Old Bridge Residents Line South River To Catch Glimpse Of Visiting Dolphin

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Onlookers spent hours huddled on a bridge, cell phones in hand, hoping to catch a glimpse of the dolphin who has made Old Bridge, New Jersey home.

"It keeps coming up, you'll see him right in this area, or she, it's really pretty. It's beautiful to see," Veronica Lonseth told CBS2's Tracee Carrasco.

"I've never seen a dolphin up close, unless you count Sea World in Florida," Nick Andre said.

A portion of the South River is connected to the Raritan River, which flows into the Raritan Bay -- which is where it's believed the dolphin came from. But many are wondering why.

"It's lost," one person offered.

"It came to visit us. We're good people in Old Bridge," another added.

Bill Shultz, a volunteer with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the organization brought in to take care of the dolphin, believes it came to eat.

"More than likely this animal has followed some bait fish," he said.

Schultz said the dolphin has been in fresh water since Sunday, and is getting pretty comfortable, despite being stuck in a 10 to 12-foot deep pool of water.

"He's confined by the tide level to this pool, however at the same time a lot of the bait fish are also confined to the pool, so he's basically sitting in dolphin restaurant," Schultz said.

Police have cleared the bridge to secure the area. Rescuers said the dolphin is not in any distress. They're hoping it swims out on its own before they take any further action.