NORTH BAY VILLAGE, FLA. (WSVN) - A helpless dolphin that got tangled in a net was rescued by police thanks to some help from quick thinking residents in North Bay Village.
Speaking with 7News in Spanish, Ahmed Raul Perez said his wife spotted the sea creature from the window of their apartment, Wednesday afternoon.
The couple being the animal lovers they are, they noticed the dolphin didn’t appear to be behaving normally and decided to take a closer look.
Perez used a drone to fly closer, which is how they saw the creature would need a helping hand.
“He wasn’t swimming right. When I looked closer, I saw he had something on his tail,” Perez said in Spanish. “His tail was underwater and his head was bobbing above the water.”
That’s when the couple called 911.
A closer look at the footage of the dolphin appears to show its tail ensnared in a net, which appeared to be giving it a lot of trouble just to stay afloat.
Perez believes it might’ve ended tragically if somebody didn’t intervene soon.
“He was sinking, he couldn’t keep floating because whatever was holding him down was heavy and it was sinking him. If the police hadn’t come, he probably would have died,” said Perez.
North Bay Village and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Units arrived to the scene in Biscayne Bay within minutes, with Perez utilizing his drone to help guide authorities to the dolphin.
“The cops were on their boats and you could only see the dolphin from above. I pointed it out with the drone and other neighbors also helped,” said Perez.
Once it was located, several members of the Marine Patrol Unit dove into the water and helped remove the netting from the dolphin’s tail.
The relieved dolphin swam back into the depths, resulting in a spectacular shot for Perez from his drone, and his own relief at seeing the animal be saved.
“I got teary eyed, super happy,” Perez said.
North Bay Village officials say the dolphin appears to be uninjured.
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