Durban - Three bottle-nosed dolphins that were kept in captivity for about a decade were released back into the wild by a sanctuary in Indonesia at the weekend.
Johnny, Rocky and Rambo swam through an underwater gate at the Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release and Retirement Centre, just off the coast of west Bali, Indonesia, and let back into the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
They were fitted with GPS trackers and will be monitored for a year, according to the Dolphin Project.
The three males were made to perform stunts for the amusement of tourists and the profit of a company carting them around.
They were rescued from a pool three years ago.
Johnny, Rocky and Rambo were found in a hotel resort to which they had been sold after years of performing in a travelling circus.
Captive dolphins are often kept in isolation and in chlorinated water during these times.
These dolphins, in their natural habitat, tend to migrate seasonally and are used to swimming in the open water.
Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Indonesia’s minister of environment and forestry, was at the release on Saturday.
Lincoln O’Barry, the campaigns co-ordinator for the Dolphin Project, said it was “incredibly emotional”.
“After 10 years, these dolphins were set free. It was an incredibly emotional experience to see them go. Our team, who has worked with them for more than 10 years, was on hand and it became incredibly emotional.
“The minister of forestry, who was also there, actually helped release the dolphins,” O’Barry said.
“The dolphins went out into the open where the sea was and then they turned back around and came back to us one more time, almost to say thank you and goodbye and then they headed out to the open ocean and disappeared,” he said.
IOL