A lost dolphin was rescued after taking a wrong turn and getting stuck in a river next to a dam in eastern Thailand.

Concerned locals noticed the marine creature splashing around near the watergate in Trat province on March 25 morning.

The 6ft-long female bottlenose dolphin was believed to have been swimming in the nearby Khao Saming river to hunt smaller fish such as anchovies but had mistakenly entered through the dam’s watergate.

Rescue teams arrived and carried the dolphin out of the river. It was driven away to a nearby marine centre and released the next day into the ocean, appearing to be healthy and strong.

Fisherman Somsak Siengpror, 65, claimed he saw two marine creatures before paddling closer as he thought they were a type of big fish.

He said: ‘I came to fish near the dam and saw the two dolphins emerging from the water to breathe. I went closer as I thought they were a type of big fish but when I realised they were dolphins I called the officials to check.’

District chief Peerawat Wangratkul together with 30 animal rescuers from the Marine and Coastal Resource Conservation Centre arrived at the scene to help the dolphin.

The team searched the area but only found one dolphin stuck in a net used to filter garbage. Veterinarians came to check on its health and found minor injuries on its nose and mouth but overall appeared healthy.

As the fisherman spotted two dolphins, the rescue team implied that there could be more dolphins that were being lost after making a wrong turn inside the dam.

The district chief said they will monitor the area closely as the water near the gate is brackish which could affect the dolphins’ health.

He said: ‘We had to rescue them as soon as possible as the water near the gate is brackish and might affect dolphins’ health.’

The dolphin was released back to the sea after a day of monitoring. The sea is around 20km away from the watergate.

Fishery official Ploynisa Buabupha said they will also assign staff in the area to help with the patrols

He said: ‘We want to help watch over the dolphins. They could have lost their olfactory nerves due to an illness that may have caused them a lack of navigation. We want to investigate this as well.’