Ariel and Turbo Swim to Freedom

Posted at wspa.com August 31, 2001

Ariel and Turbo, the two dolphins left to die in the hills of Guatemala and rescued by WSPA this summer, regained their freedom. After undergoing a two-month rehabilitation process, WSPA team members decided to start letting the pair out of their sea pen to test the waters. Called a "soft release", rescuer Richard O'Barry expected that the dolphins would spend a little more time each day out of the pen, becoming accustomed to interacting with other wild dolphins and fishing on their own, eventually making the full transition to freedom. Said O'Barry, "We didn't want to just push them out of the nest. We wanted them to make the decision as to when they were ready to go and were prepared to give them as much time as they needed." But apparently, Ariel and Turbo had no reservations. On their first trip out of the pen, they joined a pod of wild dolphins and disappeared into the depths.

August 23, 2001

Manabique Point, Guatemala- August 21, 2001 - Turbo and Ariel, two bottlenose dolphins rescued from certain death by WSPA over four weeks ago, are quickly readapting to life in the sea.

From the moment they were introduced into their spacious sea pen, these two dolphins began behaving just like wild dolphins. Even Ariel, who once constantly sought human contact or a hand-out, no longer seems interested in her human caretakers. This is great news for the WSPA team as it means that Turbo and Ariel are prime candidates for rehabilitation and eventual release into the deep blue sea.

For the first three days, Turbo and Ariel continued to be fed only dead fish. The caretakers fed the dolphins three times per day so as to minimize the dolphins' contact with humans. Instead of being hand fed as they had become accustomed, the fish were tossed into the sea pen and had to be retrieved by the dolphins. After only a short time back in their ocean environment, Turbo and Ariel began hunting and chasing their own food and their diet of dead fish has been supplemented with live ones. WSPA's team has witnessed the dolphins pursuing fish between their scheduled feedings and both of the dolphins have surfaced with live fish in their mouths at one time or another! Ric O'Barry noted, "I am very encouraged by the dolphins' interest in chasing fish. In fact, their interest in live fish was present from day one and has remained stable ever since."

After only a few short weeks, Turbo and Ariel can now be seen swimming normally, with their heads underwater, just like their wild counterparts. In fact, they now spend up to 80% of their day foraging beneath the surface of the water. Far from their filthy tank in the hills of Guatemala, Turbo and Ariel now spend their days exploring their underwater habitat, surfing the waves, and enjoying the natural rhythm of the sea.