Flipping Out: Three Dolphins At The Mirage Las Vegas Sent To SeaWorld
For over 30 years, Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat has wowed crowds at The Mirage. But after Hard Rock International’s acquisition of The Mirage, and several deaths of dolphins at the property, the venue is closed. Now three of the dolphins at the property are finding a new home.
It was announced on Tuesday that three dolphins, Karli, Sofi and Osborne, have been brought “home” to SeaWorld San Diego. The park actually originally gave these three to The Mirage, and returning them was part of the deal.
Here’s what the Joe Lupo, President of The Mirage, said in an announcement:
“The care of the dolphins at The Mirage has always been the highest priority for both Hard Rock and MGM. We are returning the dolphins to SeaWorld in San Diego in accordance with Mirage’s contractual commitment to do so when SeaWorld originally loaned these dolphins to The Mirage Dolphin Habitat.
We are grateful for their partnership and know they will be in great hands back with SeaWorld which is an accredited zoo providing world-class care that is audited, regulated and certified by independent animal welfare experts. We would like to thank The Mirage and SeaWorld team members for their efforts in this relocation, as well as MGM for its continued involvement in this process.”
The Mirage has been dealing with bad news regarding their dolphins recently
It’s been a challenging time for the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The matriarch of the park, Duchess, just passed away after quite a long run: 48 years. However, three other dolphins passed away in just the last year.
- Bella was a 13 year old bottlenose dolphin and the granddaughter of Duchess. She died after a medical treatment in April.
- Maverick died in September at 19 years old after medical treatment for a lung infection.
- K2 died, also in September, at just 11 years old while getting medical treatment for an illness.
There are still three dolphins remaining at the park, as well as the big cats which are all going to be re-homed in the weeks and months to come.
