Bayworld Dolphins

Dumisa and Domino, the two Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) who lived at Bayworld were moved to Hong Kong’s prestigious Ocean Park as part of a global breeding programme on 22 July 2009.  The move addressed the urgent need to separate the two dolphins in order to prevent inbreeding, a major concern for the genetically compromised father-daughter pair.  It also allowed the two to be placed in a viable social environment and interact with unrelated dolphins of the same species.

Dumisa and Domino will always belong to Bayworld and the facility will, once the two dolphins have bred successfully, be eligible to receive offspring. The relocation of the dolphins will give Bayworld time to revitalise the facility in line with international standards. This much needed renewal of the Oceanarium, for which Bayworld is currently awaiting funding approval, will ensure that dolphins returning to Bayworld will enjoy a world class facility.

The dolphins were flown to Hong Kong on board a chartered flight.  The transport training started in December 2008. Generally, the most difficult part of this form of training is getting the dolphins into a stretcher.  Luckily, Domino and Dumisa have been trained for this as part of their medical training and they are very happy to get on a stretcher for any reason. The process of training involved small steps at a time. The animals had to be slowly desensitized to different people, a large team, movement and noises. This happened bit by bit. They were initially taken out of the water, then on short trips, first around the car park in a horse box and later around the block and then finally in a specially designed crate placed on a truck on trips to the airport.  More than 22 road trips were conducted.

They were transported in a special locally (SA) designed transport crate. Because of the special bond between the two, they were transported together in the same special South African designed watertight crate and was able to see each other. Inside the crate, they were lying in custom made transport stretchers, supported by foam and water. The crate was also fitted with sprayers which continuously sprayed the dolphins with water. During their flight in a DC8 cargo plane, they were accompanied by four staff members (two from Ocean Park and two from Bayworld), as well as two vets (one from Ocean Park and one of Bayworld’s consulting vets).