Bottlenose Dolphin Dies During Rescue After Stranding in Cumberland County Creek

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.J. — A 6-foot bottlenose dolphin that stranded in Riggins Ditch last week died Thursday morning during a rescue attempt, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center reported. The center had been monitoring the dolphin since it was first spotted on June 5. More than two dozen responders and six boats from nine agencies initially tried non-physical methods to coax the dolphin out of the creek, but those efforts were unsuccessful.  Rescue teams then captured the dolphin in the water, keeping it upright to aid breathing. They placed it on a stretcher and used a tractor to bring it ashore. However, the dolphin stopped breathing while being loaded into a vehicle and could not be revived. The center noted the dolphin appeared underweight and had lesions, likely caused by exposure to freshwater. The animal was taken to the state Animal Health and Diagnostic Lab for necropsy. This incident marks the second dolphin death in three days, following the euthanasia of a dolphin rescued in Brigantine.