Posted on: Friday, January 3, 2003

Dolphin not out of the woods yet, rescuers say

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Veterinarians treating a sick baby dolphin said yesterday that it was responding to antibiotics, but cautioned that the dolphin's condition could easily deteriorate at any time.

The 4-month-old, 30-pound spotted female dolphin remained in guarded condition at the Marine Mammal Research rehabilitation facility at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i in Kane'ohe, said Margaret Akamine, the protected species program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"She appears to be responding," Akamine said. "She is alert. She is seeking us out when we go in to feed her. When she was in really critical condition, she didn't want anything to do with us."

Akamine said the dolphin also is back to eating fish and is taking her formula well.

"I don't want to give the public the idea that she is over the critical phase and on the road to recovery," she said. "We just don't know that."

The dolphin was found Christmas morning swimming in circles at Poka'i Bay and diagnosed with severe pneumonia.