A bottlenose dolphin that found itself stranded in a creek in Cape May County, New Jersey, has died during a rescue attempt, officials reported Friday. The dolphin, which was initially spotted swimming in Skeeter Island Creek over a week ago, could not be saved despite efforts by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. After the less-invasive techniques employed in the first attempt failed to free the creature, the unfortunate mammal panicked inside a net during a second, more direct rescue operation and died shortly thereafter.

According to a report by FOX 29, the team from the Stranding Center had been monitoring the dolphin's condition throughout the week and had called in additional equipment for the rescue. Despite being able to net the dolphin and attempting to transport it to shore on Friday, the stress was too much for the animal, which expired within two minutes of being captured.

Officials believe the hospitable creek, which connected to the Delaware Bay, may have lured the dolphin while it was chasing prey, as suggested by a statement obtained by NBC Philadelphia. This incident is not the first of its kind in the area; a similar rescue operation was conducted successfully back in 2016 when another bottlenose dolphin was saved from the same section of the creek and returned to the bay.

The Stranding Center's staff, dealing with the loss of the dolphin, stated on social media: "Our entire team is deeply saddened about this outcome." Further expanding on the difficulty of such rescues, they shared, "Out of habitat cetaceans are the most difficult scenario in marine mammal rescue." The statement was echoed by 6abc which obtained the social media post saying, "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."

The deceased dolphin has been sent to the New Jersey Animal Health and Diagnostic Lab for a necropsy to understand the exact cause of death. As the local community and the responders mourn alongside the wildlife advocates, the incident raises familiar and persistent questions about human intervention in marine ecosystems and the challenges faced by stranded marine life.