Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

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Follow-up on recent rescues: FB28 and Scrappy
By Aaron Barleycorn, BS

Scrappy's most recent sighting on December 3rd, 2009. He was seen traveling and socializing with other young male Sarasota resident dolphins.

The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has participated in rescues of several injured dolphins in its history. We specifically target cases where animals are injured by humans. Two recent success stories of Sarasota resident dolphins rescued from human impacts are Scrappy and FB28. Both were “treated” in the wild and have been closely monitored since their rescues.

On 6 July 2006, Scrappy, an 8-year-old male, was observed entangled in a large men’s Speedo bathing suit. His head had gone through the waist and one of the leg holes, and the suit had worked its way back to the leading edge of his pectoral fins, where it was cutting deeply through the skin. Scrappy was temporarily captured on 3 August 2006, the bathing suit was removed, he was treated by a veterinarian, and then released on site. Since his release, he has been seen 82 times, appropriately nude, most recently on 3 December 2009.

FB28's most recent sighting on October 2nd, 2009. He was observed by himself in Terra Ceia Bay.

On 22 June 2007, FB28, a 42-year-old male dolphin, was seen entangled with monofilament fishing line. The line was tightly wrapped three times from the dorsal fin to the fluke. On 6 July 2007, a SDRP rescue team was able to approach FB28 with a long handled cutting tool and cut the line from around the dorsal fin. The team was not able to clear all the line from the fluke, but at least the tension had been released. The line has since completely cleared from his fluke on its own. Since his initial disentanglement, FB28 has been seen 39 times. On some of those occasions, he was seen “fish-whacking,” a foraging strategy involving striking a fish with a quick movement of the fluke, an excellent sign that his fluke has not suffered lasting damage. FB28 was most recently seen on 2 October 2009. FB28 is one of two remaining dolphins tagged initially during the 1970-1971 pilot dolphin tagging project that led to the creation of the long-term research program in Sarasota Bay. He suffers from lacaziosis and is a major subject of the dissertation research of Leslie Burdett (see article in this issue).