Young dolphin dies despite rescue efforts of Pacific Beach lifeguards, SeaWorld team

A juvenile dolphin that repeatedly beached itself Monday evening in Pacific Beach later died, despite the rescue efforts of San Diego lifeguards and a SeaWorld rescue team.

The dolphin, which lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum said was not a baby, but not yet a full-grown adult, first beached itself around 4:30 p.m. Monday just south of the main Pacific Beach lifeguard tower at the end of Grand Avenue.

Lifeguards spent about an hour trying to steer the dolphin back into deeper water, but it went straight back to the beach each time, Lerum said Monday. The lifeguards noticed that the animal had blood near its rostrum, or nose.

After being unable to get the dolphin back to deeper water, where witnesses reported a pod of the animals had been spotted earlier, a SeaWorld rescue team arrived, Lerum said.

Lifeguards helped the SeaWorld team load the creature into a canvas carrier designed for moving dolphins and other sea creatures, and then the dolphin was lifted into a transport truck designed for such rescues.

But the dolphin did not survive; it died Monday evening after the rescue team picked it up for transport.

It was unclear what ailed the dolphin, and no other details of the incident were available Tuesday.