3 Dolphins Have Died in Las Vegas Since April

K2, an 11-year-old dolphin that was in captivity at Mirage Las Vegas’ Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, died on September 24. The bottlenose dolphin was receiving treatment for a respiratory illness.

K2 is the third dolphin to die at the habitat since April. 13-year-old Bella died in April after being treated for gastroenteritis and 19-year old Maverick died in early September after being treated for a lung infection.

In a memo to his employees, Mirage Interim President Franz Kallao said, “We are working closely with veterinary and pathology experts to determine the cause of death. We are also working with additional outside veterinary, water quality, behavioral, animal welfare, and environmental experts to help us conduct a thorough review and inspection of both the animals and the facility.”

A blog post on Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project website, written by someone from a Facebook group called Free the Mojave Dolphins, called the facility “The Dolphin Death Pool.” The post noted that a total of 12 dolphins have died at the habitat since it opened in 1990.