Baby dolphin bitten by shark off the Texas coast, wounds being treated in Galveston

The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network has a new dolphin patient at their Galveston rehab center. The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network has a new dolphin patient at their Galveston rehab center. Photo: Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network Photo: Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Baby dolphin bitten by shark off the Texas coast, wounds being treated in Galveston 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

An injured baby dolphin was found stranded Sunday in the shallow bays of Port O'Connor.

But it was discovered by a fisherman, who then called experts with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Now, it's being cared for at a marine mammal rehabilitation center in Galveston.

Once the group arrived on site, workers moved the dolphin into a boat and then to the rehab center in Galveston.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Need proof of how rare shark attacks are? Here's every Texas shark attack since 1865

The group named the dolphin "Baby Russ" after the fisherman who stayed in the water for hours providing aid until crews got to the site.

"He is underweight and has likely been separated from his mom and unable to eat for some time," the group said in a statement. "He has numerous wounds covering his body, some of which are shark bites."

The 6-month-old mammal is now bottle-fed by volunteers every several hours.

Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a non-profit organization that relies on donations to succeed, has been been conducting dolphin research in Texas since 1980.

Anyone wishing to donate towards the care of this dolphin and others can visit www.DolphinRescue.org.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a donation campaign on gofundme.com has raised $1,785 towards a $2,500 goal.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com| Sign up for breaking news alerts