This is the amazing moment a hero builder saved a stranded dolphin when it had became stuck after it whistled to him for help.
Leon De Sola Pinto turned up to his building site on the banks of Helford River in Cornwall on August 10 and heard clicks coming from the river.
Footage shows the dolphin stuck on a riverbed three miles from the nearest sea, calling and whistling to Leon for help.
Leon De Sola Pinto, pictured, turned up to his building site on the banks of Helford River in Cornwall on August 10 and heard clicks coming from the river
The 33-year-old construction company owner heard the stranded dolphin when it had became stuck after it whistled to him for help
Leon, left, approached the shallow bogs at the edge of the water and stayed with the marine mammal until help arrived
The 33-year-old construction company owner approached the shallow bogs at the edge of the water to help the two-metre-long marine mammal.
Leon, from Heston, Cornwall, tried to turn the distressed dolphin around and out into deeper waters before realising it wouldn’t know its way out of the estuary.
He stayed with the anxious animal, who he named Oscar, for more than three hours and filmed himself trying to calm the creature down as it ‘gasped for air’.
The dolphin, he named Oscar, was kept cool as the team poured water on it and covered it with a sheet so it wouldn’t dry out
Leon said the animal pressed up against his leg so he could hear its heart beating as he stayed with it to keep it calm while help arrived
He phoned British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) who sent volunteers down to Mawgan Creek to rescue the animal.
One volunteer says to the dolphin, ‘oh baby, you did so well,’ as they pour water on it and cover it with a sheet so it doesn’t dry out.
A boat was sourced from local Rod Thomas and the team of rescuers rolled the dolphin onto a tarpaulin and lifted it into the vessel.
After a five hour rescue mission the dolphin was placed back into open sea at Fal Bay before swimming off.
Leon said: ‘When I saw the footage of the dolphin swimming off it felt really good. I was so glad it had a happy ending.
‘It was doing a lot more breathing than they’re meant to and gasping for air. I assume he had only got trapped there overnight, maybe in a pool.
A boat was sourced and the team of rescuers rolled the dolphin onto a tarpaulin and lifted it into the vessel
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) came to rescue the animal and cooled it down with water while it lay on the tarpaulin
The rescue effort took five hours to rescue the animal from Mawgan Creek and loaded it on to the boat to take it back to sea
‘I got into the water waist deep to try and push the dolphin out to deeper water. It was at that point that I realised it probably wouldn’t end well.
‘It kept rolling on to its side and didn’t seem to have much strength.
‘I just stood there with the dolphin, it wasn’t trying to get away. It was pressed up against my leg so I could feel underneath it and feel its heart racing.
‘Its breathing did calm a bit and you could feel a bit more life in it but we decided to wait for the professionals by then.
Rescuers on the boat supported the dolphin with a stretcher for a few minutes to make sure before it was let go and then Oscar was released
The boat left the banks of the Helford River and headed to open sea at Fal Bay before the animal was released
Dan Jarvis, Welfare Development and Field Support Officer for BDMLR, was on the boat that took the dolphin back out to sea.
He said: ‘The area is well known as a stranding trap for dolphins with many tidal muddy creeks.
‘Obviously it’s getting lost in the tidal creek was the main reason it had stranded in the first place in this case, and with high tide having just peaked releasing it back into the creek was not an option.
‘Encouragingly, it quickly showed signs of wanting to swim, and was supported for just a few minutes to be sure before the stretcher was let go and the dolphin released.’
