Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes – Want to Go Behind-The-Scenes with Dolphins? Now YOU Can!

As part of our Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes, one lucky winner will get the chance to get a behind-the-scenes meet and greet with our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in our Dolphin Discovery exhibit!

ENTER NOW!

Our trainers work closely with each of our eight dolphins daily to complete enrichment activities, teach new behaviors and study their complex social structures. The social structure of the dolphins at the Aquarium is modeled after traditional pods in the wild. Females live together most of their lives in a social group. After male calves leave their mom’s group (after approximately five or six years) they form bonds with other males and travel from female group to female group for breeding. At the Aquarium, our six females form a group and our two juvenile males are always together in a bonded group.

Beau & Foster, our two male dolphins, love to play together!

Our sweepstakes winner will go on a private meet and greet with our dolphins, tour the dolphin area, see how we prepare food for our favorite marine mammals, check out the dolphin’s extensive toy collection and learn behind-the-scenes secrets from our trainers!

Our trainers spend a lot of their day prepping food!

You will get to work with the trainer during a training session, learn how we communicate with the dolphins, and participate in enrichment and play activities, all while working alongside our marine mammal specialists!

So – Want a chance to train our dolphins? 

There are five great ways to be entered to win! 

• Purchase any full price ticket online for a December visit
• Make a donation of $25 or more
• Purchase or renew your membership online
• Buy a gift ticket online
• Adopt an Animal

Click here to find out all the details about our Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes!

Stay tuned for more features on our once-in-a-lifetime sweepstakes prizes! Winners will be announced on our Facebook page starting December 17!

Happy Birthday, Foster!

The National Aquarium is celebrating a birthday today: Foster, one of our youngest Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, born at the Aquarium on September 9, 2007, is 5 years old today!

Guests can recognize Foster by his light coloring and big eyes.

About Foster

Name meaning: Foster was given his name due to his very unique upbringing. Because Jade was a first-time mother, experienced moms Shiloh and Chesapeake helped her raise him. All three females nursed Foster when he was a baby.

Gender: Male
Weight: 270 pounds

Foster and his best friend Beau love to play with bubbles!

Family Tree: Son of Jade (dam) and Sebastian (sire)
How to Recognize: Guests can recognize Foster by his light coloring. He also has big, beautiful eyes and a slight underbite, much like his mom Jade.

Trainer’s Note: Even though he’s one of our youngest dolphins, Foster has a big appetite. He eats about 21 pounds of fish per day!

If you can’t make it to the National Aquarium, Baltimore, today, leave your birthday wishes for Foster in the comments section below!

Thoughtful Thursdays: The Impact of Marine Debris on Animal Strandings

On Sunday, July 15, the Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) team was alerted to a live stranded dolphin at the northern-most end of Assateague Island National Seashore. The body condition of the animal appeared normal, but the animal’s behavior indicated it was stressed.

The animal was identified as an Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), strandings of which have been rarely documented in Maryland. Atlantic spotted dolphins are different from Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, but share similar habitat off the coast of Maryland during the summer months. Spotted dolphins are typically a darker purplish-gray and have variable spots that develop with age, and are often found in groups of 20 or more individuals. When an individual animal of a social species strands, it can be an indicator that the animal separated from a group due to reasons such as health or social issues.

Trained first responders arrived on the scene and acted quickly to provide triage and coordinate a plan to move the animal off the island. Unfortunately, the condition of the animal deteriorated during transport and the animal was humanely euthanized by Aquarium veterinarians to relieve suffering.

While this outcome is unfortunate, there is still a great deal that we can learn from the experience and from all stranded animals. For every animal that does not survive, we perform a complete necropsy (an animal autopsy). In this case, we worked closely with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Final necropsy results are still pending, but there was one surprising find – an intact nitrile-coated glove was found in the stomach of the animal. This was likely a contributing factor to the cause for stranding.

Sadly, our MARP team sees this sort of case all too often. Many animals mistake trash for food and ingest all sorts of manmade, toxic items. To an endangered leatherback sea turtle, a plastic bag floating in the water looks like a tasty jellyfish—its primary prey. Trash and contaminants in the water pose health threats to humans, as well. Whether we live along the shore or hundreds of miles inland, our lives are all intimately connected to the ocean.

We caused this problem, and it’s up to us to fix it. We need to work together in international camaraderie to prevent items from reaching the water in the first place.

A member of the National Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!) cleans up garbage at Ft. McHenry

There are a number of ways you can help!

• Be mindful of safely disposing of all your trash, especially while on the beach or out on the water. What washes up on our shores is only a fraction of the garbage that ends up in the ocean.
• Sign up for a conservation event like the International Coastal Cleanup (happening September 15, 2012).
• Help out with one of the Aquarium’s conservation projects around the Chesapeake Bay or the Atlantic coast.

Happy Birthday, Bayley!

The National Aquarium is celebrating a birthday today – Bayley, our youngest Atlantic bottlenose dolphin born at the Aquarium on July 27, 2008, is four years old today!

About Bayely

Name meaning: Bayley was named for the Chesapeake Bay like her mom; voted by the public in a naming contest
Sex: Female

Weight: 240 pounds
Birthday:  July 27, 2008, at the National Aquarium

Bayley was born in 2008 at the National Aquarium

Family Tree: Daughter of Chesapeake (dam) and Chinook (sire)
How to Recognize: Guests can recognize Bayley because she’s the smallest of our dolphins! You can also tell by her dark eyes and straight rostrum.

You can recognize Bayley by her darker eyes

Trainer’s Note:  Bayley has become very skilled at making bubble rings that she manipulates and plays with. They are in the form of rings or even long lines, which we call “bubble snakes,” which she chases and bites at.

Bubble blowing fun!

If you can’t make it to the National Aquarium, Baltimore, today, leave your birthday wishes for Bayley in the comments section below!

2012 Annual Maryland Dolphin Count Recap

The National Aquarium Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) team was joined by volunteers on Friday, July 20, for the 15th Annual Maryland Dolphin Count. This year, 31 dolphins were sighted.

Three dolphins swimming near Ocean City, MD
Credit: John Soule

More than 100 volunteers of all ages came out between 9–11 a.m. to help record dolphin sightings at two locations in Ocean City, MD — beaches on 40th Street and 130th Street. Annual dolphin counts help marine mammal specialists capture a snapshot look at dolphin populations, reproduction rates and ocean health. Looking at the population numbers over the years can help to determine the health of the coastal ecosystem as well as the abundance of prey.

Volunteers helping to count dolphins on 40th Street in Ocean City, MD

During the 2011 dolphin count, 107 dolphins were recorded, which is relatively normal. This year’s count is lower and is likely a result of several factors, including the weather, bigger swells and food availability.

“The National Aquarium team is incredibly thankful to all the volunteers who joined us for this year’s Dolphin Count,” said Jennifer Dittmar, Marine Animal Rescue Program Stranding Coordinator.

The evening before the annual count, a fundraiser was held at Seacrets: Jamaica USA, which raised $2,000 for MARP.

For more information on MARP and how the general public can assist with rescue efforts, visit aqua.org/care.