By Candia Dames

15 December 2005



After facing international outrage from animal activists over its plan to import a pod of dolphins from the Solomon Islands, Kerzner International has finalised a deal to bring in the beloved mammals from a Mississippi facility.

Bahamian law prohibits the capture of dolphins from Bahamian waters. Kerzner International’s Chief Marine Officer Frank Murru told The Bahama Journal on Wednesday that the company has been looking all over the world for dolphins.

The 17 dolphins who were made homeless when Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in late August, will be imported for Kerzner’s dolphin facility on Paradise Island, which is being developed as part of the billion-dollar Atlantis Phase III development.

Kerzner said in a release on Wednesday that Jill, Kelly, Jacki, Michelle, Tamra, Toni, Noah, Elijah, Tessi, Cherie, Brewer, Katelyn, Johnah, Wee Tee, Echo, Sasha and Naia have been separated since the storm.

Prior to the storm, they lived at the Marine Life Oceanarium, which was also home to 24 sea lions, and 22 exotic birds.

Kerzner said that since the storm, the tale of the dolphins has been told the world over. Some of the mammals reportedly weathered the storm in a hotel swimming pool, while others were swept into the Mississippi Sound.

Officials said while the dolphins are being cared for now, cold weather and the effects of separation could take their toll.

"There is an immediate need to move the dolphins to a permanent location," Kerzner International said.

Mr. Muru said once the dolphins arrive at their new home, they will be given complete medical evaluations, husbandry training, and ongoing behavioural evaluations and will be cared for in an acclimation/training habitat on the Atlantis property where pools and operational areas such as a state-of-the-art medical laboratory and food preparation facilities have been designed for the dolphins’ comfort and complete care.

"Obviously, the animals really do need to come to a new home and as you know we have been working on the construction of a new dolphin facility here at Atlantis so we couldn’t be more happy and excited about these animals coming to live here," he told The Bahama Journal.

Don Jacobs, who is the majority owner of Marine Life Oceanarium, said the best thing for the dolphins right now is to be reunited.

"Atlantis has established empathy for our animals, our people and efforts to rebuild the community," Mr. Jacobs said in the press release.

"They are committed to participating in these efforts by establishing a ‘Katrinia Kids’ program with us which will sponsor trips for Mississippi Gulf Coast school children to visit the resort and the dolphins."

The eleven-acre lagoon located on Atlantis grounds, designed to exceed facility regulations set forth by the United States and the world, will contain three interactive coves in a tropical setting complete with sandy beaches and is one of the largest manmade, inland dolphin habitats, Kerzner International said.

In addition to the interactive coves, the dolphins will live in seven interconnected resident pools, with more than six million gallons of crystal clear seawater.

The company also said that 250,000 gallons of water will be provided for each animal, more than 10 times the amount required by United States regulations. The facility will also serve as the first marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation facilities in The Bahamas. A permanent medical pool and six additional pools will be available for examinations and for quarantine, should the need arise.

The 45-member marine mammal staff will offer the dolphins round-the-clock veterinary care and is noted in the field for their high standards of marine-life stewardship, Kerzner said.

The company added that the team of trainers who have worked with the dolphins over the past few years will be asked to provide manpower assistance for the transport and move with the dolphins to their new home to facilitate acclimation.

Kerzner plans to open its dolphin attraction in January 2007.

Kerzner, meanwhile, has faced a setback in its plan to import a pod of 40 dolphins from the Solomon Islands as the World Society for the Protection of Animals claimed that the export would have been illegal.

"We have been talking to a great many people all over the world and the Solomon Islands were one of those places that we were talking to and they are still in the throes of working out the export logistics of animals coming from there so at this point in time…we’re just waiting at this point to see what’s going to happen there," Mr. Murru said.

"In the meantime we continue to pursue all of the other avenues that we have in the works."

He said the facility is capable of handling "many, many dolphins".