Fourth Dolphin Dies in Under a Year at Las Vegas Attraction
The bottlenose dolphin who had been living at the hotel venue for over 30 years, has passed away, bringing attention to the ongoing debate about the ethics of keeping marine mammals in captivity.
Captive dolphin on display at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. USA, 2012. Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media
A dolphin kept at a Las Vegas Strip hotel has died, bringing the total number of dolphin deaths at the resort to four in under a year.
Officials at the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat confirmed that a 48-year-old bottlenose dolphin named Duchess passed away last month.
Duchess was captured in September 1981 at the age of six in the Gulf of Mexico, off Texas, according to Cetabase, a database that tracks cetaceans worldwide. Over the next nine years, she was moved between eight different aquarium facilities.
In 1990, she and five other dolphins were transferred to the Mirage, where they became the first marine animals to feature in the hotel’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat exhibit.
Her death brings the total number of dolphins to die at the Mirage to 17.
The cause of her death is suspected to be kidney disease. Meanwhile, Bella, a 13-year-old dolphin died of acute pancreatitis in April. Four and a half months later, Maverick, a 19-year-old dolphin died in September, after prolonged treatment for a lung infection. Weeks later at the end of September, K2, an 11-year-old male also passed.
Their captive conditions may also have also contributed to their deaths. Animal welfare experts have strongly criticized the three concrete tanks in which the marine animals were confined, citing their small size, shallow depth, and lack of shade as major concerns. These conditions have exposed the animals to the extreme weather conditions of the Nevada desert, leaving them vulnerable to the scorching sun.
The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) says on its website that dolphins in captivity suffer from stress and boredom which appears to weaken their immune system, causing stomach problems and infections that often lead to premature deaths.
A dolphin at the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat. Credit: Mojave Dolphins
The International Dolphin and Animal Rights (IDA) organization has ranked the Mirage facility as one of the top ten worst tanks for dolphins and whales in North America. IDA has reported that the dolphins at the facility exhibit behaviors that suggest chronic stress, including gnawing on metal gates and lying still for long periods of time near the gates.
The average life expectancy for dolphins in captivity is around 28 to 29 years, according to the international organization Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums’ website. Meanwhile, in the wild dolphins can live to age 65, state the IMMP.
The Mirage’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat permanently shut down in November 2022 after the death of K2.
Hard Rock International purchased the Mirage in December for $1.1 billion, with local grassroots activist group Free the Mojave Dolphins, The Dolphin Project, and other advocacy organizations calling on the company to relocate the surviving dolphins to “proper retirement facilities, where the mammals can rehabilitate and lives out their lives in peace and dignity”.
Activists protest outside the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat. Credit: Mojave Dolphins
Last week, three of the remaining dolphins, Karli, Sofi, and Osborne, were transferred from the Mirage to SeaWorld in San Diego. SeaWorld had originally loaned the dolphins to the habitat. Three more dolphins still remain at the hotel.
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The proposed guidelines, used by federal nutrition programs and health professionals, will emphasize that protein can come from different sources, and recommend plant-based proteins over animal-based proteins.