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A pod of dolphins helped a rescue crew successfully locate a man stranded in the waters of the Irish coast after nearly 12 hours.
BBC.com reports the man was rescued after RNLI volunteers spotted him among the dolphins -- later identified as bottlenose dolphins by conservationists -- in the sea near Castlegregory in County Kerry.
The rescue mission began when the swimmer's clothes were spotted lying on the beach, with RNLI and coastguard teams continuing the mission into Sunday (August 29) night.
"At 20:30 [or 8:30 p.m.], the volunteer lifeboat crew with Fenit RNLI spotted a pod of dolphins and a head above the water about two-and-a-half miles off Castlegregory beach," RNLI said via BBC.com. "The casualty was conscious and immediately recovered onto the lifeboat and brought Fenit Harbour to be taken to hospital."
The population of Bottlenose dolphins typically feed and breed in Scotland's Moray Firth and have been spotted off the Irish coast since 2019, according to BBC.com.
The dolphins involved in Sunday's rescue mission were identified by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
Scientists and conversationists use shape and markings on the dolphin's dorsal fins to properly identify the species.
A dolphin known to scientists as 'Spirtle' was included by the wayward Scottish group after surviving an incident in which she was badly sunburned while stranded on mudflats in the Cromarty Firth in 2016.
The dolphin was once again spotted at the Moray Firth with her new-born calf last month.