Goodbye to two distinctive dolphins

Two of Sarasota Bay's most-recognizable, long-term resident bottlenose dolphins were recovered deceased in October by Mote Marine Laboratory staff, who are investigating the possible causes of their deaths.

The two dolphins — one easily recognized for his dorsal fin sliced and bent by a boat propeller, and one known to be the Bay's second-oldest male resident dolphin — were first identified and then monitored for decades by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), a program of the Chicago Zoological Society in partnership with Mote.

The lives and deaths of these well-known dolphins highlight the natural and human-made challenges faced by wild dolphin populations.