What's Happening at Marineland

 

 

 06/23/2008:  Marineland is 70 Years Young

 

 

St. Augustine Record, June 24, 1938

 

 Seventy years have passed since the day Marineland, originally known as Marine Studios, opened its doors to the public.  On June 23rd, 1938, thirty thousand people made the journey to see for themselves what this world-class facility had to offer.  Only two-thirds of the eager crowd were able to make their way into Marine Studios on that day to observe the variety of fish, sharks, dolphins, rays, and turtles collected locally and displayed in the circular and rectangular tanks of the world's first oceanarium.

 

Since that day, Marineland has had quite a history.  The world's first successful live birth of a dolphin in human care occurred at Marineland; the first person to hypothesize that dolphins use echolocation was Arthur McBride, Marineland's original curator; and the first trained dolphin was Flippy, trained at Marineland by Adolf Frohn.  Movies and early television programs were filmed partially or in whole at Marineland, and celebrities and writers enjoyed the vibrant atmosphere.  The size and scope of what Marineland has offerred its guests has changed as the years have marched on.  However, the original focus of research, education, and entertainment continues today at Marineland's Dolphin Conservation Center and is expected to continue for at least another seventy years.

 

06/2008:  Dolphin Conservation Field Station at Marineland

  
 

 Photo provided by Marineland

Marineland is known as the World’s first Oceanarium which opened in 1938. This “window to the sea” was a pioneering effort that paved the way for an increased understanding of marine life. Bottlenose dolphins were some of the first animals to gain attention from the public while at Marineland and caretakers quickly became experts of dolphin care and biology. Read More


05/2008:  Marineland Staff Members Participate in Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two bottlenose dolphins prior to release, after health assessment had been completed. 

Photo provided courtesy of Chicago’s Zoological Society 

Studying dolphins and other marine life can be quite challenging for scientists, given the aquatic nature of where these animals call home.  For 38 years, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of Sarasota and Tampa Bay have been observed, catalogued, and assessed for health quantification by teams of researchers.  Led by investigators Dr. Blair Irvine and Dr. Randy Wells, this program (SDRP) began as a simple question: where are the dolphins and what are they doing to survive?  For several decades, a very labor intensive exercise has been conducted, allowing scientists an opportunity to temporarily restrain free ranging animals, in order that data be collected to determine how “healthy” the population of resident dolphins is (or in some cases, is not).  During the 2008 assessment, Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center was invited to participate as dolphin handling experts, as well as to be the team of individuals performing ultrasound examinations on the animals.  The team for DCC included Billy Hurley (General Manager), Chad Stouffer (Director of Training), and George Biedenbach (Director of Conservation Programs).  This experience provided inspiration for Marineland’s future field programs with dolphins in the Northeast region of Florida. 

 

 

04/2008:  Marineland celebrates Earth Day at Washington Oaks
 
 
Photo Credit: Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center
 
In April 2008, Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center celebrated Earth Day at Washington Oaks and Gardens State Park. Terran Rosenberg, Director of Education and Tasley Wheeler, Guest Services Manager, hosted a booth which was visited by hundreds of adults and children alike during the two day event. Visitors were treated to hands-on marine science lessons as part of this international day of celebration.

 

 

02/2008: MARINELAND'S NELLIE TURNS 55 ON FEBRUARY 27
World's Oldest Dolphin in Human Care Turns 55!!!  

Marineland celebrated the 55th birthday of Nellie, the world's oldest dolphin in human care, on February 27th with many of her fans, an ice and fish cake, and a round of the traditional song, "Happy Birthday To You."  New and old friends alike joined in the festivities at Marineland's Dolphin Conservation Center and were treated to the additional surprise of witnessing Nellie receive an honorary Masters degree of Marine Science from Jacksonville University (JU), presented by school president Dr. Kerry Romesburg.  

Though the average lifespan of a dolphin is 25 - 30 years, Nellie is still going strong at twice that.  In addition to starring in shows at Marineland's dolphin stadium during the 50's, 60's and beyond, Nellie also performed in Timex watch commercials in the 1960's. She remains the mascot for Jacksonville University from whom she received an honorary undergraduate degree in 1970. 

Marineland staff are thrilled to celebrate each birthday with Nellie, and recognize the necessity to be grateful for each and every day we have with this remarkable animal.  Nellie continues to reside with her pool mate Lilly, the last known blonde dolphin, and playfully interacts with staff (and occasionally guests) at every opportunity.

 

11/2007:  Marineland's Nellie Poster Wins Second Place at International Marine Animal Trainer's Association Conference (IMATA)

Photo provided by Krista Aiello

For 70 years, Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center, also known as Marineland of Florida and Marine Studios, has been educating guests about the wonders of all aquatic life that call the world’s oceans home.  It has displayed thousands of marine animals over the years, including the world’s first trained dolphins.  For the last 55 years, it has also been the residence of the world’s most recognized dolphin, Nellie, who was born at Marine Studios on February 27, 1953.  That makes Nellie older than most of the people who come to visit her.  Over the years, while the world has gone through memorable events like the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, numerous moon landings, the invention of Frisbees, and Y2K, Nellie has been a constant reminder to visitors about how public display can help conserve forms of marine animals through education, research, and even entertainment.  In November of 2007, Assistant Supervisors of Marine Mammals Krista Aiello and Donna Peaslee attended IMATA’s (International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association) conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.  During this annual meeting, they presented an interactive poster showing a timeline that identifies some of the important changes the world has undergone during Nellie’s lifetime, demonstrating the impressive longevity of such a unique animal. The poster won 2nd place honors at the conference.  According to Aiello and Peaslee, Nellie has touched the hearts and minds of millions of people, and it proved to be an enlightening experience to research the historical path of this wonderful animal
 

10/23/2007: Conceptual Drawings of Phase II

These Phase II conceptual drawings illustrate our new and exciting expansion plans for an oceanarium, restaurant, bar, event rooms, retail space and museum. Click here to view larger images.

 

 

 

08/2007:  Marineland Educator Visits Africa

 

 

 Photo provided by Terran Elizabeth Rosenberg

In August 2007, Terran Rosenberg, the Director of Education for Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center, traveled to Africa to study cheetahs at The Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. This lifelong dream was finally realized thanks to Earth Expeditions, an organization co-founded by the Cincinnati Zoo and Miami University, which sends educators around the world to increase their knowledge of the ecology of the areas while they simultaneously learn new teaching techniques; all of this in the hopes that the lessons learned on their travels will become incorporated into their curriculum back in the classroom to initiate a greater global understanding. This summer, Terran will again be traveling to Africa, this time to Kenya, to study human and wildlife coexistence with the African Conservation Centre.

 01/2007:  Marineland Hosts Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums Educators' Conference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Photo provided by Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center

In January 2007, Marineland’s Dolphin Conservation Center hosted 30 educators at the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums Professional Development meeting. In a continuing effort to stay abreast of the most current marine mammal information, Marineland’s Education Director, Terran Rosenberg, proudly welcomed thought-provoking speakers whose presentations were relevant to the Alliance Education Committee’s focus on Ocean Literacy.  

NMFS’ Laura Engleby spoke about dolphin feeding/harassment issues and agency mitigation efforts.  Dr. Brandon Southall, the Director of NOAA’s Acoustics Program talked about sound and marine life and how to educate the public on complex, timely issues.  Dr. Greg Bossart presented his health assessment of Indian River Lagoon dolphins. Mote Marine Laboratory’s Martha Wells helped the group develop integrated communications and effective messages. Other speakers at the meeting included Joy Hampp, a research associate at Marineland, who discussed her research with right whales, and Alliance Executive Director Marilee Menard, who outlined issues affecting the marine mammal community.