11-year-old dolphin dies at Mirage on Las Vegas Strip; 3rd since April
By Caitlin Lilly
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — MGM Resorts International announced Sunday that a dolphin died over the weekend at The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat.
According to a news release, the bottlenose dolphin, named K2, died Saturday at 11 years old.
The company says K2 had been receiving treatment for a respiratory illness.
The death of K2 marks the third dolphin to die at the facility since April, as an 19-year-old dolphin named Maverick died earlier this month and a 13-year-old dolphin named Bella died in April.
“All of us are heartbroken over this tragic loss, especially our amazing animal health and care teams who love and care for our animals on a daily basis,” Mirage’s Interim President Franz Kallao said in a memo to staff.
In the memo, Kallao said that K2 had been born and the facility and staff “watched him grow and learn, from an infant to an adolescent and finally to an adult.”
He added that K2 “was very vocal, energetic, loved his toys and was a joy to be around. He always made us smile.”
The company said that the facility would be closed until further notice.
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