NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WJAR) — A beachgoer jumped into action at Narragansett Town Beach after a marine mammal became stranded in shallow water along the shore.
Video captured the moment Stephen Melidossian grabbed the animal by its tail and helped guide it toward deeper water as a crowd gathered along the beach.
NBC 10 is working to confirm whether the animal was a dolphin or a porpoise.
Melidossian said he first noticed the animal while his son was surfing. He said it swam past his son before becoming stranded in the shallow water.
“I just reached under the belly and grabbed under the tail and tried to point it in the right direction back out to sea, but it was really shallow so he needed some pushing and convincing to go in the right direction,” Melidossian said.
The video shows Melidossian helping maneuver the animal until it was able to swim back out to sea.
The encounter came just days after Narragansett Town Beach was temporarily closed to swimming because of a shark sighting.
Three lifeguards spotted the shark in the water, prompting officials to order beachgoers out of the ocean.
Officials have not said what kind of shark was spotted.