Southeast Florida anglers could seem some new faces working the waters. Three rough-toothed dolphins--the only survivors of a group stranded last summer that have been rehabilitating at Mote’s--returned to the wild on Thursday.

The mass stranding at Hutchinson Island near Fort Pierce received national attention after the group came ashore last Aug. 6. Seven dolphins---five adult males, an adult female and a juvenile male were deemed most likely to survive. They were stabilized at Harbor Branch and then trucked to Mote in Sarasota.

Four dolphins died during treatment, but three nicknamed Bashful, Sneezy and Sleepy survived. Biologists trucked the animals back to Fort Pierce Inlet Thursday where they were loaded on a Twin Vee boat donated by David East and released about 25 miles offshore. Harbor Branch, the U.S. Coast Guard, Hubbs-Sea World and the Fort Pierce Sheriff’s Office were among the agencies organizing and providing logistical support for the release.

Rehabilitated dolphins are often released near the same area where they initially stranded. Rough-toothed dolphins, Stenobredanensis, are a highly sociable deep-water dolphin species found in temperate ocean waters worldwide. The key to this release is that all three dolphins were let go at the same time so they could stay together.