Through early April, the fourth level of the main Aquarium building will be closed for renovation, changing access to exhibits, amenities and guest routes.
From day-to-day care and monitoring to annual exams, caring for the dolphin colony requires a dedicated team.
Caring for the colony of six Atlantic bottlenose dolphins at the National Aquarium is more than scheduled feedings and habitat cleanings. It requires trust between the dolphins and trainers, daily training sessions, medical behavior practice, annual exams and so much more.
Some might be surprised to learn that the relationships between the dolphins and the Marine Mammal trainers directly factor into the animals' health. The colony includes four females—Jade, Spirit, Bayley and Chesapeake—and two males—Beau and Foster. Trainers spend a lot of time with each dolphin and can quickly notice subtle changes in behavior. Anything from a change in energy level to vocalizations to attitude can alert staff that something might be off and allow them to act quickly.
Almost everything the Marine Mammal team does to care for the dolphins is part of their preventative care program. Good medical care starts with creating a healthy environment with excellent water quality, providing a nutritious diet of high-quality fish and food preparations, supplementing any nutritional needs with vitamins and creating a detailed care plan for each dolphin. The team also weighs and records the dolphins' sizes, measures their blubber layer and collects samples with the Animal Health team.
Every year, the dolphin colony receives an annual exam. The Animal Health team conducts physical examinations like ultrasounds, eye exams and auscultations (listening to heart and lungs with a stethoscope). The team also collects physical samples like feces, urine, gastric fluid, blood and even chuffs (strong exhales collected by placing a petri dish above the blowhole to check respiratory health). While these annual exams are important, the trainers conduct visual checks and practice medical behaviors with the dolphins every day.
"The Marine Mammal team supports the dolphins' daily lives by creating sessions and goals each day, keeping records, observing their behavior and interacting with them to keep their days enriching, variable and fun, which balances out some of the more challenging behaviors we ask them to participate in," said Sylvia Rickett, curator of Dolphin Discovery.
Trainers encourage the colony to take an active role in their care, which starts with training sessions. In 2012, the Aquarium stopped doing scripted dolphin shows and later implemented unscripted training sessions that guests still get to see today.
From a guest's perspective, these training sessions may look spontaneous, but there's so much going on behind the scenes.
Every training session starts with a team meeting behind the scenes to decide which dolphins they'll ask to engage in certain behaviors. Training sessions happen for all six dolphins simultaneously, so a clear game plan, quick communication and flexibility based on the dolphins' participation set the team up for a successful session. After figuring out the session goals for each dolphin, the training session begins with energetic trainers pairing up with a dolphin.
First, the trainers will run through behaviors like turning in a circle, chirping or waving flippers to gauge the dolphin's headspace. Trainers use whistles, hand movements, slapping the water, touch and food to communicate with the dolphins. If a dolphin chooses not to perform a behavior, the trainers will find something they want to do instead, so they can receive positive reinforcement.
"An important part of training sessions is learning how to read a dolphin," said Chris Erdman, marine mammal trainer. "If a dolphin shows me they are not comfortable doing a behavior, we will skip it. Consistently showing the dolphins that the trainers will meet them where they are helps build trust and ultimately a strong relationship that helps both the trainer and dolphin."
Next, some trainers will move on to practice or actually perform medical behaviors like sample collection before returning to non-medical behavior practice, offering lots of fish in between! For the trainers, every session ends with a debrief to discuss what can be improved and to celebrate the progress the dolphins and trainers have made.
"I am always learning new ways to positively interact with the dolphins," said Dana Rogers, marine mammal trainer. "Building unique relationships with each dolphin and learning how they react to different behaviors and reinforcements is the most fulfilling part of my job. I'm also lucky to work in a great environment with an amazing staff of dedicated and passionate people who are always willing to lend a helping hand."
When it comes to medical care, the team begins by slowly introducing new medical behaviors. For example, to prepare for an ultrasound exam, one trainer will work with a dolphin to get them comfortable floating at the water's surface near the edge of their habitat for a long time. Next, a second person will join the trainer, and the dolphin will be introduced to equipment used during an ultrasound. Finally, the dolphin is ready for an actual ultrasound with a veterinarian! This process can take months, so patience is key.
"As trainers, we need the help of the Animal Health team to progress medical behavior training. Every day, veterinary staff members join our sessions and practice different medical behaviors with us. These practices help build trust between us and the dolphins, and the dolphins' participation in their medical care helps prevent stress and make them feel comfortable and confident with those harder behaviors," Keri Lauermann, senior marine mammal trainer.
In addition to practicing medical care and providing samples, separation and medical pool training also help the trainers care for the colony.
The six dolphins spend most of their time together, so separating them into smaller groups or moving one dolphin into a separate pool changes their social environment. It also mimics Atlantic bottlenose dolphins' social behavior in the wild, where the dolphins leave and rejoin their pods. The trainers start this training by separating the dolphins among the different pools (one exhibit pool, two holding pools and one medical pool), briefly closing the gates between the pools and opening them right away. Over time, the trainers keep them separated for longer periods of time. This training shows the dolphins that they will eventually rejoin the larger group, and their excitement when they reunite positively reinforces the separation behavior.
Separation also comes into play with medical pool training. Typically, the medical pool is left ungated so the dolphins can swim through it when they want, which helps make it a positive space. In the event a medical exam or procedure becomes timely, or the dolphins are not yet trained in all aspects of the behavior, using the medical pool is the safest and fastest method. If one of the dolphins needs specialized care, a trainer will ask them to go to the medical pool, gate off the section, and then partially drain it to make access easy and safe. During training sessions, trainers will also join the dolphins in the medical pool by standing on a ledge for relationship building or practicing voluntary group hugs that help keep a dolphin in position.
Each training session and medical treatment helps Aquarium staff collect health data, facilitate trust, add variety to the dolphins' environment and social groupings and prepare the colony for future relocation to the dolphin sanctuary, where the colony will still live in managed care.
