SARASOTA BAY, FLA. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Members of the Brookfield Zoo’s dolphin research team in Florida helped rescue a young calf last week by removing nearly ten feet of fishing line.
The director of the zoo’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Dr. Randy Wells, said the 2-year-old bottlenose dolphin would have likely died without help. The zoo said the fishing lines were deeply cutting into the calf’s tail fin and had collected algae and barnacles, which were affecting her ability to swim.
Eleven organizations were involved in the catch and release that took under an hour in which the calf and her mother were examined, and the young dolphin was treated with an antibiotic. The team installed a tracking device on its mother so it could follow her progress.
The zoo warns she’s not out of the woods though and could have permanent injury to her tail fin.
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