Dolphin Attacks Trainer During Miami Seaquarium Show

MIAMI, FL — A dolphin at Miami Seaquarium attacked a trainer in front of a live audience during a Saturday performance.

Sundance, the dolphin, was part of the attraction’s Flipper Dolphin Show, a new Caribbean-themed show, according to Seaquarium’s website.

The incident was caught on film by a Kentucky photographer, who shared the video to his TikTok account. (Watch the video at the bottom of this article.)

Shannon Carpenter told Patch that he and his family had just gotten off a cruise that morning and were waiting to catch a flight home.

“We had a couple of hours to kill (Saturday). We flew back to Knoxville at 9 p.m. and got off the cruise at 9 a.m.,” he said.

His children were disappointed that bad weather forced them to miss an opportunity to swim with dolphins in Costa Maya, Mexico. So, they spent the few hours they had in Miami visiting Seaquarium.

Carpenter, who documented their entire family vacation, said that the incident between the dolphin and the trainer happened about 10 to 15 minutes into the Flipper show.

“Obviously, there was some type of struggle, and the dolphin ran into the trainer,” he said.

Still, he and others watching the show were uncertain about what happened.

“If she (the trainer) was swimming with a shark, I would have been like, ‘Oh my god, what’s going on,’” he said. “The crowd’s first thought, though, was, ‘Is this part of the show? Are they setting up the next act? What’s going on?’”

Carpenter added, “The kids didn’t know, though. They were still cheering and having a good time. But we knew something was wrong and we were waiting on the edge of our seat to find out what happened.”

The trainer swam up to the dock and kneeled for a few minutes while another trainer checked on her, he said.

A third trainer working on the show stayed “positive,” he said. As the show ended early and she spoke to the crowd, she reminded onlookers about staying safe if they encounter animals in the wild and keeping their distance.

The injured trainer was able to walk away from the show on her own, Carpenter said. “You could see she was in pain, though. She at least had the wind knocked out of her.”

Miami Seaquarium’s new owner, The Dolphin Company, which took over ownership of the attraction in March, said the collision between Sundance and the trainer was an accident and that neither were seriously injured, according to WSVN.

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“A dolphin and trainer accidentally collided in the water on Saturday while performing a routine behavior as part of the Flipper Show. This was an uncomfortable interaction for both of them and the dolphin reacted by breaking away from the routine and striking the trainer,” the company said in a statement.

The trainer accidentally scratched the dolphin with her hand, which "was undoubtedly painful to Sundance," the Dolphin Company told the Miami Herald.

"The collision between Sundance and the trainer was something that has never happened before to either of them," the company added.

Both the trainer and dolphin will receive follow-up evaluations and Seaquarium will review procedures for the show.

“The attack made headlines, but it shouldn’t be shocking that dolphins and other animals confined in marine parks — which imprison them in small concrete tanks and force them to interact with humans — could inevitably act out of frustration or in defense,” according to a news release from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “What’s really shocking is the fact that marine parks like the Miami Seaquarium condemn these animals to a life of suffering and miserable confinement in the first place.”

Rescue, rehabilitation and release are a big part of Seaquarium's mission, according to the company's website.

"Miami Seaquarium has been a home for animals in desperate need of care since before it even opened. We took in our first rescue manatee months before we welcomed our first guest, and haven’t stopped yet! We’ve played a key role in the rescue and rehabilitation of thousands of animals over the years, with many progressing to a successful release back into the wild. Learn more about why rescue is so important to Miami Seaquarium," according to the attraction's website.

Seaquarium is also American Humane certified, which means it's passed third-party audits verifying the welfare and well-being of the animals in its care.

In recent years, though, five bottlenose dolphins and an infant California sea lion died at Seaquarium, according to the Miami New Times.

During this time, one dolphin died from acute neck trauma from an incident that staff didn’t witness. Another dolphin died from serious muscle injury and hemorrhaging, which Seaquarium said was likely caused by another dolphin.

A third dolphin got caught in a fence separating two pools and drowned. The other two dolphin deaths weren’t trauma related, reports said. Meanwhile, the young sea lion died from head trauma.

The Dolphin Company, a Mexico-based theme park operator, announced that it would take over Miami Seaquarium in August 2021. Seaquarium was previously owned by Palace Entertainment.

Since taking over in March, Lolita, the theme park’s famous killer whale, was retired from performances after five decades. Her retirement was part of an agreement between the Dolphin Company and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer the exhibitor license. The whale’s tankmate, Lii, a Pacific white-sided dolphin, was also taken off display as part of the agreement.

Watch the entire incident between the dolphin and trainer at Saturday's Flipper Show at Seaquarium:

@scphoto_ky A dolphin trainer was just attacked by Flipper. Police just arrived. :( #dolphinattack #miami #seaquarium ♬ original sound - SCPhoto_KY