Captive Commerson’s dolphins in North America

This piebald dolphin resembles a torpedo as it zips through the ocean. A known acrobat, the Commerson’s dolphin — which resembles the porpoise but bears the traits of a dolphin, loves to bow ride.

Commerson’s are late to captivity compared with other species. In North America, only SeaWorld and Mystic Aquarium have held these dolphins for public display. In Mystic’s case, the acquisition of the dolphins was entirely by accident and came about when a plane carrying four Commerson’s stopped to refuel at John F. Kennedy airport on Dec. 14, 1978.

En route from Argentina to Japan’s Sunshine International Aquarium, the aircraft stopped to refuel in the US and ran afoul of US law. Three dolphins were found in very poor health after the 35-hour trip and a fourth had died. A representative of the aquarium was charged with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the survivors were seized by US authorities and sent to Mystic Aquarium. Only one survived — Carmelita, she was the first captive Commerson’s dolphin in the world at this time. She survived for five years before dying in 1981.

Further history on Commerson’s in captivity globally, and their capture, can be found in “Captive Commerson’s Dolphins. A Historical Record and Inventory“, published by Ceta-Base.com. But back to N. America.

SeaWorld first entertained the idea of displaying Commerson’s in 1983. According to the Marine Mammal Inventory Report (MMIR) hosted at Ceta-Base, twelve individuals were initially captured from the wild for the San Diego-based park: