shore. The gardener and the captain of the ship called for help, so together they came to a troubled dolphin family.
"The mother held the cub on her back, while the big dolphin lifted the net from a depth of 17 meters, in order to make it easier for the little dolphin to breathe air.
"We managed to get close, I tore off part of the net and saw that he was not injured."
When they released the little dolphin, his parents "literally hugged the cub", describes Barić.
"They hung out a bit more, Dad played some of their dance, let out a cry of 'gratitude' and they continued on their way," adds the janitor.
Founded in 1961 in Kotor, today it is part of the University of Montenegro and the only scientific research institution in Montenegro that deals with the protection and study of the Adriatic Sea.
There are five laboratories and one center within the Institute.
The Institute also publishes a specialized journal, Studio Marina.
'Knights of our time
This is not the first time a dolphin has become entangled in a fishing net. Vjekoslav Barić says that there were some more dangerous situations. "One dolphin also got caught in the net this fall, but unfortunately we found him dead," Kotoranin recalls.That is why human contact with nature is important, believes Aleksandar Joksimović, director of the Institute of Marine Biology.
"This is proof that all beings give signals in some way and ask for help from each other," he says.
The Institute's phones do not stop ringing, says the director."Through tears, people thank us for giving them something wonderful this year," Joksimović points out.
He is proud of the team of people who helped in this "humane and noble action". "I called them heroes of our time, knights, because they are," says the director of this institution proudly.
Source: BBC
Photo: Yes Montengro/IG
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