Marine experts are putting a plan together to rescue a bottlenose dolphin that has been stuck in a South Jersey creek for days.
According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the dolphin - swimming around a creek in Middle Township, Cape May County - was first reported to their hotline on Thursday.
Since then, the center said they have been checking in on the animal multiple times a day.
On Saturday, a team from the center was out on boats trying to encourage the dolphin to move out, but they were unsuccessful, the center said. Now a team is working on a different plan of action.
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"Another rescue attempt has been planned to occur by the end of this week," the center said in a social media post. "In the meantime, we will not be sharing specific details about the proposed rescue plans and specific timeline as we do not want unauthorized people to interfere with the rescue efforts or make any attempts to move the animal on their own, as that will put the dolphin and people at risk."
The center believes that the dolphin likely ended up in the creek from the Delaware Bay while chasing food.
"We are reminding the public that dolphins are Federally-protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Please do not attempt to approach the dolphin as that will only further increase the stress on the animal and hamper rescue efforts," the center said. "We are very appreciative of the local residents and officials who have been assisting MMSC."
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.
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