CLEARWATER, Fla. — There's a new resident dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium and her name is Izzy.
Estimated to be 5 years old, Izzy is a juvenile bottlenose dolphin who was rescued in June 2022 by the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Texas State Aquarium and SeaWorld San Antonio, Clearwater Marine Aquarium said in a news release. They're all NOAA partners.
She was rescued after years of illegal human interaction, CMA says. It 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," Executive Director of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding, Network Heidi Whitehead, said in a statement. "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."
Back in 2019, Izzy became a popular attraction when she was spotted in canals nearby a neighborhood in North Padre Island in Texas. People would seek her out, swim with, ride, jump on, feed and pet her, CMA says.
They would share their experiences on social media which led more people 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," CMA said.
Izzy will fit right in at CMA's Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex where they are home to four resident bottlenose dolphins and two rough-toothed dolphins. All of them have been deemed non-releasable and their stories have become educational opportunities for guests of the aquarium.
"It’s extremely disappointing that human behavior took away Izzy’s ability to live safely in her natural habitat," VP of Zoological Care at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Kelly Martin said. "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."
CMA is hopeful that Izzy's experience in the wild will serve to teach others about the dangers of interacting with wild dolphins.
