Editor's note: Sherry Grant, director of HSI Asia, is part of a small team traveling to the major areas devastated by the tsunami on December 26. She has agreed to write a journal of her trip for readers looking for first-hand information about animals affected by the natural disaster, one of the worst in recorded history. Click here if you'd like to support our disaster efforts in South Asia.

Phuket, Thailand, Monday, Jan. 3—We arrived in Khao Lak at the site where the two dolphins had stranded. I met up with Jim Styers and Jeff Foster, both of the Myanmar Dolphin Project. We developed a plan of attack with the Greek Fire and Rescue Team and Edwin Wiek from SOS Wildlife Rescue Center. Everything appeared set to save these two Indian-Pacific humpback dolphins.

Jim and a small local team got into a rubber dinghy and surveyed the lake to determine the best place to drop the nets. The HSI team was sidelined when the boat brought for us had a hole in it. But that was not the stumbling block—that began when a group of local fishermen came with a net and a boat.

At first, we thought this was the net that we had spoke about to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. But it was not. It was a local fisherman who launched his own boat, ignoring everyone's pleas to work with the team. Determined, he and the group launched the boat, and they started to set the net. Minutes later, a green-and-white helicopter appeared, the minister's helicopter, so we thought he was coming to have a look at the rescue. But it was the Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who stopped our efforts and informed us that indeed the Thai fishermen will do the rescue. They are the experts, the secretary told us, this is their region.

We all sat around and watched them put the net out, from which the dolphins easily escaped. We were all curious to see if this would ultimately succeed without our help. Some locals were getting concerned that the Thai fishermen were loosing face and that perhaps we should help them. It was clear the fishermen had not planned what they were going to do, so we struck a compromise: The fishermen would be responsible for driving the dolphins into the netted catch area and rounding up the animals, then the Myanmar team and Greek Fire and Rescue Team would help take the dolphins from the water and transport them to the ocean.

As luck would have it, the dolphins swam where they were supposed to. What was once a feeling of disappointment turned quickly into hope. We all went into action preparing what was needed on shore: slings, water, towels, tube and funnel for intubation, antibiotics, and fresh water for hydration. For two hours, we all stood on the shore anticipating the final stage of the rescue; it literally took that long to close in the nets because there was so much debris—mostly tree stumps and bushes that were growing indigenously before being buried under many feet of water by the tsunami. While we were waiting, two more helicopters arrived, one carrying the actual Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who came to cheer on the rescue.

As the teams pulled the nets on shore, closing in on the dolphins, the Greek team deployed its divers to make sure the nets didn't get hung up on the debris. The visibility was zero as this area was slowly turning into a cesspool. To make matters worse, yesterday we had pulled several bodies from the lagoon, so there was concern about even more bodies, not to mention contaminated water which could cause problems for the divers.

Then the unthinkable happened: The dolphins did not come up anymore. Some were concerned that they had died from stress, though Styers and Foster suspected that these clever mammals escaped or were stuck in the net. The minister was getting anxious that the dolphins hadn’t surfaced and wanted to get professional help. I gently reminded him that two of the most respected dolphin experts in the world were right here on the sidelines watching.

We were soon interrupted when someone yelled from the other end of the lagoon that they saw dorsal fins. One of the dinghys rushed to the other end and confirmed that the two dolphins were indeed free and fine. There was a mix of relief and disappointment, and the minister called on the bullhorn to pull in the nets. We all held our breath as to what else may be in those nets. Hours before, we had found two bodies, a woman and a baby. We were all quietly hoping it was not going to be another dreadful catch. Mercifully, the only victims in this net were garbage and lots of branches and twigs.

Upset that the animals were still in the makeshift lagoon, the minister called the members of the Greek team to the shore and asked them if tomorrow they could initiate our initial plan from this morning. The Greeks, not happy about the abrupt change in plans during the rescue, initially balked at the minister's request, but agreed to give it another try under two conditions: that they deal with only one person and that the rescuers had the authority to make the final decisions. The minister agreed.

Styers and Foster then laid out to the minister the only two options that were likely going to work in this case. Styers said they will either have to dredge (or somehow remove) all of the debris in the designated area where we are working or cut a drain and start draining the lagoon to an adjacent catch area. Either choice, Styers said, was going to take a few days to accomplish.

In the end, the minister said he would support Styers' ideas and talk to the engineers to get their opinions on what they could do toward this effort. The minister then asked Styers to stay on, but the dolphin expert said he had to move on—a survey expedition team was already waiting for him. I knew that Jim had delayed his expedition not only because it was the right thing to do, but because of his friendship with The HSUS's Andrew Rowan and HSI Executive Director Neil Trent.

Everyone left today with the understanding that nothing would happen until one of the two options had been completed. Styers and Foster said the dolphins should be fine for up to 20 days; there was probably fish in the lagoon because there were dried fish all over, and the dolphins were in good shape.

As of late tonight, there was still no word on what the minister's office and the engineers decided.

Stay tuned.

Click here if you'd like to support our disaster efforts in South Asia.