Baby bottlenose dolphin freed after becoming stranded at Coffs Harbour

Proving that not all news is bleak, a baby bottlenose dolphin that became stranded in northern NSW this morning has been rescued and brought to safety.

The one-year-old animal was found trapped near Coffs Harbour Jetty before 6am on Wednesday when concerned bystanders sounded the alarm and notified wildlife authorities.

Believed to have been "sheltering itself" from the treacherous weather that's been hammering Australia's east coast, the little dolphin was able to swim its way into the marina, but couldn't find its way out.

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"We had a call this morning about 6am from a member of the public that was walking down near the marina," Duane March from NSW Parks and Wildlife said.

"They saw a dolphin stranded, called NSW National Parks and then they coordinated the response with ORCA and Dolphin Marine Conservation park."

Although tired, the animal was believed to be in good health.

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"The animal was in pretty good condition, it did have a few spots and dots that weren't normal... not great, and we've taken some samples to look into how significant they may be," March said.

"The Marine Estate Management strategy will be able to fund some of the disease work and look at the health of this animal."

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The animal, weighing in at 50 kilos, was then taken around to nearby Gallows Beach for release.

The update is the latest in a string of happy animal stories making headlines today, after a baby Asian elephant was born at Melbourne Zoo this morning – becoming the first to be bred naturally at the park – and hilarious footage emerged of a Kenyan journalist's interaction with a cheeky elephant.