Three bottlenose dolphins were released into the open sea in Indonesia Saturday after years of being confined for the amusement of tourists who would touch and swim with them. As red and white Indonesian flags fluttered, underwater gates opened off the island of Bali to allow Johnny, Rocky and Rambo to swim free. The trio were rescued three years ago from their tiny pool in a resort hotel to which they had been sold after spending years performing in a traveling circus. They regained their health and strength at the Bali sanctuary , a floating pen in a bay that provided a gentler, more natural environment. Lincoln O’Barry, who worked with the Indonesian government to set up the Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release and Retirement Center, said dolphins are wild animals that should live free. “It was an incredibly emotional experience to see them go,” O’Barrry said. The center was initiated in 2019 by the Bali Forestry Department and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. “Umah lumba” means “dolphin” in Indonesian. For some time after the gates opened, the dolphins looked at the opening, uncertain of their next move. But after about an hour, they were on their way, sometimes jumping over choppy waves. The Associated Press watched their release through an online livestream. O’Barry is documenting the release with drones and underwater footage for a film. The Indonesian government supported the dolphins’ rescue, working with Dolphin Project, founded by Lincoln’s father Ric O’Barry, who was also at the release. Ric O’Barry had been the dolphin trainer for the 1960s TV show “Flipper,” but later came to see the toll exacted on the animals. He has since devoted his life to returning dolphins to the wild. Center workers clapped as the dolphins swam out. Wahyu Lestari, rehabilitation coordinator at the center, said she was a bit sad to see them go. “I’m happy they are free, and they are going back to their family,” she said. “They should be in the wild because they are born in the wild.” The freed dolphins will be monitored out at sea with GPS tracking for a year. They can return for visits to the sanctuary, although it’s unclear what they will do. They may join another pod, stay together, or go their separate ways. Dolphins in captivity are carted from town to town, kept in chlorinated water, held in isolation or forced to interact with tourists, often leading to injuries. Read: Sick dolphin calf improves with tube-fed milk, helping hands Johnny, the oldest dolphin, had teeth that were worn down to below the gum line when he was rescued in 2019. Earlier this year, dentists provided him with dolphin-style dental crowns so that he can now clamp down on live fish. Johnny was the first of the three dolphins to swim out to sea. Ric and Lincoln O’Barry have spent half a century working on saving dolphins from captivity in locations from Brazil to South Korea and the U.S. Saturday’s release was their first in Indonesia. The Indonesian government’s decision to rescue the dolphins followed a decade-long public education campaign that included billboards, artwork, school programs and a drive asking people not to buy tickets to dolphin shows. A government minister was at hand to raise the gate at the sanctuary Saturday. Lincoln O’Barry said the Indonesian sanctuary will continue to be used for other captive dolphins. Similar sanctuaries are in the works in North America and Europe, as more dolphin shows close. With virtual reality and other technology, appreciation of nature doesn’t have to involve a zoo or a dolphin show, he said. Yet dolphin shows are still popular in China, the Middle East and Japan. In Japan, the father and son have drawn attention to the dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji, documented in the 2010 Oscar-winning film “The Cove.” Every year, fishermen frighten and corral dolphins into a cove, capture some to sell to dolphin shows and kill others for food. Whale and dolphin meat is considered a delicacy in Japanese culinary tradition. But Taiji has prompted protests by conservationists for years, including some Japanese. The three dolphins released in Indonesia were soon miles (kilometers) away in the waters. But before their departure, they circled around the sanctuary. “They turned back around and came back to us one more time, almost to say thank you and good-bye. And then they headed straight out to open ocean and disappeared,” Lincoln O’Barry said.   “Where they head next, we don’t know. But we wish them a good long life.”

A large Baleen species whale and a dolphin carcass washed ashore on Kuakata beach in Patuakhali on Saturday. The whale was 30 feet long and 6 feet in width while the dolphin was around 5 feet long and 1.5 feet in width, said Ruman Imtiaz Tushar, leader of Patuakhali Dolphin conservation Team. The decomposed whale was noticed around 9 am near Jhau bagan point and then the dolphin carcass found around 12 pm near Tourism Park area on the beach, he said.   Read: Whale carcass washes ashore on Cox’s Bazar beach Abul Kalam, range officer of Mohipur Forest Department said after being informed by locals forest officers have been sent to the spot to collect samples and bury the decomposed carcasses.

The Irrawaddy dolphin calf — sick and too weak to swim — was drowning in a tidal pool on Thailand’s shore when fishermen found him. The fishermen quickly alerted marine conservationists, who advised them how to provide emergency care until a rescue team could transport the baby to Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center for veterinary attention. The baby was nicknamed Paradon, roughly translated as “brotherly burden,” because those involved knew from day one that saving his life would be no easy task. Irrawaddy dolphins, considered a vulnerable species by International Union for Conservation of Nature, are found in the shallow coastal waters of South and Southeast Asia and in three rivers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia. Their survival is threatened by habitat loss, pollution and illegal fishing. Officials from the marine research center believe around 400 Irrawaddy dolphins remain along the country’s eastern coast, bordering Cambodia. Since Paradon was found by the fishermen July 22, dozens of veterinarians and volunteers have helped care for him at the center in Rayong on the Gulf of Thailand. “We said among ourselves that the chance of him surviving was quite low, judging from his condition,” Thanaphan Chomchuen, a veterinarian at the center, said Friday. “Normally, dolphins found stranded on the shore are usually in such a terrible condition. The chances that these dolphins would survive are normally very, very slim. But we gave him our best try on that day.” Workers placed him in a seawater pool, treated the lung infection that made him so sick and weak, and enlisted volunteers to watch him round the clock. They have to hold him up in his tank to prevent him from drowning and feed him milk, initially done by tube, and later by bottle when he had recovered a bit of strength. A staff veterinarian and one or two volunteers stay for each eight-hour shift, and other workers during the day handle the water pump and filter and making milk for the calf. After a month, Paradon’s condition is improving. The calf believed to be between 4 and 6 months old can swim now and has no signs of infection. But the dolphin that was 138 centimeters long (4.5 feet) and around 27 kilograms (59 pounds) on July 22 is still weak and doesn’t take enough milk despite the team’s efforts to feed him every 20 minutes Thippunyar Thipjuntar, a 32-year-old financial adviser, is one of the many volunteers who come for a babysitting shift with Paradon. Thippunya said with Paradon’s round baby face and curved mouth that looks like a smile, she couldn’t help but grow attached to him and be concerned about his development. “He does not eat enough but rather just wants to play. I am worried that he does not receive enough nutrition,” she told The Associated Press on Friday as she fed the sleepy Paradon, cradled in her arm. “When you invest your time, physical effort, mental attention, and money to come here to be a volunteer, of course you wish that he would grow strong and survive.” Read: Govt finalizes the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan" Sumana Kajonwattanakul, director of the marine center, said Paradon will need long-term care, perhaps as much as a year, until he is weaned from milk and is able to hunt for his own food.   “If we just release him when he gets better, the problem is that he he won’t be able to have milk. We will have to take care of him until he has his teeth, then we must train him to eat fish, and be part of a pod. This will take quite some time,” Sumana said. Paradon’s caregivers believe the extended tender loving care is worth it. “If we can save one dolphin, this will help our knowledge, as there have not been many successful cases in treating this type of animal,” said veterinarian Thanaphan. “If we can save him and he survives, we will have learned so much from this.”   “Secondly, I think by saving him, giving him a chance to live, we also raise awareness about the conservation of this species of animal, which are rare, with not many left.”

Another dead dolphin was found floating in the Halda river in Chattogram on Thursday morning. The decomposed body of the seven feet long dolphin weighing 60 kg was recovered from near Ajimer Ghat area in Raozan upazila, said Abdus Samad Shikder, Raozan Upazila Nirbahi officer With this, three dead dolphins have been recovered from Halda in a week, he said. Also read: Dead dolphin, loads of fish wash ashore at Cox’s Bazar beach Earlier on Wednesday noon, another dead dolphin came floating near the same area with a part of it head injured. On July 14, another eight feet long dolphin carcass weighing 120 kgs was recovered from Burisorta canal connected with the Halda River. “From September, 2017, a total of 38 dead dolphins have been recovered from Halda river till date. Along with the two recovered from Karnaphuli River the total number stands at 40,” said Dr Manjurul Kibria,  Professor of Zoology department in Chattogram University and coordinator of Halda Research Center. Also read: Two dolphin carcasses found in Turag River He said according to a research conducted in 2020, there were 127 dolphins in the country. “If effective steps are not taken to conserve them soon there will be no Dolphin in Halda  in future,” he added.

A dead dolphin washed ashore at Patuartek beach in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday just after a day of loads of dead fish found at Darianagar point of the beach. The dolphin carcass washed ashore with high tide around 10 am and got stuck on the sand, said the local fishermen. Earlier on Saturday evening hundreds of small fish, locally known as Chamila fish, floated ashore near Darianagar point of Cox’s Bazar sea beach. Also read: Two dolphin carcasses found in Turag River

Within just 12 hours two dolphin carcasses were recovered from the Turag River at Ashulia Bazar area in Savar until Monday noon. After the local fisherman fished out a dead dolphin weighing three mounds on Sunday afternoon, locals spotted another floating near Felaghat area on Monday noon. This time the dolphin weighed around 5 mounds said, Kamrul Islam Sarkar, a senior fisheries officer in Savar upazila. Also read: Another dolphin carcass recovered from Halda River He said the dolphin recovered on Sunday was a Ganges Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) according to a researcher from Jahangirnagar University. “These dolphins had sanctuary in Padma and Jamuna River in Bangladesh but in the last 10-15 years this species was not heard to be spotted in this region” said Kamrul. Also read: Reward for information about Dolphin killers: Environment Minister He said they are trying to identify the species of the dolphin found today. Experts are also trying to determine the cause of their deaths. The government incorporated a punishment of maximum five-year jail or highest Tk 5 lakh fine for repeated killings of dolphins in the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act. On October 19,the government approved the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan” to protect the habitat of dolphins in Bangladesh.

The government has approved the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan” to protect the habitat of dolphins, said Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin. The plan was approved at a meeting of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change chaired by the minister on Tuesday. In addition to the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan", "Fund Management Guidelines", "Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh" and "Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphin in Halda River" have also been approved subject to some amendments. Also read: Govt 'working hard' to save dolphins Speaking on the occasion, the environment minister said that the "Dolphin Conservation Action Plan" would play an effective role in reducing the decline in the number of dolphins in rivers and coastal areas and in protecting the habitat of dolphins. "Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh" will help people to know the whereabouts of Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins in the winter. The Minister said that in addition to protecting dolphins and their habitats, the "Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphins in Halda River" would also serve as a guide for the authorities in dolphin conservation. The "Fund Management Guidelines" have been formulated so that the Dolphin Conservation Team can make proper use of the funds provided by the government and carry out dolphin conservation activities for a long time. Also read: Three more dolphin carcasses found off Chattogram coast Deputy Minister of Environment and Forests Begum Habibun Nahar, Secretary of the ministry Md Mostafa Kamal were among those present.

Another dolphin was found dead in the Halda River in Hathazari upazila of Chattogram district on Monday. Naval police members recovered the dolphin carcass from Ramdas Munshirhat in the upazila. Professor Manjurul Kibria, co-ordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory of Chittagong University, said local people spotted the dead dolphin in the morning and informed it to river police. Also read: Another dead dolphin found in Halda River A team of river police buried it near the river. On September 30, local people found another dead dolphin in the same area. So far, local people have recovered 31 carcases of dolphins from Halda River since 2017 and all the carcasses bore several injury marks. Also read: Dead dolphin washes ashore on Kuakata beach

A carcass of a Ganges species dolphin washed ashore on Kuakata beach in Patuakhali on Thursday. Locals spotted the carcass, seven feet long, around late afternoon, reported our local correspondent. Witnesses told UNB that there were bruises on its face and they suspected the dolphin died after being hit by fishing net. Kalapara upazila senior Fisheries Officer Apu Saha said that the carcass belonged to Ganges river species (Platanista gangetica) of dolphins . Dolphins of this species usually survive by eating fish. As a result, it may die by getting trapped in fishing nets. Read: Another dead dolphin found on Kuakata sea beach He also didn’t rule out the possibility of natural death due to age.. Earlier on Sep 2, a 12-foot dolphin washed ashore in  Kuakata beach of Patuakhali. Before that, as many as 12 dead dolphins were found on the beach this year over a period of nine months. Among them, nine were recovered in August alone. In 2020, around seven dead dolphins were found on the Kuakata coast.

Local fishermen found a dead dolphin on Kuakata sea beach in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali district on Saturday. Local people said, the dolphin, about 6-7 feet long, had injury marks on its mouth and they suspected that the dolphin might have died after being hit by fishing nets. Read:Another dead dolphin found floating in a canal in Chattogram Apu Shaha, Fisheries and Livestock official of Kalapara upazila, said, “The dolphin belongs to the Ganges river dolphin specie which live on eating fish. It might have died after being hit by fishing nets.”