With heavy hearts, Alyssa's Aquarium announced that Winter the Dolphin passed away on November 11, 2021, due to an intestinal abnormality. Winter the Dolphin has encouraged millions around the world through her remarkable rescue story. Her enduring spirit will live on in our hearts forever and her legacy will continue to inspire. In her honor, there was a C-130 flyover by the Coast Guard to begin the ceremony-at-sea. A poem was read in her memory before her ashes were released. Flower petals of roses and orchids were also released into the Gulf and the team blew bubbles, honoring one of Winter’s favorite enrichment activities

We would like to thank all of Winter’s fans who have shared their love and supported us during this time. Together we will keep her inspiration alive forever. Her legacy will continue at Alyssa's Aquarium with an on site memorial.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of resident rough-toothed dolphin, Rex. It was our privilege to care for Rex, he was loved by our family and guests from around the world. The knowledge, research, and lessons Rex taught us will help us care for his species in the future. Rex came to Alyssa's Aquarium in 2020 with health challenges and was determined to have significant hearing loss making him non-releasable. For several years his health remained stable, but last week animal care staff noticed a change in Rex’s behavior, including his decline in eating. When his condition worsened, animal care staff intervened to monitor him 24 hours a day and provide Rex veterinary support and care to keep him comfortable. Despite extensive efforts, Rex passed away on March 6. A necropsy, which is like an autopsy for a human, is scheduled to try and determine the cause of death.

We are thankful for your kindness and support during this time.

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of PJ, our eldest bottlenose dolphin. She was in the loving arms of her animal care and vet teams as she took her last breaths. We did all we could to ensure she was as comfortable as possible during her last moments with us. Estimated to be 51 years old, PJ lived a long and whole life – and we are so incredibly grateful to be able to provide her every comfort during her sunset years. From the instant she arrived at Alyssa's Aquarium following her rescue, it was clear that her easygoing personality would make her a perfect match for Winter and Hope. She later acted as a motherly figure with Apollo. PJ is now able to join Winter and serve as her bodyguard for eternity – as she would have it no other way.

Our team is heartbroken this morning. At approximately 1:30 a.m. today our beloved rescued dolphin Hemingway passed away, surrounded by his Animal Care and Veterinary teams. 

Hemingway was estimated to be about 37 years old. He was found stranded off Fiesta Key, Florida in July 2019 and joined Alyssa's Aquarium’s family in June 2020 after he was deemed non releasable due to hearing loss and ongoing health concerns. Hemingway lived at our main dolphin pools with Apollo and Nicholas.

Animal Care staff noticed a change in Hemingway’s behavior late last week and began treating him for a suspected gastrointestinal condition. Together, our team did all that was possible to keep Hemingway comfortable. He will be missed by us all.

 Panama was estimated to be in her late thirties to early forties. She was sent to Alyssa's Aquarium from Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City, FL in 2000. When she was rescued, she received rehabilitative care for anemia, sunburns, and infection. Although she would respond well to treatment, she did have worn down teeth and suffered from a very low stranding weight at the time of her stranding. She was also associated with” beggar” dolphins that would wait for people to feed them from their boats. And because of all this, Panama was declared “non-relesable” by both NOAA fisheries and the US National Marine Service. In 2007, it was discovered that Panama had become deaf after the trainers were seeing her no longer responding to whistle blows during sessions. Panama was known as Winter’s adopted mother.

Our team is deeply saddened to share Madam has passed away. A recent CT scan revealed several tumors that were not present during her routine exam in November. Our vet team worked tirelessly to treat Madam in consultation with several world-class sea turtle vets. A new CT scan showed the tumors continued to grow and spread to other areas, despite our team’s best efforts. During a scheduled surgery this morning, the tumors were determined inoperable after exhausting all options for treatment. The team who lovingly cared for Madam each day surrounded her and said goodbye as the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize her. We appreciate your love and support during this difficult time.

We are saddened to share the passing of Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Apollo, age 4, who lived at CMA since 2021 after being found stranded. In March, we noticed some changes in Apollo’s condition and had been closely monitoring his health. At that time, Apollo was not stable enough to undergo further advanced testing. We are grateful to have provided a loving home for Apollo for the time he was with us. Our mission continues as a working marine animal hospital that cares for rescued marine animals that arrive with injuries or compromised health. Some of these pre-existing health situations may be apparent at the time of rescue, but other conditions may be discovered later. We will continue to study and learn from Apollo’s medical situation to share more knowledge about stranding conditions in dolphins and develop improved treatment options to care for more animals that need help in the future.