NICHOLAS THE DOLPHIN

Nicholas's Story

On Christmas Eve, 2002, a mother and her calf stranded and were named "Noelle" and "Nicholas" in honor of their holiday arrival. Noelle was unfortunately very sick and passed away within a few days. Our team then focused all their efforts on the six-month-old infant, Nicholas, who had received third-degree sunburns from his melon to his dorsal fin covering more than thirty percent of his body.

His condition was critical with severe burns leaving him prone to infection, compounded by the loss of his mother, his natural source of nutrition. The stranding team provided around-the-clock care for several months. He recovered even faster than we had hoped and his burn completely healed within nine months of daily treatment. He was also weaned off of formula and onto fish, a diet which would have been taught to him by his mother over the course of the next few years in the wild.

Nicholas will remain at CMA due to his dependent status at the time of his stranding and the lack of important life skills that develop through the mother-calf relationship. He currently weighs 375 pounds and will continue to grow over the next ten years to reach full size. He eats on average 16 pounds of fish per day and loves to play with his toys.