A dolphin that washed up on a beach in Far Rockaway, Queens has died.
The 5-foot female was spotted around 9:30 a.m. Friday near Beach 19th Street in Far Rockaway. Police responded to the scene and were splashing water on the dolphin to keep it alive until marine experts arrived. Dolphins are mammals and breathe air but need to remain moist.
Members of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation removed the dolphin at about 12:40 p.m.
They took it to their Long Island facility for treatment, but the dolphin died upon arrival. A spokesman for the Riverhead foundation says the mammal appeared to have been sick for a while before she was beached.
Copyright The Associated Press