SAN DIEGO — A nearly 40-year-old dolphin has died at SeaWorld San Diego.
Dottie was 39 years old.
Dottie, who had been born at SeaWorld Orlando but was moved to the San Diego Park, was mother to four calves and “was especially known for her strong personality and curiosity,” KSWB reported.
She died on May 31, KNSD reported.
She was a bottlenose dolphin, which can weigh 330 to 440 pounds and be 6 to 12 feet long. In the wild, they can live 8 to 17 years, but in captivity, they can survive up to 60 years.
Dottie had been diagnosed with kidney stones about 15 years ago, but thanks to her care team and veterinarians at the park, she was thriving for more than a decade despite her diagnosis.
People magazine reported in 2010 that she had stopped eating and was in acute kidney failure due to the stones. She underwent dialysis with help from the UC-San Diego Medical Center. Dottie also had the stones removed in a partnership with the UCSD Comprehensive Kidney Stone Center.
After a cystoscopy and ureteroscopy, and anti-bacterial and anti-fungal medication, she recovered at the time.
As for her death over the weekend, SeaWorld said she would be “deeply missed by the team who cared for her and by the countless guests who were able to connect with her over her remarkable life.”
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