Dolphin attacked by shark

[cdiver2]

Hello All,
Just returned from our weekend stint at SeaWorld.
Nari is looking good and is starting to show he is well on the road to recovery.
He is starting to swim around the quarantine pool within the vet care unit at Sea World, rather than just resting all of the time and this behaviour is very encouraging. You can see from the photo's that Nari is looking a lot better and is starting to look like his pain levels are getting back to normal.
He is reacting a lot better to the dolphin care team when we enter the water to provision him and is swimming straight up to us when we enter the pool to offer him fish.

The vet centre at Sea World is quite amazing and treats seals, turtles, dolphins and other marine creatures from various life threatening occurrences. The centre is quite a large area of pools and treatment spaces that is simply dedicated to the treatment of marine animals that need care.

The attached photos were taken yesterday (Sunday) and it is quite remarkable to think that Nari only received the bite around 3 weeks ago. Please visit our web site at Tangalooma Island Resort to view his recovery if you have not received updates from us. It is quite easy to see Nari's incredible healing ability by looking at the various photos displayed.

The wounds are starting to "fill" with granulation tissue and the skin has started to grow in. Some of the wound has closed and will soon be completely healed. The great news is that the raised bump is starting to settle down and although it will always be a raised bump, it might not be as bad as everyone first thought.
I guess Nari will have some battle scars to show off to his family group and friends when he returns to Tangalooma, he should be released soon if he continues to recover at the same rate.

Thank you for all your well wishes and expressions of concern, the dolphin care team all appreciate it.

Regards,
Trevor Hassard
Director
Tangalooma Island Resort

 

[Mr.X]

Thank you for the update and for the team caring so diligently for Nari. So nice to hear a positive among so many recent negatives related to our cetacean friends these days.

May I ask - are the striations on the flap scars from the shark bit? They seemed to be placed equidistantly from each other. Additionally, I cannot believe how big the injury is!

Sincerely,

X

 

[Queen]

Thanks so much for the update! It's wonderful to hear that Nari is healing so well.

 

[cdiver2]

Thanks so much for the update! It's wonderful to hear that Nari is healing so well.

And its great to hear he will be released back into the wild

I guess Nari will have some battle scars to show off to his family group and friends when he returns to Tangalooma, he should be released soon

 

[cdreamer]

That's wonderful news! Thank you for the update.

 

[cdiver2]

That's wonderful news! Thank you for the update.

Great News.

Nari is doing really well and will be back at Tangalooma to join his family pod early next week.

The date that he is being transported back to the Island is Tuesday the 7th. We will release him the same way he was taken out, next to his mate Echo during the dolphin feed at around 7pm.

Echo is 17 and is smaller and older than Nari and still constantly looks around for his best mate.

It will be amazing to see how the pod greet Nari after probably thinking that he had fallen victim of the shark bite he endured.

The latest photos of Nari were taken a week ago and are attached for your enjoyment. Its truly amazing to see how fast Nari has healed without stiches, in fact the vets only cleaned up the wound and cut away flesh that would have died.
Nari has done all of the healing himself with the aid of antibiotics and rest. He looks a bit lumpy around the head, you can also see the alertness in his demeanour, he's ready to go and it should be an amazing night. You know the more you have to do with these animals, the more you are inspired by them.

Enjoy the photos and look out for updates on our web, we will post photos of the night.

Apologies in the delay in keeping up with Nari's blog, been really busy with the oil spill on the other side of the Island. The bay is and was not affected by the spill and Nari lives in a home range that does not overlap into any of the affected areas.

Thanks for your interest over the last month or so and all of the emails of support, all of us in the dolphin team appreciate it. If you want one of our Marine Biologists to visit your children's school for a free lecture, please book soon as we are filling up for the year quite quickly.

Cheers,

Trevor

 

[carriemak]

Glad to hear he is doing so good. Thanks for the update. Wondered where you have been, haven't seen or heard from you in awhile.

 

[cdreamer]

Just read up on Nari's release and I'm glad everything went well. Much thanks to the
outstanding efforts of the Tangalooma team. It appears he is now being looked after
by Echo and the pod.

 

[ronski101]

What about the sea urchins and the scorpion fish, and the sea cucumbers, and the lizzard fish or do we only care if it acts cute, looks good, or goes eeeeeee.