HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

THREE MASS STRANDED DOLPHINS TO BE RELEASED THURSDAY, 3-3-05

Dolphins Will Leave Mote at 3 a.m. and be Released off Florida's East Coast

Three rough-toothed dolphins that have been rehabilitating at Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital since a dramatic mass stranding near Hutchinson Island in August 2004 are scheduled to be released on Thursday (March 3, 2005). The dolphins are the only survivors of 37 animals that stranded.

The mass stranding received national attention after the group of dolphins came ashore at Hutchinson Island near Fort Pierce on Friday, Aug. 6, 2004. Volunteers overseen by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution scientists attempted to lead the animals back to deeper water but the animals stranded again later that day. Most had to be euthanized or died on the beach. Seven dolphins - five adult males, an adult female and a juvenile male - were deemed most likely to survive. These were stabilized in Harbor Branch's critical care tanks and then brought to Mote in Sarasota in a donated Publix truck 48 hours later.

Four of the dolphins died during treatment, most likely because of a fungal infection. Those remaining - an adult female and two adult males - were treated with anti-fungal and other medications and the National Marine Fisheries Service, a branch of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), has deemed them healthy and releasable.

The dolphins - initially nicknamed after Snow White's seven dwarfs will be loaded into a truck at 3 a.m. Thursday at Mote and driven to a dock near the Coast Guard station at Fort Pierce inlet. There, the dolphins will be loaded on a Twin Vee boat donated by David East and then released about 25 miles offshore. Harbor Branch, the U.S. Coast Guard, Hubbs-Sea World and the Fort Pierce Sheriff's Office are among the agencies organizing and providing logistical support for the release.

Generally, rehabilitated dolphins are released near the same area where they initially stranded. Rough-toothed dolphins, Steno bredanensis, are a highly sociable deep-water dolphin species found in temperate ocean waters worldwide. "The key to this release is that we let all three of the dolphins go at the same time so they can stay together because it's unlikely we will find a pod of rough-toothed dolphins to release them with," said Mote's Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Charles Manire, who has been leading the team treating the dolphins since their arrival.

The rehabilitation effort has been a large one at the Dolphin and Whale Hospital with 21,000 hours dedicated to dolphin care by staff, interns and volunteers. Taking in the group of seven dolphins - in addition to caring for the two that were already in rehab at Mote when this group arrived - marked the largest rehab effort the hospital has ever made.

"The efforts by staff and volunteers on behalf of the dolphins have been enormous and we applaud the dedication and the around-the-clock care they provided for nearly seven months," said Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, Mote president. "But as a non-profit organization, rehabilitation costs are something that Mote struggles with financially and we depend on donations to help us take care of sick animals and monitor them once they are released."

It cost an estimated $100,000 to pay for the food, medicine, medical tests and other costs to rehabilitate these dolphins. And Mote's work with them is not yet complete. These animals will be tracked for about 70 days after their release.

"All three of these dolphins will be tagged with satellite transmitters so we can follow their movements remotely and monitor their dive behavior," said Dr. Randy Wells, director of Mote's Center for Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Research and one of the world's leading experts on wild dolphin behavior.

The information gathered through the $3,200 satellite tags - which show the dolphins' location in addition to diving behavior - helps researchers determine if the animals are acting normally after release and helps measure the success of the rehabilitation. Once that's been determined, the tags can then help researchers understand typical rough-toothed dolphin behavior, Wells said. "These dolphins are typically found far from shore in deep waters, so they're difficult to study. This will build on what we learned from Mote's release of two rehabilitated rough-toothed dolphins in 1998."

The three dolphins returning to the east coast - Bashful, Sleepy and Sneezy will also be wearing small VHF transmitters to supplement the satellite tags. "It takes several hours to get the information from the satellite tags. With VHF tags, we can track them directly if they come close enough to shore and make sure they're not getting ready to re-strand," Wells said.

"Mote has done an outstanding job over the last seven months rehabilitating these animals," said Steve McCulloch, executive director of Harbor Branch's Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program. "For everyone involved, this release is a wonderful opportunity to see animals benefit from effective cooperation, teamwork and good science."

COVERING THE RELEASE

There are a number of ways to cover the release of these animals

At Mote: The dolphins will be moved from their tank to a truck at 3 a.m. Thursday. Reporters are invited at 2:30 a.m. to take photos or video of the animals being moved. We'll do our best to accommodate interviews but the logistics of moving three dolphins quickly may make that difficult.

At Fort Pierce inlet: The dolphins are expected to arrive at the docks at the Pelican Yacht Club, 1120 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949, at 7 a.m. Media are invited at 6 a.m. to document the events leading up to the release. (Use the first entrance, not the main entrance with the large clubhouse.)

On the release boat: We expect to have a limited number of slots available for the media. The boats will leave the dock around 7 a.m. and not return for several hours. The weather forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of rain, 4 to 5 foot seas and north/northwest winds of 10 to 15 knots. We cannot guarantee a slot on the boat nor an easy ride once you're on. Call Nadine Slimak at 941-302-4997 (cell).

After the release: Experts and release participants will be available for interviews when the release boats return to shore.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.