Baby dolphin rescued after becoming tangled in crab trap on Clearwater Beach nursed back to health

ORLANDO, Fla. - Nearly two months after a baby dolphin was found tangled in a crab trap on Clearwater Beach, officials at SeaWorld said the young one is now swimming on its own and thriving.

When it arrived at the Orlando park in critical condition back in July, those first 24 hours were vital. The rescue team and medical staff worked around the clock, explained Jon Peterson, the vice president of zoological operations at SeaWorld.

"When he showed up, he was in a catatonic state. His blood values were so far off," he described to FOX 13. "Our medical teams were able to see his electrolytes and other blood parameters had really shifted hard. If we didn’t get his salt values back correctly or his electrolytes, he was not going to survive."

That's when they decided to "shift" the water he was in at the facility. 

Baby dolphin at SeaWorld (Provided by SeaWorld)

"They live in salt water, but we were going to take our salt water and turn it to freshwater and get reverse osmosis," Peterson said. "At the same time, push fluids and IVs and other medicines that help counteract this."

He described it as a "risky game" but they had to make an educated decision, and fast.

"We talked about, if it doesn’t work, then, unfortunately, quality of life will have to be discussed. But when it shifts, you have to be ready to shift back," Peterson explained. "Our water quality teams and our rehab teams had everything ready to take a zero salinity back and slowly bring it back up, hour by hour, up until the 32-mark, but that took a couple of days."

However, one full day later, the little dolphin came out of that catatonic state and tried swimming on its own. 

"Our guys encouraged that swimming," Peterson recalled. "Then, after 48 hours, he got a suckle reflex. Instead of tubing him, putting a stomach tube, and feeding him, we got him onto a bottle."

While it's adorable to watch a baby dolphin being bottle-fed, he said there is a scientific reason behind it.

"It’s super cute, but this is actually something for a dolphin, especially a baby…[to make] them think. They have to work all their muscles," Peterson said. "They have to try. You seem them strengthen from that."

While the young dolphin is swimming and healthy, it doesn't mean they can release it back to its natural habitat. In fact, it will now call SeaWorld home.

"Because of its size and age, and not having the instincts, or a mother or a pod to teach it, it can’t be returned, which is unfortunate. It’s truly a terrible thing," Peterson said.

Luckily, they have a dolphin nursery pool, where two experienced dolphin moms and a 1-year-old dolphin live. 

"We are setting up our pool accordingly to get him the best environment for him to get the socialization needs and to learn those skills to communicate with other dolphins," Peterson said. "Right now, all he knows is our teams who work with him and give him bottles every two hours around the clock. The next big milestone is getting him all set up and getting him into what would be a stable social structure for him to learn and grow from."

As for the baby dolphin's name, he doesn't have one yet. Soon, SeaWorld will post four potential names on its social media accounts for fans to vote.

What happened to the baby dolphin on July 20?

On the afternoon of July 20, Clearwater Beach lifeguards near Pier 60 noticed an adult dolphin circling around a shallow area. When they took a closer look, they saw a baby male dolphin tangled in the remnants of a crab trap.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium teams responded and stayed with the young dolphin hoping the adult, which they believe may be the mother, would return – but the older dolphin never reappeared. 

Just before 4 p.m., crews with CMA put the juvenile in a harness and carried the dolphin to shore. CMA said the dolphin was taken directly to SeaWorld Orlando for further treatment. 

Rescuers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium carry the young dolphin ashore.

The rescue was reminiscent of the story of Winter the dolphin, who got her famous prosthetic tail after she was caught in a crab trap line near Cape Canaveral back in 2005. She went on to inspire a book called "Dolphin Tale" and eventually starred in the movie of the same name, which chronicled the story of her recovery. 

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She was the most famous resident of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and passed away in Nov. 2021 at the age of 16.