SeaWorld Orlando and Georgia Aquarium Assist Dolphin Attacked by Shark

Last week, members of the SeaWorld Orlando Rescue Team and the Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Station assisted in the rescue of a 265 lb. sub-adult Atlantic bottlenose dolphin in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The teams were called to assist by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) after determining that a rescue and rehabilitation attempt was necessary due to the animal’s life-threatening injuries.

Conservation Field Station veterinarian, Dr. Rose Borkowski was on scene alongside FWC and conferred with NOAA Fisheries Service after assessing the animal and the decision was made to transport the animal to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation.

The dolphin was successfully transported to SeaWorld Orlando’s Cetacean Rehabilitation Facility for further evaluation and rehabilitation. After an initial veterinary exam and treatment, the dolphin was able to swim unsupported at the park’s rescue facility. The dolphin sustained multiple shark bite wounds to her body and right pectoral flipper.

The SeaWorld Rescue Team is currently providing the dolphin 24-hour care to help it gain strength. The dolphin will continue to receive around-the-clock care from the animal rescue team and further treatment will be administered as the dolphin’s condition changes.

SeaWorld Orlando’s Animal Rescue Team is on call 24/7 to save and care for injured, orphaned or ill animals. In collaboration with NOAA Fisheries and other members of accredited stranding networks, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates one of the world’s most respected programs authorized to rescue ill and injured marine animals, with the goal to rehabilitate and return to the ocean. SeaWorld animal experts have helped more than 31,000 animals in need - ill, injured, orphaned and abandoned - for more than five decades.