Dolphin Calf Rescued From Crab Trap By Clearwater Beach Lifeguards

CLEARWATER, FL ? A little dolphin calf is on its way to the dolphin care center in SeaWorld Orlando after being found off Clearwater tangled in rope attached to a crab trap.

On Wednesday afternoon, a member of the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department's beach lifeguard team noticed a dolphin circling the same area near Pier 60 and then saw a dark shape bobbing nearby.

When the lifeguard investigated, he found a baby dolphin tangled in the ropes of a crab trap.

With the help of fellow lifeguards, they freed the calf from the ropes just as the marine rescue team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium arrived to help.

As a large crowd gathered on the beach to watch, the rescue team attempted to reunite the baby with its mother near the pier, but, upon release, the calf kept swimming toward the shore, struggling to swim in the open water.

The team conferred with the Southeast Stranding Network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which advised the rescuers to transport the baby to the dolphin rehabilitation center at SeaWorld Orlando.

"Thank you to Clearwater law enforcement, lifeguards and the public who quickly cooperated to give the animal and our rescue team the space they needed," wrote the aquarium on its Facebook page.