Authorities attempt to rescue dolphin caught in rope
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Rescue workers from a half-a-dozen marine organizations attempted to rescue an entangled dolphin in the Banana River on Tuesday.
For over a month now, the young calf has been spotted dragging a long rope that's wedged in it's mouth, and there is concern it could end up harming or killing the animal if it isn't disentangled.
When rescuers located the calf with its mother, they began unloading a large net into the water as they encircled the dolphins. But when the mother realized what was happening, rescuers say she charged the net as hard as she could.
For a moment, both the mother and the entangled calf could be seen thrashing around in the net. But rescuers say before they could put their hands on the dolphins, the mother began spinning, which wrapped the net around her but left a gap for the young calf to escape.
Rescuers decided to release the mother, so that she could be reunited with her calf but not before tagging her with a locator device. They hope to make a second attempt at a later date.