Two dolphins that were stranded in shallow water were rescued by a large crew of wildlife officials, law enforcement and biologists in southwest Florida. People saw the marine animals in a shallow water lagoon, deep in the mangroves near Matlacha on Monday night. The Lee County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit and biologists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded Tuesday morning. They used shallow water boats to navigate through the mangrove canals and were able to locate the dolphins. Officials said the lagoon was only two to three feet deep at high tide and the water was too low in the trails for the animals to swim through to escape. "Biologists believe the dolphins could have been stranded since -at least- a very high tide in mid-November, or even as far back when water levels rose during Hurricane Milton in October," a Facebook post read. The rescuers were faced with the environmental and technical challenges of moving the two nine-foot dolphins through heavy mud, so more experts from places like MOTE Marine and the Clearwater Aquarium met early Wednesday morning to help. Lee County deputies also jumped into help, and both dolphins were placed on floating mats and "pulled through over 300 yards of mud and muck." "The Lee County Sheriff's Office is always willing to help out our great residents..... on land and sea," officials joked. After, they were towed by a boat to deeper waters. The animals were evaluated, tagged and released in the Matlacha Pass. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/life/animals/stranded-dolphins-rescued-southwest-florida/67-43fbe346-feba-46af-8d4f-d4b96dbfd1e5