Sarasota Dolphin Project’s Sister program Brookfield Zoo to welcome baby dolphin
Just like her human counterparts, Tapeko undergoes an ultrasound to check on her unborn baby. Photo courtesy of Brookfield Zoo Chicago & the Chicago Zoological Society
For more than 40 years Dr Randy Wells has studied dolphins in the wild in Sarasota Bay. Much of his work has been supported (and vise versa) through the sister efforts of Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Having grown up in the Chicagoland area, Brookfield Zoo is where I saw my first ever dolphin and fell in love with the species, creating a lifelong dream of swimming with them and maybe even working with them.
Brookfield Zoo has been the foundation of so many of my dreams. My first “favorite” dolphin was Nemo who was eventually moved to the Florida Keys and Hawk’s Cay Resort. I was in my 20′s when I was finally able to swim with the dolphins in my DolphinLab experience at Dolphin Research Center. I then spent time exploring the Florida Keys, falling helplessly in love with this amazing stretch of America.
Then a week with Dr. David Nathanson as an intern in his Dolphin-Human Therapy research.
Dolphins and Florida have been such a long and beloved part of my life.
So with great excitement I found out recently that one of those Brookfield Zoo dolphins I have known for many years, and had a personal encounter with when I participated in the Brookfield Zoo Trainer for a Day program, Tapeko is pregnant.
Tapeko is a 29 yer old dolphin with a lot of water under her fins at Brookfield Zoo’s Seven Seas. A practiced mamma dolphin she even filled in as surrogate mom when one of her daughters, a first time mom, struggled.
Topeko (left) and her man, Chinook (right) are ready to bring another baby dolphin into the fold. Photo courtesy of Brookfield Zoo - Chicago Zoological Society
The father is Chinook, 28, (gotta love cougar dolphins) and together they’re set to bestow upon Brookfield Zoo’s successful program yet another little calf.
“Tapeko’s upcoming birth is a very important one for the success of our breeding group of bottlenose dolphins,” said Rita Stacey, curator of marine mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society. “As an experienced mother, she will demonstrate crucial calf-rearing skills for the other females in the dolphin group, who will all be first-time mothers when their time comes. Tapeko will also allow the other females to swim with her calf, giving them ’flippers-on‘ training with young calves,” added Stacey.
Along with Tapeko and her boy-toy Chinook, the dolphin family at Brookfield Zoo includes her two daughters, Noelani (7) and Allison (5) along with Spree (8), Tatem, (7), and Nea (3).
Brookfield Zoo’s storied dolphin history mirrors the Sarasota project with a long and important run. About to celebrate its 50th year, both programs contribute to our knowledge, ability to help dolphin and create and sustain their important environment, our oceans.
