Miracle Dolphin Is Sunburnt But Swimming Strong Thanks To Her Saviours

Sometimes we make our most important decisions when we are least expecting it. I t was an average Sunday in May when Lorraine Culloch and her partner, Mike Roberts, were returning home from a trip photographing orcas in Aberdeen, Scotland, reports The Dodo.But they took a wrong turn and caught sight of something very out-of-the-ordinary in a river inlet: a dolphin washed up in the shallow water. Like many other dolphins, she was probably looking for food on the shore when she ran into trouble.

^{Source: @Lorraine Culloch}

The concerned couple feared for the dolphin's life. Her skin was blistered all over from being out of the water in the sun, and she was clearly struggling to survive.With the help of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the SSPCA, the rescue operation began. They covered the bottlenose dolphin with towels to keep her skin from drying out in the waters at low tide. And according to Culloch, the dolphin was the perfect patient.

The dolphin seemed aware that we were there to help. She was very calm the whole time. 

^{Source: @ScottishMarineAnimalStrandingsScheme}

They had to wait over 10 hours before the tide came in and the dolphin could return to sea. But finally, she was lifted into the waters and began swimming out to sea.They were fearful that her severe sunburn would make it just too dangerous for her to return to sea, but made the difficult decision to send her back. Culloch remembers:

She was swimming strong. That was a good sign. 

^{Source: @Lorraine Culloch}

A good sign of things to come: this very same dolphin was just recently spotted happily swimming out at sea.The Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit wrote in a recent Facebook post about the good news, announcing that she "has been confirmed alive by our colleagues at Aberdeen University this week!"

^{Source: @CetaceanResearch&RescueUnit}

However, she will always carry the scars of her terrifying experience:

The damage to her skin is severe, but she IS alive and we will be keeping a close eye on her well-being in the months to come. 

In fact, it's all thanks to the quick reactions of her selfless saviours that this dolphin is still swimmingtoday.Find out how you can help the Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit continue savingliveshere.

^{H/t: @TheDodo}