Meet Mote's Resident Dolphins

Mote Aquarium's resident dolphins, Moonshine and Harley, help educate visitors about dolphins and other cetaceans found in the world's oceans.  Moonshine is a pantropical spotted dolphin and Harley is a long-snouted spinner dolphin. Both are commonly found in deep tropical waters and are not animals that you would likely see if you went for a walk along a Gulf Coast beach.

Both dolphins were brought to Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital for rehabilitation after they stranded at young ages. After months of rehabilitation, the federal authorities that regulate the protection of wild marine mammals, the National Marine Fisheries Service, decided that the dolphins could not be returned to the wild. Those officials also decided that because the animals were both members of genus Stenella, were extremely social species and could be found together in the wild, they should be housed together for long-term care.

About Moonshine

This male juvenile dolphin was stranded in 2003 in the Florida Keys and found on the beach with a severe sunburn. After several months of treatment by the Marine Animal Rescue Society of Miami, he was brought to Mote for additional treatment. Although Moonshine's sunburn eventually healed following treatment at Mote, a liver abnormality has kept him from being released.

About Harley

Harley is a juvenile female that was estimated to be 6 months old when she was found washed up on a beach on Mustang Island, Texas . Veterinarians believe she was separated from her mother, possibly in rough seas. After treatment by the Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) at the University of Texas , it was determined that she was just too young to be released. Although experts could show her how to catch prey, they are unable to teach her where to find the prey in the wild or how to avoid predators. Harley came to Mote in March 2005 so she could live with a companion that was a similar species -- in this case, that's Moonshine.

Learn more about the rehabilitation efforts at Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital or check out video stories of past patients on MoteTV.