Rescuers battled in vain to save a juvenile dolphin stranded on Paignton beach.
The Volunteer Marine Mammal Medics with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue reacted to a call out after the dolphin was located.
They said: “This was a stressful situation for all involved, on what was a highly busy beach. We were able to inspect and relocate the dolphin to a more peaceful place thanks to the Torbay Coastguard team’s invaluable assistance.
Despite our best efforts, the conclusion was not happy.”
They added: “Marine creatures often strand for reasons we cannot see or easily understand. We want to find out the cause, but any way, everything we did was in the best interests of the dolphin. Thank you to everyone for your concerns and feedback. Please never attempt to return stranded marine species to the water.”
Eye-witness Maddie Stainer said she and her partner had been walking along the seafront where coastguards and marine medics were already on site to treat the dolphin.
She elaborated: “They had applied a wet jacket and the coastguard were going back and forth to collect sea water to keep the dolphin wet.”
Maddie continued, “The coastguards did an excellent job, and the marine medics on the scene advised the dolphin appeared to have injuries to his fin.” Everyone did such a terrific job in looking after the dolphin.”
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