Ginger's Release

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With a crowd of dedicated supporters and volunteers watching, Ginger returned home to Sarasota Bay on Feb. 9, 2009, after treatment at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital.

Ginger, the bottlenose dolphin that stranded Dec. 16, 2008, on Siesta Key, was released back to her home waters just after 8:30 a.m. The dolphin submerged after being released from the sling that had been used to carry her to the water behind Mote’s main Lab building on City Island then thrilled the crowd with four giant leaps.

“It was so great to see,” said Bijli Myers of Siesta Key, who was among the first to find Ginger when she stranded on the beach back in December. “It was like redemption — here was something that was so sick and dying. It was so great to see her come to life again. It felt like good Karma.”

Once she was back in her home waters, Ginger was monitored by a team of researchers from the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, a partnership between Mote and the Chicago Zoological Society. “We were very pleased with Ginger’s release and her initial movements,” said Dr. Randall Wells, the program’s manager. “She made several energetic leaps shortly after release and was swimming strongly for the 1½ hours that we followed her.”

Program staff will continue to monitor Ginger’s movements for the next two months.

One key aspect of Mote’s dolphin research and rehabilitation efforts is our ability to see how well our patients do after release. For offshore animals, that usually means attaching a satellite-linked tag and tracking a dolphin remotely. While this provides a wealth of very important information, it usually doesn’t allow us to see the animal with our own eyes.

In Ginger’s case, though, since she’s an animal that is already monitored by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, we won’t need satellites. Instead, Ginger was outfitted with a small VHF radio transmitter before the release, allowing researchers to use a radio signal to easily locate her and then visually monitor her as she re-acclimates to her normal habitat.

After her release, Ginger headed south through an area considered her normal range. We know it was her normal range because the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has been studying the area’s local dolphins since 1970. Ginger has been seen 129 times in the wild since her birth in 2005.

We also know that:
• Ginger was born in 2005 and is now 3.5 years old
• Her mother is a dolphin known as F127
• She separated from her mother at the end of May 2008, just before her mother gave birth to another calf. Our studies have shown that dolphins typically stick with their moms for three to six years.
• Ginger’s mom, F127, is 13 years old
• Ginger was F127’s first calf
• Ginger’s grandmother is also a long-term resident of Sarasota Bay. Ginger’s grandmother is 50 years old and has been observed by researchers since 1975
• Since her birth, researchers have observed Ginger in the wild 129 times. She’s been observed from Longboat Pass south to Venice Inlet.

While in our care, specially trained Mote volunteers spent 1,320 hours monitoring her condition, providing vital information to the medical team about her progress. Ginger also ate nearly 4,000 pinfish — that’s 35 pinfish fed five times a day at about $1 per fish. Medications and tests for sick animals can also be costly.

Donations play a key role in supporting Mote’s ability to respond to injured and sick wild animals, bring them to our hospitals for treatment, monitor their conditions upon return to the wild and understand their lives in the wild. In order to bring the next animal like Ginger to Mote for recovery, treatment and release, we rely on reserves. If you would like to make a donation to help us rebuild our reserves following Ginger’s successful treatment and release so that we can respond to new animals, please contact Mote’s Development office at 941-388-4441, ext. 309.

Updates:

2-10-09: Staff from the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program watched Ginger this morning as she fed near Skier's Island in Robert's Bay, moving slowly northward toward Siesta Bridge. In the afternoon she was found feeding near the eastern shore of Robert's Bay, and her mother and new sibling were about a half mile away, also in Robert's Bay. "Her locations were well within her normal range," said Dr. Randall Wells, the Program's manager, "Ginger was swimming and diving normally, and was observed successfully catching several small fish. This is exactly what we would like to see her doing as she returns to life in the wild."

2-11-09: Sarasota Dolphin Research Program staff tracked Ginger from Robert's Bay, south of Siesta Bridge, to the Sarasota Yacht Club, within sight of her release site this morning. She is behaving normally and appears to be in good condition.

2-12-09: Sarasota Dolphin Research Program staff found Ginger near Siesta Bridge this morning, within her normal range, and behaving normally. She was actively feeding, with at least two other resident dolphins nearby.

2-13-09: Ginger was observed in Robert's Bay, south of Siesta Bridge, actively feeding and demonstrating normal behaviors at about 9 a.m. today. No other dolphins were with her during this observation. Radio-tracking from a shore-based location on Robert's Bay indicated that she was present in that area at about 5:30 pm yesterday, absent at 10 p.m., and present again at 7 a.m. She remains well within her home range.

2-14-09: Researchers received signals from a location on Siesta Key at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. indicating that Ginger is in Robert's Bay.

2-15-09: Shore-based tracking indicated that Ginger was in Robert's Bay at 8 a.m. Signals indicate normal respiration patterns, and Robert's Bay is part of her home range.

2-17-09: Over the past two days, Ginger has moved between Robert's Bay and the waters surrounding Bird Key, well within her normal range. She appears to be in good condition, and is engaging in normal activities. She has not been spending much time in the vicinity of other dolphins but that's not uncommon for this age class.

2-18-09: Ginger was observed this morning north of Siesta Key Bridge. She appeared to be in good condition, but was difficult for researchers to follow her in rough seas.

2-19-09: Sarasota Dolphin Research Program staff observed Ginger this morning milling just southwest of the Siesta Key Bridge and had a weak signal from her transmitter that placed her in Robert's Bay at 7 a.m. The observation crew was joined today by veterinarian Deb Fauquier, who determined that Ginger's body condition was "good" and similar to that of her release.

2-20-09: Ginger was observed this morning just north of the Siesta Key Bridge, near where she was observed on February 18th. She appeared to be in good condition and ate at least one fish, but it was difficult for researchers to follow in the rough seas.

2-23-09: This morning researchers observed Ginger "milling" and then traveling in the small bay just northeast of the Siesta Key Bridge. "Milling" is a term that the researchers use when dolphins spend a period of time in a certain area and are surfacing independently of each other. To a pleasure boater who stumbles upon a group of dolphins milling, the dolphins probably look like they are "hanging out" in one place. Researchers always keep in mind that the dolphins could be engaged in other activities underwater that cannot be observed due to the bay's relatively poor water clarity, such as foraging or socializing, with no hints of this behavior when the animals surface. Ginger's behavior remains normal and her body condition appears good.

2-26-09: Ginger was observed this morning in the shallows just north of the Roberts Bay bird rookery. Her mother, sibling and a juvenile male came within 50 meters of her, but they did not seem to interact (although they could have been in acoustic communication). Ginger then traveled west to Edward's Island and began to forage. Her respirations were normal and body condition appeared good.

3-2-09: Due to poor weather, Ginger monitoring was postponed.

3-3-09: Ginger was observed this morning milling and feeding in Robert's Bay between Edward's and Skiers' Islands. She was seen chasing several small fish and caught at least one that was 8 to 12 inches long. She carried the fish in her mouth for about a minute before eating it. Ginger's body condition and respirations remain normal. We may see Ginger as part of our regular population monitoring surveys. If so, then the update will be posted here. Otherwise, our next scheduled tracking day for Ginger is set for Thursday, March 5, 2009.

3-4-09: Ginger was observed today during one of our regular surveys of Sarasota Bay, just southwest of the mooring field off Marina Jack. She was closely associated with a 7-year-old resident male dolphin named Thrasher and the pair were socializing as they slowly traveled north.  It was nice to see Ginger interacting normally with another animal from the population. 

3-5-09: Ginger was observed this morning in Robert's Bay feeding between Skiers' and Edward's Islands, which seems to be a common location and behavior for her in the morning.

3-12-09: Ginger was observed this morning in the shallows between Bird Key and the north end of Siesta Key. She was foraging in a group that included Rip Torn, a well-known, resident adult male dolphin known for his distinctive fin, her mother(F127)and her 9-month-old sibling. The group also included dolphin FB25 and FB25's calf, who is one year younger than Ginger.
Mote's next Ginger tracking day will be Tuesday, March 17.