Divers help get stranded dolphin back to safety

Quick action has saved a common dolphin from a slow death near Tutukaka on Northland's east coast yesterday.

A member of the public found the dolphin stranded on the beach at Whangaumu (Wellingtons Bay), near Tutukaka, at 9am and rang Northland orca expert Ingrid Visser, who in turn rang the team at Dive Tutukaka to ask for help.

"We jumped in the boat and went around to the beach and gently lifted the dolphin onto the back of it," Dive Tutukaka director Jeroen Jongejans said.

Keeping in touch with the Department of Conservation by telephone, they ensured the dolphin was healthy enough for release before taking it about two kilometres offshore and gently placing it in the ocean.

"We swam around with it for a while to make sure it was breathing all right and found its balance.

"It slowly came right and then it took off toward the Poor Knights Islands," he said.

It was a fulfilling experience for the rescuers.

"To get so close to this beautiful mammal and be part of its rescue was a really positive thing. It was a great fun thing to do," Mr Jongejans said.

The adult dolphin had been on dry land for an hour and 40 minutes before being released back to the ocean, but water was poured over it throughout that period.

"Obviously there was a level of distress there," Mr Jongejans said.

The common dolphin normally swims in pods of up to 100 and more and is rarely seen alone.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)