Dolphin stuck in South Jersey creek dies during rescue attempt

A bottlenose dolphin that was stranded in a South Jersey creek died Friday during the second rescue attempt, officials announced.

The dolphin had been swimming around the Skeeter Island Creek in Cape May County for over a week.

Back on Saturday, officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center were called to help rescue the animal but were unsuccessful with the first attempt.

The Stranding Center said that on Friday morning, a team went back to the scene to help the dolphin. After the less-invasive tactics failed the first time, they made the decision to attempt an in-water capture.

Officials said a net was deployed around the dolphin and brought toward the shore, but unfortunately, once inside the net, the dolphin immediately panicked and died within two minutes.

"Our entire team is deeply saddened about this outcome. Out of habitat cetaceans are the most difficult scenario in marine mammal rescue," the Stranding Center shared in a social media post. "As animals that live in the open ocean, this type of habitat is foreign to them and causes immense stress, making the chances of rescue and survival slim."

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The center believes that the dolphin likely ended up in the creek from the Delaware Bay while chasing food.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said this is not the first dolphin reported in the same section of the creek. Back in 2016, a bottlenose dolphin was rescued from the creek and successfully returned to the bay.