Incredible footage of a dolphin in distress appears to show the mammal asking for help from divers in Hawaii.
A group of divers on a night swim off Kona on January 11 were watching manta rays feeding on plankton when they were approached by a bottlenose dolphin entangled with a fishing line between its mouth and left pectoral fin.
The dolphin, which appeared to have its movement restricted by the line, swims up to one of the dive instructors with the group, who cuts the dolphin free from the line.
The woman who shot the footage, Martina Wing, was certain the dolphin approached the group for assistance.
"The animal clearly asks for help. The dolphin stayed for about seven-eight minutes," she told nzherald.co.nz.
"We have not seen the dolphin again since then, but because the restriction between its mouth and pectoral fin was removed (the dolphin couldn't move its head to the right), I believe it will be okay.
"The rescue team were professional divers that have thousands of hours under water at this location. We have helped Manta Rays with entanglement and removing fish hooks many times, so when the dolphin showed its need, the rescuer knew exactly what to do."
- nzherald.co.nz