SARASOTA, Fla. — Researchers say there’s been a record number of baby dolphins born in Sarasota Bay this year.
The Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has been tracking dolphins in the bay area for more than 50 years, and in that time they’ve never seen 22 dolphin births in Sarasota Bay in just one year.
Researchers say despite red tide in the bay earlier this year, right now dolphins are thriving.
"Red tide was not all that serious this year. It did not do the damage that it normally does to the fish populations that support the dolphins. And the populations had recovered from the severe 2018-2019 red tide, so the mothers had enough food to bring their pregnancies to full term and have babies," said Randall Wells, director of the program.
The Bay Area's dolphins are the focus of the world’s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population.
