A 4-foot dolphin died shortly after it was rescued on Wednesday morning in Imperial Beach, according to lifeguards.
Around 8:45 a.m. a call came into the lifeguard’s office about a small dolphin beached between Beach and Cortez Streets. Lifeguards immediately called SeaWorld, whose animal experts arrived to the scene shortly before 9 a.m.
“They really got here as fast as they could,” said IB Lifeguard Supervisor Oscar Alvarez.
Animal experts tried to place the 1-year-old male short-beaked dolphin back in the water, but it kept swimming in circles, said Alvarez. They also covered it with a wet towel. SeaWorld then decided to take the dolphin to its rehabilitation facilities.
The dolphin then died in transit. SeaWorld later called the IB Lifeguard station to let them know the lifeguards followed proper procedure and did the best they could.
Alvarez said there were no signs of trauma or injury from the dolphin.
“There was nothing out of the ordinary,” he said.
SeaWorld typically rescues hundreds of marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds every year.
