Over the weekend, fishermen in San Crisanto found a beached dolphin stranded on Yucatán’s sandy shores.
The good samaritans used a large plastic tarp to help them lift the aquatic mammal and get it back home.
The bottlenose dolphin who was nicknamed “Flippy” by one of its rescuers had apparently been beached for approximately two hours before it was freed.
Video of the rescue was captured by one of the fishermen who can be heard speaking to the dolphin and reassuring it with gentle gestures and pats.
Even once back in the water, the dolphin showed no signs of wanting to break free right away, perhaps because it was still stunned from its ordeal, or a sign of gratitude to its rescuers.
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After Flippy had returned to the ocean and swam away, one of the fishermen on the video recording can be heard saying, “Oh, there they are, Flippy’s friends” as he gestures out into the water.
Dolphin sightings are fairly common along Yucatán’s coast but the creatures rarely venture close enough to the shore to reveal more than their fin or tail.
Earlier this year another bottlenose dolphin was found on the shores of Progreso but had unfortunately passed away before it could be rescued.
Dolphins are known to accidentally beach themselves when venturing into shallow waters, particularly during rough weather.
