drill
Well-Known Member
Unless Japan or China have them, they might be only in world.
Gulf World Marine Park Gulf World Marine Park News
- Thread starter wensleydale
- Start date
The very first paragraph of the article starts with:
"Although there are a few facilities that house rough-tooth dolphins(many of them are based in Asia), there is only one facility in North America that currently houses an entire pod of these little-known offshore mammals and that facility is known as Gulf World in Panama City, Florida."
BlobfishBoy
Well-Known Member
Two bottlenose dolphin deaths have occurred this month with a third being likely, but not officially reported as of yet.
Gus, a 14 year old male, passed away on October 5th.
Turk, a 15 year old male passed, away on October 11th.
Nate, a 20 year old male, has supposedly passed away according to unofficial sources. This would’ve likely occurred within the past few days.
No causes of death have been reported yet but necropsies are underway.
gulfworldpcb on Instagram: ". It is with heavy hearts that we are mourning the loss of Gus, our 14 year old bottlenose dolphin. Gus joined us here at Gulf World in 2015 from SeaWorld Orlando. During his time with us he has brought so much joy to both trainers and guests. Thank you to all the trainers that touched Gus's life. You are being thought about through this difficult time. We hope to learn through a very thorough necropsy why Gus passed."
gulfworldpcb on Instagram: ". With very heavy hearts we are mourning the loss of Turk our 15 year old bottlenose dolphin. Turk joined Gulf World from SeaWorld Orlando in 2015. The smiles and enjoyment he brought to both guests and trainers will live within our hearts for always. He was our "TURKey" A special thank you to the trainers and staff that made Turk's time with us so special. You are being thought of through this difficult time. We are waiting for the results of the very thorough necropsy to determine why Turk passed."
Cat Rust on Instagram: "RIP Nate (and Turk and Gus)"
Gus, a 14 year old male, passed away on October 5th.
Turk, a 15 year old male passed, away on October 11th.
Nate, a 20 year old male, has supposedly passed away according to unofficial sources. This would’ve likely occurred within the past few days.
No causes of death have been reported yet but necropsies are underway.
gulfworldpcb on Instagram: ". It is with heavy hearts that we are mourning the loss of Gus, our 14 year old bottlenose dolphin. Gus joined us here at Gulf World in 2015 from SeaWorld Orlando. During his time with us he has brought so much joy to both trainers and guests. Thank you to all the trainers that touched Gus's life. You are being thought about through this difficult time. We hope to learn through a very thorough necropsy why Gus passed."
gulfworldpcb on Instagram: ". With very heavy hearts we are mourning the loss of Turk our 15 year old bottlenose dolphin. Turk joined Gulf World from SeaWorld Orlando in 2015. The smiles and enjoyment he brought to both guests and trainers will live within our hearts for always. He was our "TURKey" A special thank you to the trainers and staff that made Turk's time with us so special. You are being thought of through this difficult time. We are waiting for the results of the very thorough necropsy to determine why Turk passed."
Cat Rust on Instagram: "RIP Nate (and Turk and Gus)"
The park has been "raided by US law enforcement and wildlife officials" and here's an article about the situation:
Gulf World Marine Park raided due to animal welfare concerns
Gulf World Marine Park raided due to animal welfare concerns
Gulf World has filed for bankruptcy - apparently The Dolphin Company is inept at running their parks in the US.
Gulf World Marine Park Inc. files for bankruptcy
Gulf World Marine Park Inc. files for bankruptcy
Just to be clear, does Gulf World’s bankruptcy signify an eventual closing date?
Not necessarily, they're restructuring and all that. It's worth noting that all pending litigation against the US branch of The Dolphin Company and its facilities is automatically paused until the bankruptcy process is completed, which given the timing of the raid on Gulf World makes me wonder. Miami Seaquarium is now temporarily exempt from litigation as well as it was the US branch that filed, not just Gulf World.
Fwiw though, Gulf World's USDA citation history is not much better than Miami Seaquarium's. Both facilities have been troubled for many years, and as the heat keeps getting turned up I'm not entirely surprised to see this move. Unfortunately I'm not particularly convinced that even with restructuring "to be able to allocate more money to update facilites and better animal care" that The Dolphin Company is capable of properly sorting things out.
BlobfishBoy
Well-Known Member
I agree that the dolphin company is kind of a mess but it begs the question why they’re unable to properly manage facilities like Gulf World and the Miami Seaquarium while some of their other facilities like Marineland Florida and certain Dolphin Discoverys are quality enough to receive AZA accreditation. Why the inconsistency?
An excellent question that I have been wondering on since the whole Seaquarium mess. Though I dare say the bankruptcy ruling's effect on whether the couple of AZA statuses remain will be interesting to see, given accreditation can be lost for poor financials.
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
My guess? Big companies don’t always have consistent middle management. Whoever’s in charge of those individual parks may be particularly incompetent. It’s truly unfortunate that the company in question is one that’s is supposed to be taking care of animals.
1.0 bottlenose dolphin Jett passed away on March 1st, 2025 from acute head trauma
Such tragic outcomes after such a gorgeous and highly anticipated, brand new habitat. Truly grieving for everyone coping with these losses
Such tragic outcomes after such a gorgeous and highly anticipated, brand new habitat. Truly grieving for everyone coping with these losses
BlobfishBoy
Well-Known Member
I believe you’re thinking of Gulfarium as they recently opened their new Dolphin oasis. I don’t think Gulf World has had any major changes recently.
Thank you, yes! So sorry for that mix-up! You can tell I don't primarily follow the bottlenose population, only noticed the news missing while going through the MMIR updates for this month (although just to clarify that Jett did pass at Gulf World — for anyone else like me browsing this thread as a more casual observer, the mistake was only in regards to the new habitat at Gulfarium)
As a side note, I had assumed there were problems with the construction of the "new habitat" resulting in the filtration issues currently facing Gulf World (actually them this time, haha). It's such an unfortunate situation the TDC facilities seem to collectively be facing, for the animals and for the keepers working under the company
BlobfishBoy
Well-Known Member
Don’t worry about it it’s easy to mix up some of the smaller dolphin facilities. Yes it really is unfortunate what’s happening at the Dolphin Company facilities. Jett sadly died after missing the water while doing a jump during a show. I can’t comment on whether this was just horrible luck or something that can be avoided with better reinforcement during training. A similar incident occurred this year at the Rivera Maya Dolphin Discovery (another Dolphin Company facility). I haven’t heard of such a thing ever happening at other large dolphinariums.
These things have happened just by chance from time to time at even the largest of facilities, sometimes but not always with fatal consequences, but in Gulf World's case my personal belief is the incident happened as a direct result of poor water quality. I've seen a similar string of incidents at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, with the water quality causing irritation and agitation that directly resulted in trauma deaths of bottlenose adults and calves. That's been my understanding of the situation at Gulf World, but I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most familiar with the bottlenose holders haha
I realize that your posts are from 2020, but Clearwater Marine Aquarium started housing a rough-toothed dolphin named Rudolph in 2020 after rescuing him in 2019. He started at their off site facility but moved to the main aquarium sometime in 2020. They also have Rosie currently, who moved to the main aquarium in May 2023.
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
I was lucky enough to get to spend some time actually playing with Rudolph thanks to one of his trainers in May 2023. Truly a wonderful experience with a sweet and gentle fellow. I highly recommend visiting CMA rather than GWMP if you wanna see rough-tootheds - they’re a reputable AZA institution and a great rescue facility.
BlobfishBoy
Well-Known Member
CMA is actually in the Pathway Toward Membership program and not accredited yet. I hope they receive accreditation soon!
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
I think they’re gonna get it, but yeah jumped the gun a tad there haha, my bad. I’d still give them recognition as the same tier of animal care as most AZA facilities, they’re vastly better than GW.
Last edited:
I'd be shocked if Clearwater doesn't make it, they seem to do a really good job, further evidenced by the fact they haven't gotten a single USDA citation in a decade now. Gulf World on the other hand has received 13 citations in a year's time, with an increasing number of citations as you move from old to new in their reports. Definitely an indicator things aren't as they should be.