KEY LARGO, Fla. — Four bottlenose dolphins born in captivity at the now-shuttered Miami Seaquarium will now live out the rest of their lives in the Florida Keys.
They are the very first animals to be rehomed.
Following the Miami Seaquarium’s closure earlier in the year, all sixteen of its dolphins required new homes.
Aries, Onyx, Ripley and Zo were born at the Virginia Key facility and have spent their entire lives within the same familiar habitats and social group.
The non-profit organization Dolphin Life was contacted to see if they could take in the mammals if needed.
“We said, ‘Absolutely,” Dolphin Life President Nancy Cooper said.
On Saturday, with the help of trainers, biologists and others, the dolphins were placed on stretchers and put into transport boxes filled with water before being driven in a refrigerated truck to Key Largo.
“As soon as they got here, they started adapting and they’re doing amazing,” said Hunter Kinney, the director of zoological operations at Dolphin Life.
“We fell in love with them immediately. They’re the most handsome boys on the planet,” Cooper said.
On Monday, the two pairs of bonded dolphins interacted with trainers and flipped in the water of their new home.
The facility is open to the public. Kinney said that although they’re not ready for human interaction, the mammals will benefit from seeing humans.
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