There’s no more heartbreaking sight on the beach than a marine animal stranded on land. Sea creatures sometimes get helplessly stuck, unable get back to the sea where they belong.
But luckily, sometimes good samaritans come along to help these creatures. Like one group of resourceful beachgoers, who came to the rescue of a beached dolphin.
According to the Irish Examiner, a Risso’s dolphin calf got stranded on Magheraroarty beach in West Donegal, Ireland.
Separated from its pod, out of the water and under the hot sun, the poor dolphin was helpless and suffering — until one group of vacationing tourists came to its rescue.
The good samaritans — identified as Tina Crean, Mervin and Adam Davidson, Ray and Dawn Gill, along with two other men — jumped into action, smartly using resources available to them to help the dolphin.
To keep the dolphin cool while it was on land, and to prevent blistering, they covered it in seaweed and wet towels.
Then, they used towels to carry the dolphin back into the sea:
Their actions were praised by local animal groups. “The quick actions of the holiday-makers and the general public helped the calf back to the sea,” a spokesperson for the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group told the Irish Examiner.
ORCA Ireland also praised the good samaritans for saving the dolphin: “The calf was successfully re-floated and given another chance at life,” they wrote on Facebook. “We have seen amazing communities rally together in recent marine mammals emergencies and it is truly inspiring!”
They also cautioned that because the dolphin was in poor condition, it could become beached again — and while the makeshift rescue effort saved the day this time, both groups urged people to contact local marine rescues.
Thank you to these kindhearted people for saving this dolphin! Great work!
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