In a week where the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has dominated every news outlet,  there has been little attention paid to anything else.

However, two heart warming maritime stories did manage to make this weeks headlines.  A dolphin duo, trapped in shallow water in the Langebaan Lagoon, were rescued thanks to the joint efforts of local rescuers and bystanders.

The two dolphins were spotted by kite surfers and, with the assistance of Wildlife Rescue in Kraal Bay as well as the national Sea Rescue Institute Mykonos,  were transported to the open water near Jutton Island.

As both dolphins seemed to be in good health and swam away confidently, experts are satisfied that they will survive the ordeal.

The SPCA also made the news this week after rescuing a young seal pup spotted heading up a canal towards a local kelp processing plant.  Factory employees in the area spotted the pup and called the SPCA who transported it back to Seal Island in a dog crate.  It is suspected that the pup’s mother left the island to gather food and the unattended pup simply swam off.

SPCA inspectors Gareth Petterson and Megan Reid were confident that the seal would be reunited with its mother as each pup has a unique call, which its mother would instinctively recognise.