Bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus Male Rescued on July 21, 2007 from Bellmore, NY Released on November 12, 2007 20 miles SE of Shinnecock Inlet, NY
Big "Thank You" to all the local residents, Town of Hempstead Bay Constable and the Nassau County Police Department for their assistance with this difficult rescue!
Seabreeze Release Video and Photos
Seabreeze on his way out of the tank.
Seabreeze in his transport crate getting situated on the vessel.
Release vessel as it is getting ready for release.
Seabreeze getting lowered on the release platform.
***CLICK HERE to view a video of Seabreeze's rescue featured on Fox 5 News***
Photos taken using equippment donated by .
Animal was found in a shallow, murky water by the local residents.
The Riverhead Foundation biologists entered the creek...
... and appoached the dolphin with a stretcher.
Once the animal was secured in the stretcher...
... it was moved towards the Bay Constable boat and secured to its side by two officers that offered their assitance with the rescue.
The dolphin was then hoisted using a jet ski crane with the help of local residents.
After the dolphin was removed from the water, it was then transported to the dolphin ambulance - with the help from the local residents and the Town of Hempstead Bay Constable officers.
Once at the Atlantis Marine World Aquarium in Riverhead, the dolphin was given a short physical examination and then lowered into the rehabilitation pool.
After the dolphin was removed from the stretcher it started swimming on his own right away.
The biologists were soon removed from the tank and monitored the dolphin pool side.
July 22, 2007
Seabreeze, even though still listed as critical, continues to improve. As of yesterday afternoon he is eating fish unassisted and so far has a healthy appetite. The Riverhead Foundation biologists have introduced EEDs (Environmental Enrichment Devices) into his tank and Seabreeze has been observed making frequent physical contact with the items. The biologists also entered his tank yesterday and today for an interaction session and received a positive response from Seabreeze.
Amber Sabrosky, Riverhead Foundation biologist, during an interaction session with Seabreeze.
Seabreeze making physical contact with one of the EEDs.
Seabreeze chasing a live fish.
July 23, 2007
Seabreeze's first feed.
Seabreeze's first interaction with EEDs.
July 23, 2007
Seabreeze continues to eat well. Today he spent a large portion of the day interacting with one of the EEDs used for his enrichment - black pipes on a rope stretched across his tank. Below are some photos taken of Seabreeze during his interaction.
July 26, 2007
August 1, 2007
Seabreeze continues to eat eagerly and is currently eating 80 lbs of fish every day. He needs to gain about 100 lbs to reach his "healthy" weight. He stays very active most of the time and shows a lot of interest in the EEDs that the biologists and volunteers place into his tank. This morning he also approached a biologist in the tank for physical contact (photos below).
The medical tests results obtained recently indicated that Seabreeze is suffering from gastritis - an inflammation of the stomach or the intestines. This condition is caused by different factors such as a viral or bacterial infection, parasites, or ulcerations of the stomach lining. Seabreeze was initially placed on antibiotics that turned out to be resistant to the bacteria isolated from his stomach and the Riverhead Foundation veterinarians have recently altered his antibiotic treatment. Seabreeze is also receving medication that helps reduce acid production in his stomach.
August 3, 2007
The Riverhead Foundation staff and volunteers are constantly coming up with new EEDs to keep Seabreeze stimulated. One of the new objects that was introduced to his tank is a hula hoop. Initially Seabreeze showed no interested in the hula hoop, however, within 15 minutes he started making physical contact with the new EED. Yesterday and today Seabreeze was observed swimming around his tank carrying the hula hoop around his body against the pectoral fins (flippers) or dragging it on his flukes. He also had another interaction with one of the Riverhead Foundation biologists (see photos below).
Allison Chaillet, Riverhead Foundation biologist, interacting with Seabreeze.
Seabreeze cruising around the tank carrying a hula hoop, one of his EEDs.
Seabreeze interacting with a boogie board, another EED used in his rehabilitation.
Seabreeze diving in his tank showing his flukes.
It took only about 20 minutes for Seabreeze to figure out how to position the hula hoop around his body.
(The first couple of tries were not so succesful....)
August 8, 2007
Seabreeze continues to actively interact with EEDs and the biologists. He also eats all his feeds very eagerly, sometimes creating quite a wake in his pool while going after the fish thrown into the tank. A couple of days ago Seabreeze was also observed breaching - jumping out of the water about half way and then slamming the water surface with one side of his body.
Below are photos taken during one of the interactions with Colin O'Neill, one of the Riverhead Foundation biologists.
August 14, 2007
August 18, 2007
Last Wednesday the Riverhead Foundation biologists performed a routine physical examination on Seabreeze. Standard samples such as stomach content sample, blood sample, blowhole culture and cytology were collected for medical tests and further analysis. Seabreeze did well during the treatment and the whole procedure took only about half hour.
Seabreeze currently weighs almost 550 lbs, which means he gained 80 lbs during his rehabilitation so far! Within the next few days the Riverhead Foundation veterinarians will analyze the results of all the samples collected and determine his further treatment course.
Below is a video of Seabreeze's interaction with a rope EED.
September 9, 2007
Last Thursday Riverhead Foundation biologists and volunteers performed a routine physical examination on Seabreeze. During the forty-minute examination samples such as blood, blowhole cultures and stomach content were collected for analysis.Seabreeze stayed calmed throughout the treatmentand showed no indications of elevated stress. He also consumed his usual 13 lbs of fish right after the procedure and then continued to interact with the EEDs.
Seabreeze interacting with an orange flexible hula-hoop, which Seabreeze usually places around his body as soon as the EED is placed in the tank.
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