A Mindoro fisherman was awarded by the international conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for saving the life of a wounded adult dolphin off the shores of Oriental Mindoro last month.

Randy Cayteles is the third recipient of the WWF Heroes of the Environment Award, created to honor ordinary individuals who show decisive environmental action.

The first two awardees were recognized in January 2009 for saving a Dugong in Palawan.

Cayteles, a fisherman of Barangay San Antonio, Calapan City, discovered the wounded 2.2-meter Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) beached 10 meters away from the shore last May 20.

His companions urged Cayteles to butcher and eat the dolphin, but he assured his colleagues that the best course of action would be to report the stranding to the proper authorities.

Three hours after the discovery, elements of the Philippine National Police-Maritime Office, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Provincial Agriculture Office Fisheries and Coastal Resource Management Division, City Veterinary Office, and the Philippine Coast Guard’s Calapan City Detachment were on-site to treat the minor wounds on the dolphin’s snout and dorsal fin.

The dolphin was later released in Mindoro waters.

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are found in the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Australia to South Africa, the Red Sea, and in the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Pacific.

“The right path is not necessarily the easiest to take. Randy not only conferred a great honor on his community. He actually saved a life – the greatest gift one can bestow,” WWF chairman Vincent S. Pérez Jr. said.

Cayteles was cited for his heroic deed at the Silonay Elementary School in Calapan City last June 5.

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Arnan Panaligan and Johnjoe Cantos of the WWF-Philippines presented the fisherman with a plaque and a modest cash reward.