A young male dolphin has been returned to the sea after being stranded near Swansea on Monday.
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After receiving a report to the Whale Hotline, officers from the Marine Conservation Program and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services went to further inspect the situation.
Officers were unable to attempt an on-site refloat due to unsuitable sea conditions so the bottlenose dolphin was trailered to Coles Bay.
In a Facebook post the Marine Conservation Program said after a period of exercise in calm shallow water, the dolphin was transferred to a Parks and Wildlife vessel for release into deeper water.
The dolphin responded well to being in deeper water and was last seen swimming “strongly”.
“This fantastic result was aided by an early discovery, cool and overcast conditions and an apparently healthy animal,” the post said.
“Given the good condition of the dolphin, we suspect this stranding was simply the result of misadventure in difficult sea conditions.”
If you see a stranded, injured or entangled marine mammal, contact the Whale Hotline on 0427WHALES (0427 942 537).
