A tour boat captain says a newborn dolphin was injured after another boat sped through a pod of dolphins Monday in the barge canal between the Indian River and Banana River near Merritt Island.
Dagan Alexander, who leads dolphin tours in the Indian River Lagoon, said he was showing a family a pod of dolphins that had recently welcomed two newborn calves when another boat came through the canal at a high speed.
“He looked at me, waved at me, smiled. They laughed and they saw the dolphins and manatees in front of them and they literally just plowed right over them,” Alexander said.
Alexander said he waved at the other boat and pointed toward the dolphins before it continued through the pod.
After the boat passed, Alexander said he moved closer to check on the dolphins and noticed the smallest calf had been injured.
“The younger of the two brand new baby dolphins had a large chunk or flap of flesh hanging just on the left side of the dorsal fin,” he said.
Alexander said he immediately reported what he saw to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He said an FWC officer was on scene within minutes.
SeaWorld told News 6 Tuesday that its partners at the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute searched for the injured calf but had not seen it since the reported strike.
The organization is asking anyone who sees the dolphin to contact FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) with as much detail as possible to help responders locate and evaluate the animal.