Taking care of dolphins and manatees is an incredibly rewarding experience

It’s been a busy year at the Dolphin Research Center.

Mary Stella, the Director of Media and Marketing from the Dolphin Research Center, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the center.

In February, the center adopted some tortoises from a nearby resort and they are doing well.

Stella said, “In March we welcomed a young dolphin who had been stranded and rehabilitated in Texas.”

He was deemed to be non-releasable by the federal government. He has acclimated with the other dolphins and made friends.

Stella said, “We had one baby born at the end of May and another one that was born just last month. In addition to welcoming our guests, we had a really successful camp and dolphin lab season. We’re so committed to educating people and to running great educational programs.”

The story of the Dolphin Research Center gets shared around the world.

Stella said, “We’re all about connecting people with these amazing animals and I’m very fortunate that over the course of my career that my job has been to do that. I love it.”

Through education, research and rescue, Dolphin Research Center promotes peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans and the environment.

Stella said, “We are a non-profit organization. So this is not about satisfying a bottom line. Our interest is in people coming to visit so they can learn and really appreciate the animals. We really feel that we can help connect them to the animals and when you have that moment of connection, you’re open to learning more and hopefully being inspired to being really great stewards of the environment and all marine life.”

The DRC also has a manatee rescue operation.

Stella said, “It’s been quite the year for that as well. We’re volunteers for the federal government and for the state agencies and for the manatees. So your visit helps fund our manatee rescue efforts.”

Rescues include manatees who get entangled in debris on the shore and one that was hit by a boat and suffered serious head injuries.

Some were emaciated.

Stella said, “We rescued them and they are really rehabilitated and treated elsewhere. All three of those animals that I’m thinking of went up to SeaWorld, spent months at SeaWorld getting great treatment and then recently they were all deemed healthy and able to be released.”

A few weeks ago, they came back to the Keys and were able to be walked into the water.

Stella said, “There is just no better feeling than to see animals that would have died if they had not received the help of Dolphin Research Center and the other professionals who were involved in their rescue and rehabilitation efforts. That’s something the public can feel really good about when you call in an animal that you see that needs help and then you get to see it gets the help it needs. It’s very special.”

Although, remember to exercise caution in the face of an injured wild animal.

Stella said, “They are large, powerful animals and if you see an animal in distress, whether it’s a manatee, whether it’s a dolphin, absolutely you need to call.”

The number is 888-404-FWCC and that should be the first step.

Stella said, “You can talk to someone who can get a better feeling because sometimes you see something with a manatee and people think that there’s something wrong and luckily, it turns out that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the manatee, but that can start the process.”

Please don’t try to help the manatee yourself. They don’t know you’re trying to help and you can get hurt.

Stella said, “Also please remember not to offer them food or water. When you do that, you’re encouraging them to come in closer to land, to boats, to humans, where there’s a greater chance of them getting either hit by a boat or entangled in something. The best is if you see them, admire them from afar, take pictures and please don’t try and touch them or interact with them. That’s the best thing for them.”

When manatees are rehabilitated, they do pretty well on their own.

Stella said, “Manatees are different than dolphins. Manatees are not a herd animal. They do quite well on their own. You can actually rescue an orphan manatee that’s only days old and when they grow up a little bit, release them.”

They don’t have natural predators and there are food sources all around them.

Stella said, “They don’t need to learn how to hunt crayfish, say like a dolphin would.”

They eat seagrass and can easily find food.

Stella said, “We really appreciate the community support. We love being part of the Florida Keys community. Thank you everybody.”

The Dolphin Research Center is located on Grassy Key and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, click here: https://dolphins.org/