Eleven-year-old dolphin becomes third to die at Las Vegas hotel facility since April
K2 is third dolphin to die at The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat since April
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An 11-year-old dolphin has become the third such mammal to die at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas since April.
K2, a bottlenose dolphin, died on Saturday at The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, according to MGM Resorts International.
The company says that K2, who was born at the tourist attraction, had been under treatment for a respiratory illness. The facility has now been temporarily closed while an investigation is carried out into the specific cause of death.
In April, Bella, a 13-year-old bottlenose dolphin died after being treated for gastroenteritis. Earlier this month, Maverick, a 19-year-old bottlenose dolphin died after being treated for a lung infection.
“All of us are heartbroken over this tragic loss, especially our amazing animal health and care teams who love and care for our animals on a daily basis,” said Mirage’s Interim President Franz Kallao in a statement.
“Many of our team were standing poolside the day that our matriarch, Duchess, gave birth to K2. They saw with relief when he took his first breath.
“They watched him grow and learn, from an infant to an adolescent and finally to an adult. K2 was very vocal, energetic, loved his toys and was a joy to be around. He always made us smile.”
And he added: “I cannot stress enough that nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and welfare of the animals entrusted in our care. We are temporarily closing the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat to focus our efforts on ensuring that we have the safest possible environment and the best care possible for our dolphins and to give our team the time they need to process and grieve.”
The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums states that a bottlenose dolphin’s life expectancy is around 28-29 years old.
On the organisation’s website, they state that “dolphins in US zoos and aquariums today live as long or longer than dolphins in the wild.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments