Dolphin found stranded on Longboat has new home

The rough-toothed dolphin found washed up on Longboat Key on Feb. 10 has officially found a new home at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Rosie, as named by the CMA staff, became a new resident in May and was estimated to be 2 years old after Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium found her stranded on Longboat Key. She was taken to CMA’s stranding station at Fred Howard Park, where she had been rehabilitating and was examined by experts.

The examination found that Rosie had become hearing impaired and lost the ability to echolocate, which is essential for dolphins to survive in the wild to find food or evade predators. This led to her being deemed as nonreleasable.

Rosie will be slowly introduced to CMA’s other resident rough-toothed dolphin, Rudy. According to a video posted on the organization’s YouTube channel, the pair’s interactions have been going well and as expected. 

For now, Rosie can be seen at the complex’s Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex.