Baby Dolphin Rescued After Washing Up on Florida Beach

Stranded animal was 'thin, lethargic,' is recovering at aquarium.

ByABC News

July 7, 2014, 2:49 PM

An Atlantic Spotted dolphin calf that was rescued off of Redington Beach, Florida on July 4, 2014 is seen in the care of handlers at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium as they work to help her regain strength.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium

 -- An exhausted baby dolphin that washed up along a Florida coast is now recovering, officials said today.

"The water was pretty choppy and the dolphin was very lethargic, very thin," Kelly Richmond of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

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Swimmers at Redington Beach on the Gulf coast spotted the animal on July 4 and alerted authorities.

Some people tried to push the dolphin back to sea -- a bad idea, Richmond said.

"That's what we don't want people to do," she said. "Usually if they're this close, it's for a reason. When they're sick, they strand themselves."

The dolphin -- a female about a couple months old -- is being treated at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Aquarium staff said she was "malnourished" and couldn't swim on her own when she was rescued. The dolphin was likely without its mother for a week. She's now undergoing rehabilitation, receiving fluids and learning to swim on her own again.