Domino becomes a daddy!

The collaborative breeding loan between Bayworld and Ocean Park is already showing success as Domino became a father in the late evening of the 21st of April 2011! Angel, one of Ocean Park’s female dolphins gave birth to a healthy little male calf after a successful artificial insemination with Domino’s fresh semen in March 2010. The adventurous little calf is as yet un-named as Ocean Park will shortly be running a competition to name him. The baby weighed in at 11.5kgs and measured only 95cm when he was 3 days old. Now at almost three months of age he is already taking small pieces of fish, is really curious about everything the other dolphins are doing and loves interacting with Dumisa. Angel is an experienced mother after having raised a number of calves. She is also in my opinion one of the most beautiful female dolphins I have seen, her colouration is exquisite and she is quite “the lady.” Dumisa has been watching and learning as we had hoped she would one day get the opportunity to do. Dumisa seems to enjoy interacting and playing with the calf.

Domino is currently housed in a different social structure to Dumisa and both dolphins are doing exceptionally well. Recently Domino has spent time with another female calf and the hope is that she will conceive and produce a healthy calf, which will be the property of Bayworld. This global breeding loan entered into between the two facilities was vitally important if we are to have dolphins in the future. Our two dolphins Domino and Dumisa were father and daughter as well as brother and sister, thus too closely related to allow breeding. Another contributing factor was the deteriorating state of the facility housing our dolphins due to the lack of sufficient funding over many years for major maintenance. Bayworld was unable to provide acceptable facilities to house the dolphins appropriately, thus the decision was made to relocate the animals in the interim in 2008.  One of the other important aims was to provide the dolphins with naturally appropriate social structures which would allow breeding to increase the Bayworld population of dolphins. So far our aims are all being met with Domino and Dumisa happy and healthy at Ocean Park in Hong Kong!