Live dolphin washes ashore at W. Gilgo Beach

A live dolphin came ashore at West Gilgo Beach in Babylon about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, officials said, and mammal rescue specialists were alerted to try to aid the stranded animal.

"The dolphin was bleeding when we put it in the truck," said Matt Wargas of the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau.

Eight rescue workers carried the mammal on a stretcher from the shore, over the dunes, to the shoulder of Ocean Parkway, said Wargas. A box truck with a lift raised the 51/2-foot animal into the vehicle.

Rob DiGiovanni, senior biologist and director of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, said a team was dispatched to the beach to transport the dolphin safely to the foundation's rescue tank in Riverhead for assessment and whatever treatment might be necessary.