Marine Connection

Cliffy latest

The Marine Connection would like to thank everyone who continues to support the charity's campaign to release Cliffy, the friendly sociable bottlenose dolphin which frequented the area around the Port of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia before being captured and taken into captivity at Sea World, located on the Gold Coast.

The latest update on this young dolphin is that Sea World (SW) recently stated Cliffy has lost sight in his left eye as a result of a cataract. It is the Marine Connections' belief that SW are using this as an excuse to continue to keep this young animal. The longer Cliffy is held solitary in captivity, which is his current situation, the more desperate his situation will become. SW are not only continuing his habituation but effectively making him more dependent on humans by constant hand feeding and interaction. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and SW are currently arranging for an independent assessment to be conducted in order to ascertain whether Cliffy should be deemed suitable for release.

When this dolphin was first sighted with a piece of fishing line wrapped around his tail, causing superficial damage to the skin and resulting in the development of a wound, there should have been no reason why this animal could not have been treated 'on site' in the area he was frequenting at the time rather than allowing SW to take this dolphin into their facility. Cliffy is intrinsically a wild dolphin and should be released. His injuries are well healed, he has the opportunity of being released into a structured programme, monitored on a daily basis in an area that would very much limit his ability to beg from boats or humans. There is of course no guarantee that Cliffy would remain in the area but he deserves to be given the option to use his free will. Cliffy is a young male, coming into maturity, as such through time he may move off on his own accord like several other solitary dolphins have done after taking up residence in a particular area. This is much more common than solitary dolphins remaining long term in an area. The one notable exception is Fungie, a male bottlenose who has lived in Dingle Bay, Ireland since 1984.

The charity recognises that Sea World have helped with the rescue of many marine mammals in the Moreton Bay area and have an excellent record of rehabilitation and rescue of injured wildlife in Queensland, however in this instance there is no reason why they should not release this dolphin back into the wild. SW are also saying that Cliffy's behaviour is abnormal and if released, he will continue to seek and solicit interactions with humans for food, which will ultimately lead to his demise. The Marine Connection questions on what evidence SW base this claim, as hundreds of dolphins in Moreton Bay are partly human-dependent for food which has not led to their demise.

In the future, we may continue to see more instances of wild dolphins or whales becoming solitary for a time and some of those may interact with humans. If they do not behave in the way we believe they should, is the only option to take these animals into a captive situation?

It is our belief that taking Cliffy into captivity should not be the first and only option for this sociable yet wild, free-ranging animal. Please email the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking them to support the release programme by granting Cliffy his return to the ocean.