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Dolphin separated from mum rescued by tourist boat

Sara Dafydd
BBC News
Dolphin Spotting Trips A dolphin in the sea with head and top of body visible above waterDolphin Spotting Trips
The dolphin calf was spotted swimming around in shallow waters

A tourist boat off the coast of Wales has rescued a dolphin calf which had become separated from its mother and appeared unwell.

The team at Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips in New Quay, Ceredigion, spotted the two common dolphins very close to the shore of Cardigan Bay.

With the help of members of the public and a local volunteer trained by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), the team were able to save the calf.

Cardigan Bay is a special area of conservation for bottlenose dolphins but a sighting of a common dolphin is rare, according to the company who has been operating boat trips in the area for nearly 70 years.

A dolphin calf was spotted appearing unwell and needed to be rescued

A video shared on the company's Facebook page showed the calf swimming in the shallow waters at 11:30 GMT on Saturday morning.

They said in the post the calf was swimming around in very shallow water and seemed "lethargic".

A second video showed volunteers jumping into the water fully clothed in an attempt to get the dolphin to swim out to deeper waters.

They then wrapped the dolphin in a blanket and got it onto one of the company's boats.

Josh Pedley from New Quay said former colleagues at SeaMôr Dolphin Watching Boat Trips, another tourist boat firm, told him about the dolphins in Cardigan Bay.

He said he watched the dolphins for about an hour from the beach before the mother seemingly abandoned the calf.

"This coincided with a kayaker approaching the animals, perhaps coincidence, but after this, the mother was not seen again," he said.

"The tide was still due to be going out for about another two hours and the lone calf started showing some signs of distress.

"It was spending most of its time 'logging' on the surface of the water and swimming round in circles," he said.

Mr Pedley phoned BDMLR to notify them of a possible beached dolphin in the coming hours.

"They asked me to keep tabs on it and they would get back to me," he said.

Dolphin Spotting Trips Dolphin calf wrapped the dolphin in a white blanket with a palm leaves pattern on it in a boat with volunteer's hand on it Dolphin Spotting Trips
The dolphin calf was wrapped in a blanket and lifted on board

"As the tide receded, the waves increased and the calf was getting pushed ever shallower."

"I could see it was only going to be a matter of minutes away from getting beached, so I phoned BDMLR again and sought their advice on what best to do," Mr Pedley said.

He stressed the importance of seeking advice, adding sometimes "well-meaning help can actually cause more harm than good".

Mr Pedley then waded into waist-deep water to use himself as a barrier to stop the calf being pushed in too shallow.

Picture of New Quay beach in Cardigan. It's a bright day with blue skies, a hilltop can be seen in the distance on the other side of the sea. The tide is drawn out and several boats are anchored in the sand. Buoys can be seen in the sand.
Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips described the rescue as "an amazing result"

After the BDMLR team arrived they tried to shepherd the calf out into deeper water, but it kept being pushed back in by the waves.

"A plan was hatched to gain access to a boat crewed by Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips staff and to hoist the dolphin into the boat and drive it further out to sea," Mr Pedley said.

The dolphin was then re-released into the sea in deeper waters after being checked over by marine medics.

The company said the calf had not been spotted since, and hopes "no news is good news".

After the rescue, Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips said on social media: "An amazing result today.

"Thanks to our dedicated crew and the help and knowledge of the BDMLR trained volunteers and with help from a few passionate helpers a common dolphin calf was rescued from stranding today on the beach at Traeth Gwyn across the water from New Quay main beach."