Dr. Janine Cianciolo, a veterinarian with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, walks around a rehabilitation pool Wednesday with a young dolphin found beached on a sandbar north of Anclote Island. The animal was brought to the facility on Tuesday. It is being given fluids and 24-hour care; it has sunscreen on its back for sunburn.
A distressed young adult dolphin was rescued Tuesday north of Anclote Key by a team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
The male dolphin is about 2 years old, 5 feet long and weighs around 95 pounds. He was brought to the aquarium Tuesday afternoon and appears to be suffering from hurricane-related distress.
The dolphin was in the middle of a crucial 48-hour observation period Wednesday that aquarium representatives said is akin to intensive care. Volunteers constantly are in the water with the animal during this period, while the medical staff monitors its progress and runs tests.
The dolphin's status is guarded, said Dr. Janine Cianciolo, the aquarium's staff veterinarian.
"He hasn't gotten any worse, but he hasn't gotten any better," Cianciolo said. "We're not out of the woods yet."
Cianciolo added that the aquarium staff would have a better idea by tonight if the animal would survive, but that test results have been "pretty encouraging."
The dolphin was treated for shock, given fluids, and received antibiotics and vitamins. He began eating "seafood shakes" made of blended fish, squid and a liquid supplement Wednesday afternoon. If the animal keeps all his shakes down during a 24-hour period, the aquarium staff will start him on regular fish, Cianciolo said.
If the dolphin survives the first "super stressful" 48 hours of treatment, he likely will be given a name, Cianciolo said.
Names often are tied to the people who find it or the time an animal is found, such as the dolphin Nicholas, who was found by the aquarium staff during Christmas time, said Diana Cowan, marketing coordinator for the aquarium.
The juvenile dolphin found Tuesday was first spotted stranded on a sandbar by passing boaters. The boaters called state authorities and then, thinking they were helping the animal, pushed it back into the water. But that is exactly what people should not do, Cianciolo said.
"When a dolphin strands itself the worst thing you can do is push it back in the water," Cianciolo said. "They don't swim up onto land just because they have gotten lost. It's an indication something is wrong."
Aquarium rescuers who had been notified of the animal later found the dolphin swimming in circles near the sandbar from which he was dislodged, Cowan said.
If he makes it through the observation period, the animal will be started on a rehabilitation program, Cianciolo said. Periods for rehabilitation vary, and it is during this time that the aquarium, working with federal agencies, decides if the dolphin can return to the wild or needs to be found a permanent home.
Although the regular pools at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium all were occupied, staff members were able to put together a temporary tank for the dolphin.
This was fortunate, because with all facilities in the southeastern United States full during the busy hurricane season, he would have had to be put down if the aquarium had not been able to care for him, Cianciolo said.
This is a problem for the aquarium and other facilities that are funded solely by donations, Cowan said. With contributions being diverted to hurricane relief efforts, resources at the aquarium are being pinched at a time when more and more animals need help.
For information about donating to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, visit www.cmaquarium.org or call 727 441-1790.
