Rescued dolphin thrives year after arriving in Florida Keys
Officials say a rescued juvenile dolphin that was airlifted from Texas to the Florida Keys about one year ago is thriving
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A rescued juvenile dolphin that was airlifted from Texas to the Florida Keys about one year ago is thriving and interacting with other dolphins at a Keys-based marine mammal facility, officials said Monday.
The orphaned male calf dubbed Ranger was discovered in June 2021. He was stranded near Goose Island State Park and suffering from a respiratory infection and dehydration. Rescued near his dead mother, the young bottlenose dolphin was deemed too young to forage and survive in the wild.
The National Marine Fisheries Service chose the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Florida, as Ranger’s permanent home after he was temporarily cared for at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.
“Dolphins are very social; they live in a family, they depend on that family even to learn how to catch fish,” said Linda Erb, the Dolphin Research Center’s vice president of animal care and training. “Without a mom, without a family, this little guy would have starved — he would not have known how to be a wild dolphin.”
Erb said her team’s primary goal has been to make sure that Ranger, now about 3 years old, learned to socialize with other dolphins in a natural lagoon at the center after his release from a necessary five-week quarantine in a medical pool.
“The Ranger that was living in our med pool is a different dolphin than the Ranger living out here now today,” Erb said. “He is fully adapted into the family and has surrogate moms that help take care of him. He has buddies that he plays with.”