News of 2022

This page features news about CMA's dolphins from 2022.

**Disclaimer:** This page is archived, meaning updates are fixing broken links, names, small mistakes, etc. Information *may or may not be accurate***.**

Dates are sorted from the beginning towards the end of the year. The news starts from when the wiki launched(and a little bit before).

## October

**10th** - Winter would have turned 17 today. CMA posted a video featuring memories from her past birthdays at the facility.

**11th** - Happy 12th birthday, Hope! **CMA Dolphins Wiki is launched. Yay!**

**14th** - Reported yesterday, PJ and Hemingway have been seen together. This likelihood for this is because PJ is too old to breed, the main reason the cetaceans are separated in the first place. Nicholas was reportedly not in the pool with them.

**20th** - The calf that was rescued by CMA in July and has been rehabilitating at SeaWorld Orlando has been named Ridgway!

**23rd** - Incredibly sudden news, PJ has died.

"We are deeply saddened to share the passing of PJ, our eldest bottlenose dolphin. She was in the loving arms of her animal care and vet teams as she took her last breaths. We did all we could to ensure she was as comfortable as possible during her last moments with us.

Estimated to be 51 years old, PJ lived a long and whole life – and we are so incredibly grateful to be able to provide her every comfort during her sunset years.

From the instant she arrived at CMA following her rescue, it was clear that her easygoing personality would make her a perfect match for Winter, Hope, and later Apollo. PJ is now able to join Winter and serve as her bodyguard for eternity – as she would have it no other way."

Based on her activity and appearance yesterday, it is very likely that PJ died sometime this morning. A necropsy will be underway to find the cause of death.

**25th** - WFLA8 and the Tampa Bay Times have both confirmed that PJ died Sunday(23rd).

## November

**1st** - Apollo has been seen with Hemingway!

**4th** - Insane out-of-the-blue news! Izzy, a 5 year old Atlantic Costal Bottlenose dolphin, has been selected as a permanent resident at CMA!!!

"Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) is now the forever home to a new non-releasable juvenile bottlenose dolphin. Estimated to be 5-years-old and known as 'Izzy,' the female dolphin was rescued in June of 2022 by NOAA partners – the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Texas State Aquarium, and SeaWorld San Antonio – after years of illegal human interaction caused her health to decline to the point of requiring intervention and medical attention.

'We are so pleased that Izzy now has a safe place to call home and that she will stand for something,' said Heidi Whitehead, Executive Director of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. 'Izzy belongs in the wild but despite our persistent efforts to protect her over the course of three years, she became increasingly habituated to humans and boats putting her at high risk for serious, life-threatening injury.'

First spotted alone in December of 2019 in canals adjacent to a nearby neighborhood in North Padre Island, Izzy became a popular attraction where the public would seek her out to swim with, ride, jump on, feed, and pet her. Their experiences were being shared via social media which encouraged others to interact with her. Eventually, Izzy, named after the Island or Isla, started showing dangerous behaviors towards people and had signs of injuries likely caused by a collision with a boat.

'It’s extremely disappointing that human behavior took away Izzy’s ability to live safely in her natural habitat,' said Kelly Martin, VP of Zoological Care at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. 'Our expert Animal Care team is familiar with cases like Izzy’s as our own resident PJ demonstrated behavior which may have also been due to habituation to humans. We will take our time with Izzy and let her tell us when she is ready to be introduced to her new social group with Hope and Apollo,' said Martin. 'Above all, we want to establish trust and ensure she is safe and healthy.'

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is home to four resident bottlenose dolphins and two rough-toothed dolphins, all have been deemed non-releasable and whose stories serve as an educational opportunity for guests.

'We knew Clearwater Marine Aquarium would be a great fit for Izzy because of their experienced animal care staff, veterinarian team, and also because of the social group already established with Hope and Apollo,' said Erin Fougères, Marine Mammal Stranding Program Administrator for NOAA. 'CMA’s dedication to educating their guests and followers about the lessons to be learned from each of their resident’s stories is encouraging. We know that Izzy’s experience will serve to teach others about the dangers of interacting with wild dolphins. '

Izzy joins her new pod at the Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex at Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s facility in Clearwater, Florida. In 2020, CMA opened an $80 million expansion including the brand new 1.5-million-gallon dolphin habitat. Learn more at cmaquarium.org.

'We want to thank the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, NOAA, SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas State Aquarium, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the concerned citizens of North Padre Island for their tireless efforts to protect Izzy and get her the medical attention she needs,' said Joe Handy, Clearwater Marine Aquarium CEO. 'We are so appreciative of the attention and care she’s received thus far and look forward to giving her the loving, safe forever home she deserves.'

***Dolphins are protected federally under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Act provides for both civil and criminal penalties for harassing, feeding, or disturbing the animal. Please view wild dolphins from a safe distance and do not feed or attempt to feed them–it’s illegal and harmful.   If you see a marine mammal in distress, do not intervene. Call trained responders at (877) WHALE-HELP. Please remain at a safe distance and, if conditions allow, take photos to share with biologists once they arrive on scene.***"

**From press release:** https://mission.cmaquarium.org/news/izzy-the-dolphin-finds-forever-home-at-clearwater-marine-aquarium/

**22nd** - The Mirage, where Presley's nephew Osborne lives, has permanently shut down their dolphin habitat to the public. It is unknown where the dolphins will go.

https://www.casino.org/news/mirage-dolphin-habitat-closing-permanently/

**28th** - More news related to Presley's relatives. 5 cetaceans related to Presley moved to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi on the 23rd of October, 2022. They are:

* Bodie, great nephew
* Blue, great nephew
* Gala, great great niece
* Kali, great great niece
* Roka, great great nephew

## December

**6th** - A new webcam is up and running on CMA's website! It launched yesterday and views the circle medical pool in the middle of the Dolphin Complex. Launched yesterday, viewers now have a good view of Izzy, the newest resident. Earlier today, it was attempted to have Izzy go to the side pool in which Nicholas and Hemingway spend their time on. While the gate was open for quite a few hours, Izzy never actually left the medical pool. She continuously showed interest in checking it out, but overall seemed to nervous to actually enter. The webcam also gives viewers a good view to see Izzy's training sessions, in which she has some basic trouble trying to come to trainers. Training seems to be slow(er than other dolphins), and it may be awhile before she meets Hope or Apollo(though she shows interest in Nicholas - she knows another dolphin is there and so does he).

Check out the webcam here! https://www.cmaquarium.org/webcams/dolphin-complex-cam-7/

**23rd** - Awesome news! Izzy has reached a brand new milestone(for real this time), and has been successfully introduced to Hope! 2 days ago(on the 21st), the gate from the medical pool to Hope's pool was open, though Izzy never entered in. Yesterday, however, she decided it would be time to move into the new pool! Her and Hope seem to be getting along fine and it is hoped that Apollo will be introduced to her soon as well.

See a video of Izzy and Hope here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmfHZ1moGdm/

**24th** - Sometime after Izzy, arrived at CMA, her age was changed to 7 years old on CMA's website.