What is Dolphin Research Center?

Dolphin Research Center is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit research and educational facility located on Grassy Key in the Florida Keys. It is funded by people who visit the facility to see the dolphins and sea lions, swim with dolphins , or take part in another program, as well as by donations from those who join the DRC family when they adopt a dolphin or enroll in one of our other membership plans.

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How many marine mammals live at DRC?

Right now, there are 22 Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and 3 California Sea Lions in the family pod. More detailed information on individual marine mammals that are part of our family can found on our Meet the Pod page.

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Where does DRC get their dolphins and sea lions?

Most of them were born here. Some came from other facilities for critical medical care or other circumstances. Two (Jax and Lina) were rescued animals that could not be successfully re-released into the wild.

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Why doesn’t the webcam show me all of the dolphins and sea lions?

We wanted the camera to show you as much of the facility as possible, but for the stability and safety of the equipment, we had to mount it to one side of our research tower.  This means that the camera cannot view lagoons on the eastern side of DRC.

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I tried to watch the webcam during the time when you said it is available, but didn’t see anything.  Is it broken?

Our goal is to have the webcam operate as often as possible during our regular business hours.  However, sometimes the system will temporarily be down due to technical difficulties, maintenance or other reasons.  Please be patient.  It will be back on showing live action as soon as possible.  In the meantime, please enjoy some videos that we’ve produced about different DRC activities!

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Sometimes all I see are dolphins and then we see people on the docks feeding them and giving them hand signals.  What’s going on?

DRC does narrated behavior sessions with the dolphins and sea lions regularly throughout the day.  The people on the docks are trainers.  We use hand signals to ask the dolphins for certain behaviors.  Additionally DRC offers programs that allow visitors to interact with dolphins and sea lions. In between sessions you may see the dolphins interacting and playing with each other, practicing behaviors on their own, investigating things, resting, etc. Sometimes you will see staff members go down on to the docks outside of formal sessions just to visit and play with the dolphins, which is one of the many ways we further enrich their day.

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We saw members of the public get into the water with dolphins or touch them from the dock. What programs do you offer to visitors?

Dolphin Research Center offers a number of fun-filled, exciting, and educational programs including Dolphin Encounter (What most people think of as swimming with dolphins.), Dolphin Dip, Dolphin Explorer, Paint with a Dolphin, Play with a Dolphin and Meet the Dolphin. There are two all-day intensive programs called Trainer for a Day and Researcher for a Day. For more information on these programs, please refer to the Visit DRC section of our website and look at Get Wet with a Dolphin.

DRC also offers a series of week-long experiences for students of various ages. Check out the DolphinLab section under the Visit DRC area of our website.

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It looked like people were holding a dolphin by its tail or putting tubes down its throat!  What are you doing?

Don’t be alarmed.  Nothing that we do is harmful to the dolphins.  Some of the most important behaviors that we train and practice with the dolphins are ones that provide them with the highest quality of medical care.  They learn how to voluntarily cooperate with us on a number of medical behaviors.  For example, if you saw a dolphin lying upside down while we held its tail in our laps, we were practicing for a blood test, which allows us to closely monitor their health.  If you saw the dolphin allowing us to slide a tube into its mouth and throat, then he was about to receive some fresh water for extra hydration.  Dolphins in the wild get all the water they need from the fish that they eat. However, our dolphins’ fish has been flash frozen to retain maximum freshness and nutrients after it is caught. The freezing process causes a slight decrease in the amount of hydration our dolphins would normally receive from a live fish. Due to this we supplement their intake through the voluntary watering behavior that they have been trained. The dolphins trust us and know that we aren’t going to hurt them.  For these and other medical behaviors, if the dolphins don’t choose to participate, they can easily swim away. Most often, because their trainers make each behavior interesting and fun, the dolphins are eager to participate and then scream with excitement after completing a behavior as if to say “did you see how well I did that?!”.

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What kind of training does DRC do with its dolphins?

Behaviors designed to provide physical and mental stimulation as well as medical care and explore the dolphins’ cognitive capabilities. DRC uses Operant Conditioning as a method of training, which centers on the use of positive reinforcement.  All training is geared to be fun and stimulating for each individual. Just like people, every dolphin is unique and has different interests and personalities. We take this into account when interacting with them to make their day as exciting and positive as possible.

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What kinds of research does DRC do with its dolphins?

All research conducted at DRC is non-invasive. In-house research focuses on behavioral observations, cognitive studies, and physiological data. Much of our research is designed to learn more about dolphins’ behavior, as well as their cognitive-intellectual abilities. We also collect data for dolphin husbandry. Please refer to the Research area of our website for additional information about past and current research programs.

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Are the dolphins okay when they're just lying around in a stationary position?

They’re fine. Like people, dolphin activity levels vary a lot from individual to individual. Some dolphins rest more often than others and can be observed doing so when they are floating at the surface in a stationary position. Other dolphins like to get as close to the causeways as possible to people watch, so they find a comfortable position and rest there periodically.

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