Dolphin Thwarts Rescue Efforts

A bottlenose dolphin escaped from a net and dragged a diver underwater today, prompting a rescue team to postpone efforts to move the stranded mammal to warmer waters until after the New Year.

Officials said they were worried about injuries to the dolphin and to divers after spending two days trying to capture the creature. They planned to resume the effort Jan. 4.

Marine experts launched the rescue effort because of fears the dolphin, which failed to migrate south for the winter, would starve to death or catch pneumonia in the chilly waters of the Broad Bay. A Coast Guard helicopter stood ready to carry the dolphin to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to join other dolphins migrating south.