Watch: Dolphin Recovers After Shark Bites Off Chunks Of Body Flesh

A bottlenose dolphin that received multiple shark bites in a deadly attack off Florida's Ponte Vedra Beach last week is recovering at SeaWorld Orlando. A video released Monday shows 265-pound female dolphin under care and rehabilitation after a joint rescue operation was conducted to save the animal.

The Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Station and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescued the dolphin after it was found with chunks of body flesh missing. SeaWorld officials said the shark bit the dolphin's right pectoral flipper and its injuries were life-threatening.

"When she hit the beach she was initially assessed by the Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Station. Their veterinarian found that this dolphin was very thin and also had multiple shark bite wounds all over her body," Lara Croft of SeaWorld said.

Rose Borkowski, a veterinarian with the Conservation Field Station, examined the animal on the beach, and consulted with the wildlife commission and NOAA Fisheries Service.

“It’s not uncommon for us to see bottlenose dolphins that have shark bite wounds,” said SeaWorld veterinarian Lara Croft. “That’s really the circle of life and what happens out in the natural environment.”

Croft said it was unusual that the dolphin managed to strand alive.

"She's a fighter," Croft said. "She stranded where she was able to be assessed and receive treatment, and a second chance."

​The badly injured dolphin was taken to SeaWorld’s cetacean rehabilitation facility for treatment where it received proper care and rehabilitation and after an initial exam, the sea creature was able to swim on its own. However, officials said its condition is still critical and the animal required around the clock care.

“Shark bites on dolphins are common in the wild,” a SeaWorld spokeswoman said in an email to Orlando Sentinal. “It is the circle of life and typically animals susceptible to these attacks are weakened from disease or other ailments. What is unusual is that this dolphin was able to strand herself alive.”

Last month, a family of dolphins in Australia's Monkey Mia tourist spot was brutally attacked by sharks. Three of the five dolphins were attacked by sharks after shark hunters allegedly used blood to attract the predators close to the shores.

"These are healthy dolphins. These aren't baby dolphins. They're not sick, old dolphins. They're dolphins that … have been coming here for 20 to 30 years," local ecotourism operator Leon Deschamps said at the time, adding that the attacks were extremely unusual. "Kiya has a small bite, Puck has a larger bite behind the base of the tail, but they're strong animals so we're certainly hoping both of those guys pull through."

According to University of Western Australia researcher and Shark Bay Dolphin Research Alliance co-director Simon Allen, one of the dolphins attacked by the sharks only had 50 percent chance of survival.