First birthday celebrations!
Join us in celebrating the first birthdays of Valentina and Bay, two adorable female bottlenose dolphin calves born at Dolphin Cay: Valentina, born on February 15, 2023, to mom Elektra, and Bay, born on March 6, 2023, to mom Megara. The marine mammal team at Dolphin Cay originally suspected that Elektraβs calf was male and chose the name βValentino.β Once the team was able to fully examine the young dolphin and confirm she is female, her name was changed to βValentina.β
Visitors at Dolphin Cay may witness the mother-calf pairs nursing and swimming together in the Paradise Estuary Lagoon. The calves, Valentina and Bay, are in the process of weaning but still nursing, spending the majority of their day playing and learning with other dolphins.
Valentina enjoys belly rubs, and Bay is characterized by her high energy and bouncy demeanor. Both are regularly seen jumping along as team members walk by, and theyβre now "singing" and mimicking vocals as well.
You can join in the birthday fun no matter where you are by making a gift in honor of the calves' first birthday to the nonprofit Atlantis Blue Project Foundation. Through research and conservation, the Blue Project Foundation works to save sea species β including several species of dolphin β and their habitats throughout The Bahamas.