An 11-foot, 900-pound bottlenose dolphin leapt into a small fishing boat in New Zealand, nearly crushing the three men on board. Dean Harrison told NBC News that he and two friends were fishing off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island when the dolphin seemed to fall from the sky. The dolphin was just as surprised as the fishermen were. It thrashed around, breaking gear and damaging the boat as it tried to get out, but its large size meant the men couldn’t get the mammal back into the sea.
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After realizing they couldn’t move the dolphin on their own, the men had to figure out how to save the animal. They called conservation authorities who directed them to a boat ramp an hour away, according to Harrison’s interview with NBC. The fishermen sprayed the dolphin down continuously and covered it with wet towels to keep it wet and protected from the sun. Upon arrival at the dock, a crane lifted the dolphin out of the boat and placed it back into the ocean.
See the dolphin in a fishing boat here: