Turtle Journal

Pickup Truck Stranded on Lieutenant Island Bridge

Outer Cape weather has been rugged this whole week. Wind-driven, non-stop snow/sleet/drizzle mix  pelted the Cape with little accumulation as temperatures hovered around freezing, day and night.  Massive wind-assisted tides tossed wrack high into the dunes and flooded bayside roads.  This workman tried to escape Lieutenant Island late Thursday afternoon, but got trapped between the causeway (right) and mainland road (left) as high tide violently gushed into the South Wellfleet marsh.

Flooded Lieutenant Island Bridge 

Unwilling to wait the two hours it would take for the tide to recede, the workman decided to brave the flooded roadway and drive his pickup through the high salt water.

 Autocide!

The scene reminded me of the favorite summer past time of the South Wellfleet “tidefolk.”  As the tide rises, they go down to the Lieutenant Island Bridge and cheer the tourists as they commit autocide.  Nothing compares with watching a Mercedes SUV in a natural salt water car wash.

Small 4-Foot Dolphin Carcass on Indian Neck

Continuing the bad day spell on Thursday, Turtle Journal discovered the carcass of a small, four-foot dolphin on Indian Neck.  This specimen had been thrust high into the marsh by storm-driven high tides.  We quickly alerted the Cape Cod Mammal Stranding Network at IFAW (hotline # 508-743-9548), and we sent them digital images via cell phone.

Scavenged Dolphin Carcass off Blackfish Creek

The dolphin washed ashore at the mouth of Blackfish Creek at the southern edge of the Indian Neck sea wall.  Predators had scavenged the carcass while it lay on the beach.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Habitat, Marine Mammals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.