pstrongNBC News of Southern California/strong/p
pVikki Vargas reports from Bolsa Chica Wetlands for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on April 30, 2012./p
blockquotep”People think they’re happy, happy dolphins … but they do have a dark side. They have conflicts just like we do,” says said veteran sea mammal wrangler Peter Wallerstein of the El Segundo-based nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue group. Rescuers believe a dolphin that made its way into the Bolsa Chica Wetlands is staying put because a group of its own are bullying it. /p/blockquote
pstrongMoving Dolphin From Bolsa Chica Wetlands to Ocean “Could Be Death Blow”/strong/p
pBy Janet Kwak and Jason Kandel | Monday, Apr 30, 2012 /p
pThe dolphin that’s been calling the Bolsa Chica Wetlands home for the last five days may be choosing to stay in its comfy coastal cul-de-sac./p
pAfter watching a dolphin in the shallows of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve get bullied by dolphins in the Huntington Harbour Saturday, wildlife experts were monintoring the animal Monday and not trying to prod it into the ocean unless its health deteriorates.br /
Wildlife experts believe the dolphin knows how to get out, but it’s choosing to stay./p
p”We’ve got monitors 24-7,” said veteran sea mammal wrangler Peter Wallerstein of the El Segundo-based nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue group. “We’re not going to abandon this dolphin by any means./p
p”The last thing we want to do is force it into a confrontation.”/p
pThe image of dolphin bullies is not wholly in line with people’s usualy conception of the creatures, Wallerstein said./p
p”People think they are happy loving animals but they have a dark side and can be aggressive with each other,” he said./p
pRescuers are taking a hands-off approach, citing that the dolphin has plenty of fish to eat in the area where it’s stranded./p
p”There’s no reason to do anything prematurely,” Wallerstein said. “Its breathing rate is good.”/p
pMarine mammal experts were able to get the nearly 7-footer under the Warner Avenue overpass into deeper water in Huntington Harbour Saturday, where some other dolphins apparently bullied it and it retreated back into the lagoon./p