BLUFFTON, S.C. – First responders are used to rescuing people and animals, but in South Carolina, they were shocked when they were called to rescue a stranded dolphin. 

The Bluffton Township Fire District said the dolphin, named “Lucky,” was found stranded in a shallow tidal lagoon inside the Hampton Lake community over the weekend.

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The female dolphin is measured at 7 feet, 10 inches, weighing between 400–500 pounds, and is known to researchers at the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB), where they track dolphins in the area. 

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Crews believe Lucky swam in the lagoon through a culvert connecting to the May River during last week’s heavy rains and high tides.

They believe once the waters receded, Lucky became trapped in shallow waters just 2–3 feet deep.

A passerby spotted the distressed mammal and contacted a neighbor who then alerted the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network. 

A rescue team was deployed from Charleston, South Carolina, including firefighters trained in water rescue. 

They were able to corral the dolphin using a specially designed marine rescue tarp with stabilizing poles. Lucky was eventually safely guided onto the tarp. 

The dolphin was released into deeper waters. 

What they’re saying:

“This was a textbook example of interagency teamwork and calm under pressure,” Lauren Rust, Executive Director of LMMN, said in a news release. “From our trained responders to the Bluffton firefighters and helpful community members, everyone played a vital role in ensuring Lucky’s safe return home.”

South Carolina narrowly missed the College Football Playoff a year ago, so perhaps Shane Beamer is biased.

Whatever the reason, Beamer said Monday that he’s in favor of further expanding the playoff beyond its current 12-team format. The CFP was at four teams from 2014-13, then went to 12 teams last year, though there remains constant chatter it could be expanded to 14 or even 16 teams in 2026 and beyond.

“I’m all for more teams getting opportunities,” Beamer said Monday during his appearance at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. “I want to make sure we have the greatest regular season in any sport in college athletics, in my opinion, because every regular season game means something. So you want to make sure that the regular season doesn’t lose meaning and confident that it won’t if we expand. It’ll still make a lot more games meaningful in the month of November in my mind, and then gives more teams opportunities to go compete for a championship, which is what anybody wants.”

South Carolina went 9-4 last season, including a victory over eventual ACC champion Clemson on the final weekend of the regular season. However, when the final CFP rankings were released in early December, the Gamecocks were No. 15, left out along with the likes of Miami and Ole Miss.

There has also been talk of expanding the SEC’s schedule from eight games to nine for 2026. Beamer said that with South Carolina’s annual rivalry game with Clemson, the Gamecocks in effect already play nine “conference-level” games per year.

As Beamer noted, only South Carolina, Florida (with Florida State), Kentucky (Louisville) and Georgia (Georgia Tech) among SEC schools play the same non-conference rival each season. Beamer said that if the SEC went to a nine-game schedule, it would have to be made equitable across the board.

“Competition is a core value of our program, so I’m never gonna shy away from competition,” Beamer said. “… We have a schedule that we get to play, but we also get to play Clemson every season as well, and that’s a nonconference rival that we have that not every school in this league has. … I know everyone is going to play a power (conference) team in the regular season typically, but in my mind, we’re already playing nine conference games. Then if we go to nine, we’re now playing 10 conference games. And then we’ve also got future schedules with Miami on it, Virginia Tech this year, North Carolina, North Carolina State.

“So I’m all for competition, but I want to make sure that the other teams in this league aren’t playing nine SEC games and then playing three … games that they should win, because that’s not very smart as the head coach of South Carolina to be doing that if that’s what the other teams in this league aren’t doing it.”

The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at July 13, 2025, results for each game: