Name: F326, also known as Squirt

Sex: Male

Age: Born 2019

This year (2023) we’ve been getting a lot of questions about a tagged dolphin that people have been seeing frequently around Siesta Key. Meet Squirt! We first observed him in November 2022 as an independent juvenile and, during a health assessment in May 2023, we discovered a large healed shark bite wound on the underside of his body. During an ultrasound, we discovered that the wound actually rearranged his urinary tract. Our veterinarians were concerned about his health, so we attached a satellite-linked transmitter to his dorsal fin and also gave him a freeze-brand.

The brand, which is made by touching a super-cooled metal number to the dorsal fin, will act as a medical ID bracelet and allow us to continue to monitor him into the future, even after the tag detaches as designed.

Since first observing him, we’ve seen him 14 times and have had numerous reports of sightings from the public from boats and from land.