Volunteers in Russia's Krasnodar region have rescued three endangered Black Sea bottlenose dolphins from fishing nets. The female and two males got stuck in search of fish and were unable to escape unassisted.
The volunteers from the Dolphin Rescue Center 'Delfa' were able to help the three animals after they were trapped for approximately six hours. Footage showed that the dolphins were squeaking in distress. A calf, presumably the child of the female dolphin, was also seen circling the net.
"The largest bottlenose dolphin was constantly hovering near the surface in one place and squeaking," Delfa staff told Krasnodar-based newspaper Yuga. "The other two dolphins were also very visibly nervous."
According to the experts, the fishnets are not particularly dangerous because there is plenty of room to breathe, but dolphins often panic when they can't find a way out. Once in distress, they may make poor decisions, and get their fins entangled in the net.
After receiving the report, Delfa contacted the border guards, who in turn reached out to the owner of the net.
"We once again contacted the Border Guard, where we were told that the owner had no intention of taking any action to release, because from his point of view, the dolphins were just feeding on his fish," a statement posted on the Delfa Center Instagram said.
The rescuers then took the matter into their own hands, freeing the mammals.
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