A pregnant dolphin rescued from a Queensland beach has been given a second shot at life, but her baby wasn't so lucky.
The offshore bottlenose dolphin, named Sandy, was released back into the wild on the weekend, seven weeks after being found on the shores of Moreton Island.
Members of the public had tried but failed to refloat her, and she's been under the watchful eye of vets at Sea World on the Gold Coast ever since.
Sandy was pregnant when she was found but miscarried during her stay at the theme park. Carers think her pregnancy may have played a role in her stranding.
Sea World's marine sciences director Trevor Long says it is rare to find a stranded offshore bottlenose dolphin, and the animal's successful release at Cape Moreton was a special moment.
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"These animals are a dolphin that live more in the offshore situations and in our 40 years here we've never had a stranding of an offshore before," Mr Long said.
"It did present a unique situation."
Mr Long said he was confident Sandy would rediscover her pod and she had swam off "strongly" after her release.
A rehabilitated green turtle and black-tip reef shark were also released.
