Pasco Deputies Aid Struggling Newborn Dolphin: Watch

PASCO COUNTY, FL — Pasco County authorities came to the rescue of a newborn dolphin last week when an off-duty officer spotted him struggling off the coast of Hudson.

Last week, the off-duty deputy was fishing when he spotted the calf swimming in circles and struggling to reach the surface for air.

According to authorities, the calf was only "days or hours old."

Staff and volunteers with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and representatives of the Marine Mammal Protection staff met up with the deputy and evaluated the abandoned dolphin calf.

Since a rough-toothed dolphin rescued in February was still being evaluated in the medical pool at the nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium Fred Howard Park facility in Tarpon Springs, the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opted to have the dolphin calf transported to SeaWorld’s critical care center for rehabilitation in Orlando where the little dolphin "showing signs of improvement and swimming on his own," critical care staff said.

Stranding responses are conducted under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Section 112c Stranding Agreement between Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the NMFS Southeast Region.