A Story of Hope

Last week, I met a miracle at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida.  She is appropriately named Hope, and she is seven months old.  Hope is happy, healthy and brimming with life.  (See the You Tube video of Hope playing below.)

Hope at six months
Clearwater Marine Aquarium

On December 11, 2010, Hope was found in the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast of Florida. Staff from Hubbs-Seaworld Research mobilized quickly and located the infant dolphin.  She was attempting to nurse her dead mother.

The dolphin was evaluated and in coordination with National Marine Fisheries Service, it was determined that she would be transported to CMA for rehabilitation.

Hope at Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Photo:  Nancy Stewart
July 28, 2011

Hope is non-releasable, as she cannot gain the proper survival skills necessary for a life in the wild.  In February, National Marine Fisheries made the determination that the dolphin would maintain a permanent resident status at CMA.

She will soon be introduced to and placed with her "big sister," Winter, who was rescued five years ago from approximately the same area on the east coast of Florida.  She will also live with Panama, who has become Winter's, and hopefully, Hope's adoptive mom. 

Orphaned Bottlenose Dolphin New "Sister" for Winter!

Wonderful Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tail has a new "sister."  The baby, as yet unnamed, will eventually share the large tank with Winter at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. 

 This little one was found next to her dead mother on December 11, 2010 near Titusville, Florida.  She was about two months old.  She was very hungry but certainly in better shape than Winter, who had lost her tail to a crabtrap line. 

The baby dolphin was immediately taken to the Aquarium, which is her new home.  Eventually, she will be in the same tank as Winter. It is thought the two dolphins will bond well, as their history is extremely similar.  Both were orphaned at a very early age, and both have bonded strongly with humans.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is having real success with saving abandoned baby dolphins, a daunting, and usually futile, task.  Their trainers are schooled in the care of these youngsters, and it is working!

So now, instead of the baby dolphin's being hungry, she is fed twenty times a day!  She's a growing girl and is ready to show the world that she, like Winter before her, can be not only a survivor, but a champion for all wildlife.

Video of the New Baby Dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium