Dolphin Calf Rehabilitated by the Texas State Aquarium Finds Forever Home

March 30, 2022

GREAT NEWS! After nine months of dedication, work, and 24/7 care, the male bottlenose dolphin calf rescued in June 2021 has found his forever home at a nonprofit research and education facility. The National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) determined the Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is the best fit for the rescued dolphin.

The dolphin calf, who his trainers dubbed ‘Goose,’ was rescued by the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network and has now been fully rehabilitated by the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center. In homage to his Texas heritage, the DRC renamed him ‘Ranger.’

On March 25th, Ranger was loaded onto a Learjet 60 and flew directly from Corpus Christi, TX to Marathon, FL; the total travel time was less than three hours. The pilots were kind enough to even give him his own set of wings in commemoration. Once he arrived at DRC, he was placed in a temporary quarantine pool to help him adjust from treated water to natural seawater. After his quarantine, he will be introduced to the lagoons where he will meet other dolphins.

Ranger’s head TSA trainer received him in Florida and will stay with him until he acclimates to his new environment and pod. Ranger will be joining a pod of 25 dolphins, some of which have also been rescued and deemed non-releasable. He has already acclimated well to his new home; he is eating, playing, and interacting with us just as he did at the Wildlife Rescue Center.

This story shows how our Wildlife Rescue efforts are making a difference and how skills learned at the Aquarium can be applied to rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals.

It took a village to get this little guy where he is now, and we are very proud to be part of this wildlife rescue story. This rescued dolphin calf is a remarkable rescue story made possible by the Wildlife Rescue program at the Texas State Aquarium and by the support of people like YOU! Thank you 💙