Rescue of bottlenose dolphin "Scrappy" from possible death (or at least an embarrassing apparel choice)
By Randall S. Wells, PhD

Bottlenose dolphin "Scrappy" wearing his Speedo bathing suit.

It is amazing what a difference a poor fashion choice can make for your life. For one Sarasota Bay bottlenose dolphin, "Scrappy", the wearing of a large men's Speedo bathing suit nearly cost him his life, but his successful rescue made him a media darling, starring in an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune reporter Bill Mullen, earning him a spot on National Public Radio's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" program, and getting acknowledged by best-selling Florida author Carl Hiaasen during a newspaper interview. Scrappy was first observed as the apparent calf of resident Sarasota Bay dolphin "Scooby Doo" in 1998, but became independent in recent years, moving through the deeper waters of Sarasota Bay. He had been seen more than 100 times, all in Sarasota Bay, and mostly in deep water, prior to this episode. Scrappy was observed by Jason Allen and SDRP staff on July 6th, 2006, with a large piece of cloth or synthetic fabric stretched across its back, and presumably around its body. As of 31 July, the material remained in the same place on its body. Concerns regarding potential injuries to the soft skin of the dolphin from prolonged entanglement and tight wrapping in the material led to development of plans for a rescue operation, and a request for permission for such an operation from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

On August 3rd, a team of 31 experienced people, including two veterinarians, on five boats located Scrappy within 15 minutes of leaving the Mote Lab dock. Over the next seven hours, our capture-release net, designed for shallow water use, was set around him three times in some of the deepest waters of Sarasota Bay. He went under the net the first time, over the next, but he was finally secured and brought aboard the veterinary examination boat. The material was removed and determined to be a bathing suit, and his wounds were evaluated and treated. The bathing suit had come off very easily—it seemed clear that it was only the force of water flowing over his body that was keeping it on him and up against his flippers. He had gone through the waist and one leg hole. The bathing suit was showing little wear, and it seemed clear that it would not have rotted off the animal anytime soon. A few barnacles had begun to grow in the suit. It had caused deep (1-1.5 cm) but relatively clean cuts at the anterior insertion of each flipper—it also seemed clear that these would have become progressively deeper if the suit had not been removed. The dolphin had a relatively fresh but small shark bite on his peduncle—punctures only, no tissue removal, and a slice through the trailing edge of his left fluke that might also have been from a shark. Blood samples and blowhole swabs were taken, he was given an injection of antibiotic, his wounds were cleaned, length, girth, and blubber thickness measurements were taken, he was freeze-branded for future identification, he was given a small VHF radio tag, photos were taken, and he was released. The vets had determined that little benefit would have been derived from admitting him to Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital, given his condition. Once the transmitter was jettisoned subsequent tracking and observations indicate that he has recovered well and is continuing his normal activities in Sarasota Bay.