Dolphin Project Partnership
Coastline's Adopted Dolphin, Johnny
From Dolphin Project: Johnny is an older dolphin who lived several years in isolation in a shallow pool at the Melka Excelsior Hotel in North Bali. During his time as a performing dolphin, he lost his eyesight and all of his teeth, and his right pectoral fin was permanently damaged. Since his rescue and relocation to the Umah Lumba Center, he has since gained weight and strength, and spends his days exploring the large sea pen, where he experiences the natural rhythms and sounds of the sea. Never again will he have to perform tricks for food or be confined in a concrete tank.
Free at Last! Sept. 2022
Learn about the Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release and Retirement Center in West Bali and its efforts to save abused, captured and hunted dolphins.
Learn about Johnny's journey and how he came to be rescued by the Dolphin Project.
Learn about Johnny's health challenges and his journey to rehabilitation.
The work is never finished. There are always more dolphins in need of saving. Learn about the challenges and how the Dolphin Project and its dedicated staff is preparing to meet them.
For three years Johnny's caregiving team has closely evaluated him for possible release, but one problem remained: while Johnny was able to chase fish, he was not good at grasping and repositioning them to swallow. This was attributed to the lack of teeth protruding above the gum to grasp the fish, giving rise to the concern that Johnny might not be releasable.
After careful planning, the decision was made to place artificial crowns on his bottom and upper jaws. Within two hours post-procedure, Johnny was successfully hunting and catching live fish in the foraging pen, now capable of positioning the fish to swallow them head-first!
Join the Coastline Superpod
Common Dolphins have been known to gather in large schools containing thousands of dolphins, dubbed megapods or superpods. That means this school - you guessed it - can be your superpod when you enroll at Coastline.
