Minnesota Zoo Welcomes Back Bottlenose Dolphins
The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley like many zoos around the country including The Lake Superior Zoo often exchanges animals on a temporary or more permanent basis. The pod of bottlenose dolphins that are back at the Minnesota Zoo is temporary.
I was over the moon when I first saw this story because ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by dolphins. A few years ago I was able to swim with dolphins in the Florida Keys and it was one of the most exhilarating things in my life. The dolphins were all rescued and lived in a natural lagoon, not a swimming pool like some places so I was happy to support this program.
So where did these dolphins come from? The seven bottlenose dolphins came from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago because their current exhibit is being remodeled. Rita Stacey, Vice President of Animal Programs for the Chicago Zoological Society said to The Minnesota Zoo:
We are grateful to our colleagues at the Minnesota Zoo for providing a space for our dolphins while their home habitat is being renovated The size of the marine mammal pools at the Minnesota Zoo allows our entire dolphin group to remain together, which helps in the acclimation to their new temporary home.
The dolphins will stay in Discovery Bay at the Minnesota Zoo. The three female dolphins in the pod had stayed at The Minnesota Zoo back in 2009 when their habitat was being redone, but for the two male dolphins, this will be their first time in Minnesota. Before the dolphins were set to come to stay at the zoo the only inhabitant of Discovery Bay was a 27-year monk seal named Ola. The dolphins are not on public display as of yet, as they need to get acclimated to their new environment, we will update this site as soon as that information is available.