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Need to report a sick, injured, stranded, or entangled marine mammal?

If you have found a marine mammal that appears sick, injured, stranded, entangled, or in distress, please do not use this contact form. This form is not monitored for emergency wildlife response, and the National Marine Mammal Foundation does not operate a public hotline for marine mammal emergencies.

For immediate help, please contact the appropriate local stranding response network through NOAA’s Stranding Hotline Directory.

Report Stranded Marine Mammals to NOAA’s Stranding Hotline

NOAA Stranding Hotline Directory

Report via the Dolphin & Whale 911 App

Download the Dolphin & Whale 911 app for iOS

When reporting a stranded, injured, or entangled marine mammal, please keep your distance and share as much of the following information as you safely can:

• Date and time the animal was last seen
• Exact location, such as beach name, landmark, address, or GPS coordinates
• Number of animals present
• Whether the animal is alive or deceased
• Estimated size (you can compare to a common dog breed)
• Visible signs of injury, illness, or entanglement, such as fishing gear
• Apparent body condition, including whether ribs, hips, or spine are visible
• Species, if known

For your safety and the animal’s safety, do not touch, feed, move, approach, or attempt to disentangle the animal. Trained responders are best equipped to help.