A distressed common dolphin in Devon, Southwest England who got trapped in mud was rescued after a marine biologist happened to walk by.
Monty Halls spotted the distressed common dolphin while walking his dog along the Dart Estuary in Devon. Halls is a marine biologist and a BBC presenter.
It was “in a lot of stress” on its side with its blow hole in the mud, said Halls
He described the rescue as a “memory for the ages… being that close to these amazing animals”.
The Monty Halls’ Great Escape presenter said he was walking his dog at Old Mill Creek, Dartmouth, in late January when a friend spotted a pod of dolphins.
“We’re really not used to seeing them up there” so it was an “indicator that something wasn’t quite right,” he said.
They then noticed one was stranded.
“It’s a very emotive thing to see a dolphin struggling on mud flats,” he said.
Halls helped volunteers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the RNLI to free the animal – which took between two and three hours.
“It was really life-affirming to know that there are all these good people out there just standing by to help out if things get a bit tough.
“Everyone did a phenomenal job and there was that lovely final moment of just watching the animal disappear down the estuary and towards the horizon.
“I could sort of hear the crashing orchestral scores as it kind of disappeared.”
