Indianapolis is My Home

26
Jun

Indy Zoo Loses Veteran Dolphin

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Indianapolis Zoo, News

It’s a sad day today in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Zoo lost one of their veteran dolphins on Sunday.

Phoenix, who lived at the zoo for 20 years, had performed during a show at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the zoo’s Dolphin Pavilion and was seen frolicking afterward with some of her podmates.

But just before the 12:30 p.m. show, her lifeless body was found in the pool after the other animals had become noticeably excited and were not responding normally to trainers, said Paul Grayson, deputy director of the zoo and senior vice president of conservation and science.

The news article in the IndyStar stated that there’s no information available regarding the unexpected cause of death for Phoenix. No injuries or spotted on health issues were known. The only problem identified was that Phoenix’s lungs had fluid in them. For mammals, that usual means drowning. That seems weird in this case, but dolphins breathe air just like we do, so they can drown just like we do.

We’ve been members at the zoo for awhile now and we were regulars at dolphin show. I haven’t shared the news with our kids yet, but I’m sure they’ll be sad. The kids really have a sensitive and compassionate heart. I know one of the trainers through another friend and will see if I can get an update and statement from her about what’s happened and what they know.