A woman spotted a baby dolphin stranded in the shallows on an Irish beach and waded out to rescue the calf.
Jenni Hänninen, originally from Finland, was enjoying an afternoon horse-riding along the beach when they spotted the young calf struggling in the shallow water.
It had strayed too close to the shore and become stranded, possibly by a change in tides.
Jenni realised the baby was in real danger. If dolphins are out of the water for too long they can quickly overheat and die.
The animal lover waded out into the water, picked up the calf and walked it out to deeper water so that it could swim itself to the safety of the ocean.
Jenni told the Irish Independent about the ordeal. She said: “When I was younger I might have saved a couple of birds but nothing like this.
“I just saw the first baby dolphin at the side of the water. I didn’t know who to call or if I should call the coastguard or someone.
“So I went over to help and when I was coming back there was another one which was stranded as well. I didn’t even know they existed on the east coast.”
The dolphin survived the scare thanks to the action taken by Jenni.
However, despite her heroics, Jenni says she has no plans to leave her career in the finance industry to pursue a life of animal rescue.
The whole event was recorded by Jenni’s friend on her mobile phone and has been shared online.
Many commentators have praised Jenni for her quick thinking and hailed her a hero.
Take a look at the rescue for yourself.
Written by Andrew Moore
