Stray dolphin stuck in Cape May creek in New Jersey
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A stray bottlenose dolphin is stuck in a small creek in Cape May, New Jersey, according to Brigantine's Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
It's believed the dolphin has been there since Thursday, May 16, when the rescue center first got a tip about the animal on their stranding hotline.
MMSC staffers and certified stranding volunteers have been checking in on the dolphin multiple times a day, the rescue agency said in a Facebook post.
Rescue efforts to guide the dolphin out of the creek over the weekend were unsuccessful. A stranding coordinator with the marine rescue agency told CBS News Philadelphia they hope to try again to guide the dolphin out in the next couple of days.
On Tuesday, the rescue agency said they received equipment from one of their stranding network partners that will help them with their next rescue attempt.
Chopper 3 was over the small creek Tuesday morning and saw the dolphin popping in and out of the water.
The agency pointed out that technically, the dolphin isn't stranded — it's strayed. Now the mission is figuring out how to guide it out of the creek.
In August 2016, a similar situation also with a bottlenose dolphin in the same creek happened, the agency said. During that instance, the dolphin was safely rescued and later returned to the bay.
MMSC is reminding people that dolphins are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They advise you to not approach the dolphin because this will stress the animal out and push rescue efforts back.
