Dolphin Life

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS IN THE POD:
Head Coach & Chief Innovation Officer Hunter Kinney 🐬

This weekend we are celebrating 🎉 a career milestone — 10 years of dedication, imagination, ambition, passion, and leadership, for our head of animal care and development, Hunter!

Join us in congratulating Hunter on 10 years of devotion, perseverance, ingenuity, friendship, and laughs! We are so grateful for his commitment and leadership! 🩷

Saturday, March 7, 2026 – Local fishing guides notified authorities of 12 Short Finned Pilot whales in shallow waters approximately four miles off Key West near Mule Key in the early morning hours. Dolphin Life Rescue Team leads Art Cooper and Steve McCulloch were mobilized and a multi-agency coordinated effort ensued. Partners from FWC, NMFS, DEP, FKMS, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Key West Police Marine Resource Officer, the team from Honest Eco marine tours, and local fishing guides familiar with the shallow waters assisted in a response.

The animals were spread over three islands and over 12 square miles. Key West Police provided a 24’ flats skiff to maneuver the shallows. Upon arrival at the stranding site, three animals were confirmed deceased – a mother and calf, and a large adult. The remaining nine animals were spread across the large area. Some animals were stranded, and some were moving back-and-forth between stranded animals, unsure of how to leave the area with the complex surrounding set of flats and small channels to exit. Of the 12 reported animals, ultimately five perished, five were able to swim off on their own, and two large live animals were righted and relocated by the rescue team.

The two animals that were righted by the team were relocated using lifting straps and walked long distances to navigable channels to be gently hip-towed alongside the flats boat out to deep water where they were released. Each animal was followed at a distance until they swam off independently into deep water. The rescue team was able to obtain biological samples from one of the deceased animals late in the afternoon. On Sunday morning, a report came in from a helicopter tour operator flying over the Mule Key area that 11 to 12 animals were seen swimming in the same area at high tide. A second observation via boat and flight four hours later determined no animals were seen.

Dolphin Life appreciates the partnership and teamwork demonstrated by all involved this weekend in this mass stranding, and would like to thank the local, state, and federal agencies, as well as local fishing guides and volunteers. For more information about supporting our organization and the stranding response team in the Keys through donation and volunteering, please visit our website at www.dolphinlife.org/support

For the final introduction of our Pod Premiere Week 🐬, we're introducing you to Skye, the only female of the Miami dolphins to join our pod.

Skye is a 28-year-old with a whole lot of personality. Around here, she’s known for her beautiful eyes that always seem to be watching (some say judging) everything going on around her. In a lagoon that has quite a few boys, Skye holds her own just fine. She’s confident, a little sassy, and very aware that ladies run the world (especially in Skye's world).

She arrived with the nickname “Skye Bird” (or simply “Birdie”), but since settling into her new life in the Keys — and putting on a healthy 40 pounds — the team has lovingly added another nickname to the list:

🍩 Donut 🩵🩵

We promise it’s said with a lot of affection 🫶

Skye has adapted quickly to her new life in the Keys. She's a very confident animal most of the time, but when it comes to participating in a blood draw, we see the more timid - equally as expressive - version of Skye. Her new caregivers are spending a lot of time working on building up her confidence here, and the progress has become evident in the past few weeks!

Skye is bold, expressive, a little stubborn in the best way, and has quickly become one of the biggest personalities in the pod.

Now that you've met all six new members of the Dolphin Life pod, we hope you've fallen in love with the mission you're supporting by being here. ❤️ Our mission is to improve the lives of dolphins (and whales) - both in our care and in the wild. Opening our lagoons and our hearts to these six animals was a huge step forward for that mission, so thanks for standing behind us and empowering us to make a difference both now and into the future for other dolphins than need our help. 🐬 🐬🐬

And just so you know.. you're almost* as awesome as these dolphins. 😉