A dolphin remained stranded in a New Jersey river for a second day, despite rescuers' efforts to coax it into deeper water Thursday.

The dolphin was first spotted Wednesday in the South River, near Old Matawan Road, in Old Bridge. Shelia Dean of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said Wednesday they hoped it would go back into the ocean with the high tide.

When the dolphin remained for a second day, workers from the Raritan Riverkeeper organization went into the water with a baykeeper boat to try to gently push and guide the dolphin down the river.

They wanted to "discourage the animal from sticking around the area and try to encourage him to move to deeper water, a little bit closer to the ocean," said Jay Pagel of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

But the dolphin totally ignored the efforts. For the community, it meant another day of dolphin-watching.

Hundreds of people came and went through the course of the day to watch the apparently healthy dolphin swim in the narrow section of the South River. For onlookers, it was a delight to watch a dophin in the suburban community roughly 10 miles from the ocean.

"I like dolphins and I like looking at them," said young Giuliani Bonomo.

"We've got skunks, we've got deer, we've got raccoons, we've got dogs -- but never a dolphin," said Kelli Bonomo.