Update: Video: Dolphin Rescue Called Off

Saturday midday update:

That dolphin in Orange County can only blame his own shyness for this.
Marine biologists report the dolphin took advantage of high tide at 11 o'clock
and swam out into open water. That's where he immediately encountered two other dolphins. The supposedly-stranded dolphin turned around and swam back under Warner Avenue into the tidal lagoon where he attracted attention to begin with.

Biologists were in the water when the wayward dolphin decided to high-tail it
back to his ``happy place.'' The scientists say the dolphin looked like he was
scared.

Original story:

Workers seeking to help a stranded dolphin in the shallow waters of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands decided to back off Friday afternoon, hoping a high tide Saturday morning will enable it to return to open
water.

"We decided it's a healthy, adult animal, and it's not needed for us to intervene right now,'' said Peter Wallerstein of the Marine Animal Rescue organization.

Rescue workers got into the water this morning to "gauge responsiveness, how it reacts to us, how much strength it has,'' Wallerstein said.

"We're going to back off and wait for the tide to come in the morning,'' Wallerstein said this afternoon, adding the hope is that the dolphin found a way in, so it will likely find its way out.

The dolphin was apparently previously swimming with five other dolphins in Huntington Harbor, according to Kelli Lewis of the Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.

"It is most likely that this pod was after schooling fish when they entered the harbor,'' said Dean Gomersall, an animal care supervisor at the mammal center.

During high tide today, the one dolphin got through the Warner bridge underpass into the shallower waters and became separated, Lewis said. The state's Fish and Game Department, which manages the wetlands, called for help from the mammal center and the El Segundo-based nonprofit organization, Marine Animal Rescue.

The dolphin likely followed some fish into a ``dead-end area'' of the wetlands near Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, Wallerstein said.  If the tide does not help the dolphin return to the ocean, "Plan B'' is for the rescue workers to get back into the water and try to either guide the dolphin out or trap it and put it back into deeper waters, Wallerstein said.

As for curious onlookers, Wallerstein urged them to stay away.

"We just want people to be smart. If they go and observe, be quiet and don't get involved or get in the water,'' Wallerstein said, adding that too much noise or activity could make the dolphin anxious. "Be smart and stay away,'' Wallerstein said.

It wasn't immediately clear how the dolphin wound up in the shallow canal, where it was spotted this morning. Apparently confused about its whereabouts, the dolphin swam repeatedly in small circles while rescue crews stood onshore.

Patch will update this story as it unfolds. City News provided the update.