National Geographic Kids - June 2006

The Incredible Dolphin Rescue : How Humans Helped after Hurricane Katrina
by : Scott Elder

This article is featured in June 2006 edition of the National Geographic Kids Magazine. It can be found on pages 26—30. Some content was cut for space, please pick up a copy of the magazine at your local bookstore.

When Hurricane Katrina - one of the strongest storms ever to hit the United States – approached the Gulf Coast, residents prepared for the worst. Massive evacuations took place, but countless pets as well as animals in zoos and aquariums had to be left behind.

After animal trainers at the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, learned that huge storm was coming, they scramble to shelter their beloved dolphins. Flooding was their greatest concern because; the Oceanarium was built on the Gulf of Mexico. Workers rushed six dolphins to two hotel swimming pools on higher ground. The other eight would have to ride out the storm in the facility’s highest and strongest tank. Even with these precautions, there was concern.

After Katrina roared through, trainers hurried back to the Oceanarium to check on the dolphins. They were shocked by the wreckage. “There was nothing there,” remembers Moby Solangi, the Oceanarium president. “The animals had been swept away.” Even if the dolphins had made it into the sea without injury, they were still in danger from hungry sharks, territorial wild dolphins, and debris.

The Oceanarium dolphins didn’t know how to avoid predators or deal with aggressive dolphins. They were also totally dependant on humans for food. “This would be like having your pet suddenly thrown into the jungle to fend for itself,” says Solangi.

For days, the trainers searched the coastline in boats, but there was no sign of the dolphins. Finally Solangi went up in a police helicopter to look. Success! Right after takeoff he spotted all eight of the lost dolphins just a quarter mile away from the Oceanarium.

Incredibly, the group had stuck together in the wild for 13 days. No one knows how far they’d traveled before finding their way home. When the trainers arrived on the scene, the dolphins greeted them by chirping, whistling, and flipping out of the water. The humans were so excited! They fed the starving creatures bucketfuls of fish, and then joined them for a swim.

Aside from a few scrapes, the dolphins seemed healthy, but they needed to regain strength before they could be transported. They also had to learn a new trick: sliding onto the floating mats that trainers would use to lift them into boats. Each time a dolphin slid farther up onto the mat, the trainer rewarded it with treats. It took a few days for the dolphins to learn the move.

Workers from the Oceanarium returned to the location three times a day to deliver meals. “Every day we would have a sinking feeling in the pits of our stomachs, not knowing if they were going to be there,” says Solangi. Unfortunately, that concern was justified. After just four dolphins were taken to safety, the remaining four vanished again.

The search was on again. Two days later, about ten miles from the previous site, the dolphins were spotted. Hooray! They were rushed to safety. A veterinarian gave the dolphins a clean bill of healthy, with a few exceptions. One young male had a stingray barb stuck in his forehead and another spit up the handle of a hammer he had eaten. All the dolphins needed was to gain back weight they’d lost during their ordeal.

Thanks to the persistence, patience and care of their rescuers, all eight dolphins are now healthy and back to their proper weights. “If they could talk, they would have an incredible story,” says Solangi. “This is a miracle.”

[Note : Marine Life Oceanarium was previously The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies’ sister organization, but after the Hurricane the Oceanarium was destroyed.]