Rescuers argue over saving rare dolphins

Efforts to rescue two rare dolphins in tsunami-devastated southern Thailand hit a snag as fishermen and environmentalists argued over how best to save the mammals, swept inland by the giant waves.

The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins - a female adult and her calf - were dumped in a 300m by 200m lake left by the wall of water that struck Thailand's Andaman Sea coastline.

Rescue teams failed to corner the dolphins in a part of the lake and when they returned yesterday, a group of local fishermen led by a district official showed up on the other side of the lake with a huge net.

"They want to catch them like fish, but these are mammals and if they get tangled up in the net they will drown," said Jim Styres of the Myanmar Dolphin Project, based in Thailand.

Rescuers dropped fish into the water but Styres said the dolphins were probably too stressed to feed despite going for days without food.

"They are very rare and that is a second reason to get them out and back into the sea," said Edwin Wiek of the Wildlife Rescue Unit of Thailand.