Rescuers Continue Effort At Bolsa Chica Channel To Return Wayward Dolphin To Sea
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBS/AP) — Wildlife experts are trying to return a healthy dolphin to the ocean after it became stranded by swimming into a narrow wetlands channel along the southern California coast.
The mammal did manage to swim out to open waters, taking advantage of the high tide at about 11 a.m. Saturday, but swam back under Warner Avenue to the tidal lagoon. Biologists reported that they saw the dolphin encounter two other dolphins when he swam out to sea and that they may have scared him into returning to the channel.
The 7-foot-long, black-and-white common dolphin was spotted in a channel of the Bolsa Chica wetlands Friday, circling in shallow waters as crowds grew along the banks and TV helicopters flew overhead.
A swimmer and two lifeguards on paddleboards entered the water to test the dolphin's reaction, and a decision was made to let the healthy, strong and fast dolphin try to find its own way out, said Dean Gomersall, animal care supervisor at the nonprofit Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Officials say any attempt to capture the dolphin could be dangerous to the animal and rescuers because of its strength.
Peter Wallerstein of Marine Animal Rescue said the dolphin doesn't need a high tide to escape.
The wetlands is separated from the ocean by a wide beach and Pacific Coast Highway. Sea water flows in from Huntington Harbour on one end and an inlet cut through the beach on the opposite end.
The dolphin, part of a small pod seen in the harbor earlier in the week, entered the channel through a hole in a tidal gate that separates the harbor from the marsh, Gomersall said.
The other five dolphins remained in the harbor and may have to be coaxed back out to sea, Gomersall said.
» RELATED: Dolphins Gather As Crews Try To Rescue Dolphin Stranded In Bolsa Chica Channel
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