A dolphin, which was rescued by fishermen in June after being washed ashore in east China's Fujian Province, recently received medical treatment for gastritis at his new home, an aquarium in Xiamen.

The male dolphin, estimated to be between five and eight years old, has recovered from most of his injuries over the past months, but had a poor appetite and blood in his stool, said Lin Yuhui, head of the aquarium.

Last week, doctors using a gastroscope detected swellings and an ulcer 3-centimeter long and 0.5-centimeter wide on the dolphin's gastric wall. They injected some medicine through the gastroscope to stop the inflammation and bleeding.

Workers at the aquarium kept pouring cold water on the dolphin to make him comfortable during the 20-minute treatment on shore.

The dolphin could have swallowed nails or other indigestible items before he was rescued, explained Jiang Guijun, a doctor with the Xiamen No. 2 Hospital.

He said soft and liquid food mixed with doses of medicine, enough rest and intensive care would help the dolphin recover.

Fishermen found the wounded animal stranded on a beach in Zhangpu County in Fujian on June 25. A college student specializing in marine life, who happened to be at the beach, gave first aid to the animal and reported the finding to local fishery authorities. The dolphin was moved to the Xiamen Aquarium the next day.

It is the first beached dolphin to be saved on the Chinese mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2002)