The dolphin, believed to be a saltwater species, was first spotted swimming slowly with a visible wound on the morning of June 27 in the Ganh Hao River. The footage was captured by a boatman navigating the waters at the time.

Initial investigation by Dam Doi authorities identified the man behind the livestream as Bui Van Dam, 41, a resident of Ta An Khuong commune.

According to Mr. Dam, around midday on June 27, while casting nets on the Ganh Hao River in Ganh Hao 2 Hamlet (Hoa Tan commune, Ca Mau City), he noticed the dolphin swimming sluggishly, with a long object lodged in its back, resembling a weapon.

“I was on the river with a few friends. We maneuvered our boat to guide the dolphin toward the riverbank, then used scissors to cut through the dolphin’s skin and remove the spear,” Mr. Dam recounted.

The weapon was described as a harpoon-like object with a half-meter steel tip attached to a 2-meter-long bamboo shaft. The resulting wound on the dolphin’s back was deep and caused substantial bleeding as it swam.

Mr. Dam believes the rescued dolphin is the same one earlier seen frolicking in the Ganh Hao River, swimming upstream toward Ca Mau City, approximately 50 kilometers from the river mouth.

After freeing the dolphin, Mr. Dam and his companions guided it to deeper waters, where it was seen swimming toward the Ganh Hao estuary.

With years of experience fishing in the area, Mr. Dam described dolphins as gentle, protected creatures. He and others felt compelled to help it survive and return to the sea.

On June 27, local authorities in Hoa Tan commune had already reported the appearance of a “strange fish” weighing around 30 kilograms swimming in the Ganh Hao River, near Ganh Hao 2 Hamlet.

The injured, disoriented animal was captured on video by Nguyen Tuan Thanh, a local ferry operator, who shared the footage widely on social media, sparking interest and support from the community.

Tran Tuyen