Heartbreaking: Dolphin Trapped in New Jersey Creek Died During Rescue Mission

This is not the ending we were hoping for in this complicated rescue mission.

Last week on May 16, wildlife authorities were called to Skeeter Island Creek in Cape May Court House when a young bottlenose dolphin was discovered stranded in the shallow waters. Experts say that the dolphin likely lost its way from Delaware Bay while it was chasing prey.

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In the following days, The Marine Mammal Stranding Center of Brigantine monitored the distressed dolphin multiple times on a daily basis while they formulated a plan to get the dolphin back to safety.

On the following Saturday on May 18, teams tried to encourage the dolphin to move out of the area by flanking it with a pair of two boats, but the roughly 7-foot-long dolphin wouldn't move.

Time was of the essence since there was limited food supply in the creek, and the dolphin likely became increasingly distressed in the small space.

Then this morning (May 24), The Marine Mammal Stranding Center employed three boats and over a dozen people to return to Skeeter Island Creek with a more risky in-water rescue plan.

This is where tragedy unfortunately struck. After the rescue team deployed a net around the dolphin, it immediately went into a state of panic and passed away within two minutes.

Needless to say, MMSC was devastated by this outcome, as they did the very best they could to save the struggling animal:

"Our entire team is deeply saddened about this outcome. Out of habitat cetaceans are the most difficult scenario in marine mammal rescue. As animals that live in the open ocean, this type of habitat is foreign to them and causes immense stress, making the chances of rescue and survival slim," their Facebook update read.

Such a sad outcome! RIP, dolphin.