Important questions have been raised regarding the relative risks and benefits of rehabilitating and releasing stranded odontocete cetaceans, but until recently few data have been available to support an appropriate evaluation. In the early years of cetacean rehabilitation, success in getting the animals to the point of release was infrequent, but success rates have improved [...]

Franciscana dolphin: Southern Brazil Signals continued to be received through the end of November from two of the five Franciscana dolphins tagged with satellite-linked tags. The dolphins are exhibiting a very high degree of residency to a very small area within the bay. These highly endangered dolphins were tagged as part of a tri-national (Brazil-Argentina-USA) [...]

Individual bottlenose dolphins can be identified by their dorsal fins. But how exactly is that done? And why bother? A new report published by NOAA, with SDRP staff members Brian Balmer and Randy Wells as co-authors, explores the use of photo identification as a tool for making abundance estimates of inshore populations of bottlenose dolphins. [...]

The satellite-linked transmitter on the adult pilot whale has failed after 66 days. Powered by a single AA battery, the transmitter was expected to have a 2-3 month life expectancy. This was one of two pilot whales returned to the sea after about 21 whales stranded in the Florida Keys in early May. This whale [...]

By Randall Wells, PhD, Chicago Zoological Society Understanding the fates of dolphins returned to the wild following rescue, stranding, and rehabilitation is crucial to evaluating the effectiveness of treatments and knowing what should be done in the best interests of the sick or injured animals. Over the past two years, we have received grants from [...]

By Aaron Barleycorn, BS, Chicago Zoological Society The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has participated in several dolphin rescues over the past few years. Our involvement can range from disentangling free-swimming dolphins, to treatment and release in the field, to rescuing and helping transport the animal to Mote’s dolphin and whale hospital for rehabilitation. One important [...]

By Randall S. Wells, PhD The SDRP is a pioneer in tagging and tracking of dolphins, with our radio-tagging roots extending back to 1975. Over the years, we have worked closely with a number of colleagues and tag production companies to design, test, and deploy tags of smaller sizes and more effective designs. Because of [...]

June 10, 2010.   A grant to the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) from the Morris Animal Foundation’s Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund is helping Sarasota Dolphin Research Program staff and colleagues study long term effects on bottlenose dolphins of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This study focuses on the resident Sarasota Bay dolphin community [...]

We had 1,065 group sightings that totaled 3,135 dolphins (including resighted animals).