On 25th April 2006, the Marine Connection reported on the Risso's dolphin which was rescued from a beach in Benidorm and transferred to the Parque Oceanogràfic in Valencia. Sadly, despite being treated for several problems, the dolphin died on May 7th due to "multifunctional failure".

Previous to the death of the dolphin, we spoke to the Parque Oceanogràfic in Valencia and faxed over a list of questions about the dolphin. See below for details of the questions we asked and the response from the Aquarium

Fax response from Helena Llorens from Parque Oceanogràfic

Can you confirm exactly which species the rescued animal is?
"The animal was a female Grampus Griseus"

What age do you estimate the animal to be?
"The age was unknown, but obviously she was a lactating calf as she had no teeth and was only 2 metres long"

Is the animal male or female?
See question 1

What length is the animal?
See question 2

In what state of health is the animal?
"When she stranded the dolphin was extremely weak, skinny (80kg) and ill, with a severe infection and several wounds. During the time she spent in our facilities, the attitude and some blood parameters improved for a short time, but the animal did not gain any weight and infections were not completely stopped.

What is the dolphin being fed?
The food given every two hours was a mixture that included artificial milk specially designed for marine mammals and adapted for this species.

Extra information
"The animal was housed in a special pool for rehabilitation purposes. A team of at least 3 people looked after the animal, fed her and controlled every single parameter 24 hours a day."

"The work has been done in co-operation with the Regional Government and Valencia University. L'Oceanogràfic is the only Centre in the Valencia Region that works in rehabilitation of stranded animals (sea turtles and cetaceans) together with these other two public institutions."