Dolphin In New Jersey River Dies

A dolphin that strayed into a New Jersey river died Saturday after rescue teams tried to save the animal, a marine rescue group said.

The dolphin was spotted in the river Wednesday, and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center tried using a boat to coax the animal to swim toward the Raritan Bay.

The center said the dolphin swan to the bay Saturday morning and then swam into a shallow area. When a team arrived, the animal was having seizures and struggling to breathe, according to nj.com.

“Despite their efforts to float the animal, it had no energy left to swim, and so they carried it back to our dolphin transport truck, where it died,” the group said on nj.com.

The dolphin was older and weighed about 400 pounds and was emaciated. “Thank you to all who have followed and supported our efforts,” the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said in the report. “We wish it could have been a happier ending, but hope that people are now more aware of the diversity and fragility of marine life in our state.”

The dolphin, which was spotted in the South River in Old Bridge in Middlesex County, was being monitored by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, who hoped to bring it back out to the open water with the high tide, according to NBC Philadelphia.