2 Well-Known Dolphins Die in Sarasota Bay

The death of two of Sarasota Bay’s most notable dolphin residents over the weekend has prompted an investigation by Mote Marine Laboratory staff.

The dolphins’ bodies were recovered on Friday and Saturday, according to the laboratory. The cause of the deaths is currently unknown.

One of the dolphins is “Riptorn,” a 43-year-old bottlenose that was highly recognizable due to scoliosis and a dorsal fin that was cut up and bent after an entanglement with a boat propeller, the lab announced.

Researchers from the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program recovered Riptorn’s body on Friday after a resident reported seeing the creature floating south of Mote’s City Island campus.

See Also:

• Shark Researchers Cast Net in Gulf Waters

“The carcass had been heavily scavenged by sharks,” Mote noted in a media release. A necropsy was performed on the animal and further tests are under way to better understand what happened to the creature.

Riptorn had called Sarasota Bay home for decades, Mote noted.

The second dolphin was recovered Saturday night near the southern end of Longboat Key. Known only as FB28, the dolphin was considered the second-oldest male in Sarasota Bay at the age of 50.

FB28 has been spotted many times in the Bay since he was first identified in March 1971, Mote noted.

A necropsy will also be performed on FB28 to try and determine what happened to him.

“It’s very sad when one of our long-term resident dolphins dies, but we value the opportunity to know what happened to him at the end,” said Randall Wells, director of the Sarasota dolphin research program.

More information about the dolphins’ deaths will be released after the test results come back.

In the meantime, Mote Marine Laboratory officials remind residents that they should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC whenever they encounter stranded, entangled, injured or dead dolphins, whales, manatees or sea turtles. Residents of Sarasota and Manatee counties may also call Mote’s Stranding Investigators Program 24 hours a day at 941-988-0212 for assistance with marine mammals and sea turtles.

Photos of Riptorn and FB28 courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory