UPDATE DECEMBER 1998:
Since August 1998, Stephania has been living at the Oceanario Islas del Rosario, Colombia, and Tele Images Nature is still her legal owner. Stephania is doing very well. She has bonded with two other female bottlenose dolphins - Luna and Bonnie - and the three dolphins now share the same sea pen.
The benefit of swimming companions has changed Stephania's stereotypical behavior. She has stopped floating on the water and swimming in circles. Furthermore, now that she is with other bottlenose dolphins, she is no longer afraid of the ocean. She and her two companions are free to venture into the open sea, and they frequently do. They stay in the immediate area and return to the sea pen to be fed. Stephania maintains a healthy appetite and has gained weight. Since her arrival at the Rosario Islands, she hasn't been depressed. Enjoying the company of other dolphins, her mental health and the quality of her life have improved tremendously.
Unfortunately, the final episode of The Blue Beyond creates the illusion that we made an attempt at releasing Stephania, and there is a lot of confusion regarding her current status. The Dolphin Project has received many letters from people who think Stephania is free. Some express confusion at not knowing whatever happened to her after she swam away from Albuquerque, the Caribbean island where we nursed her back to health. Others congratulate us for a release that never took place. The bottom line is, Stephania is not free, and we don't know if she ever will be.
While we await news from Tele Images Nature regarding their plans for Stephania, we continue to research whether Stephania can be successfully released back into the wild or not.
UPDATE JULY 1999:
We have been in contact with Rafael E. Vieira several times. He reports to us that Stephania maintains a healthy appetite. She spends all her time interacting with the other dolphins and shows no interest in people. Living in a sea pen with an open gate policy, Stephania frequently ventures into the open sea and returns to the sea pen to be fed when she is hungry.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2000:
Rafael E. Vieira is willing to let Stephania stay at his facility but needs financial aid, something that Tele Images Nature is not able or willing to provide. Due to lack of funds, The Dolphin Project is not in a position to finance Stephania’s stay at the Rosario Islands. Therefore, we ask the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) if they are interested in researching the possibilities of WSPA and The Dolphin Project working together to ensure Stephania’s future. WSPA responds positively and sponsored for us to return to the Rosario Islands, accompanied by Colombian WSPA manager Luis Carlos Sarmiento.
UPDATE APRIL 2000
When we arrive at the Oceanarium of the Rosario Islands on April 7th, we find Stephania in very good spirits. In fact, she has never looked better. She has continued to gain weight and obviously enjoys her spacious environment and the company of other bottlenose dolphins. Stephania spends all her time socializing with the other dolphins.
Our team spends the following three days discussing with Vieira the options we have at hand to ensure Stephania’s future. The most important question is: Can we ever release Stephania back into the wild?
As explained under the heading of “Dolphin Stephania,” Stephania never had a real chance of freedom. When we brought her to the Rosario Islands in August 1998, we meant for her stay to be temporary, and it was our hope that one day we could release her back into the wild. Stephania has a very independent character and shows no interest in people anymore. She may in fact be a good candidate for release but having discussed the matter with Vieira, we now know that releasing Stephania is not possible. It turns out that Vieira is familiar with the man who captured Stephania in 1987. His name is Captain Ospina, and he is the owner of the substandard dolphinarium of Santa Marta, Colombia, where Stephania spent her first eight years of captivity. Ospina captured Stephania 65 miles south of the Rosario Islands. The exact location is Punta Mestizos, in Cispata Bay. Today, more than 200 fishermen use long gill nets in Cispata Bay, causing a great number of dolphins to get entangled and suffocate. We now know that Stephania cannot be successfully returned to her original home range. Her habitat has been destroyed.
Ideally we would move Stephania to a real dolphin sanctuary, a place where non-releasable dolphins are identified as victims, not ambassadors. But we can’t, for the simple reason that there is no such place in the world. We firmly believe that the second-best thing for Stephania is to remain at the Oceanarium of the Rosario Islands. As much as we are opposed to dolphin shows and captive breeding, it is important to see the situation from Stephania’s perspective: In February 1998 she was on the verge of dying a miserable death in a concrete tank. Today, for the first time since her capture, she is healthy and happy, finally enjoying natural seawater and the company of dolphins of her own kind. She is free to venture into the sea with the other dolphins, and unlike most captive dolphins she doesn’t have to perform tricks. For 20 months Vieira has taken excellent care of Stephania, with no support from Tele Images Nature. Ever since Stephania’s arrival at his facility, Vieira has taken a genuine interest in Stephania’s well being. Although we stand on opposite sides of the fence as far as the dolphin captivity issue is concerned, Vieira has put his own politics aside and given us the benefit of an outstanding hospitality, thereby enabling us to do the right thing for Stephania.
UPDATE MAY 2000:
We are very happy to announce WSPA will cover the expenses connected with Stephania's stay at the Oceanarium of the Rosario Islands, i.e. her fish consumption and possible veterinarian care. In doing this, WSPA has ensured Stephania a bright future in a semi-captive environment. We will continue to monitor Stephania.
UPDATE MARCH 2001:
March 29 2001 Luis Carlos Sarmiento -- Regional Manager of WSPA South America -- has traveled to the Rosario Islands to check on Stephania’s well-being.
WSPA has been in charge of Stephania’s care for about one year. During this time an agreement has been set between WSPA and Rafael Vieira that Stephania be exempt from undergoing training to perform tricks, and Stephania does not participate in dolphin shows.
A new large sea pen has been build next to the dolphin pen. Stephania and the other dolphins are free to leave their sea pen to explore the new one hectare large area. They frequently do so, returning only to be fed.
Luis Carlos Sarmiento reports that Stephania appears to be both very healthy and happy. She spends most of her time with Luna, the female dolphin with whom she bonded immediately upon her arrival at the facility back in 1998.
CONCLUSION:
There is a gray area between captivity and complete freedom that has never been fully explored. For various reasons, not all captive dolphins can be successfully returned to the wild. Just one example: Some dolphins were captured at such a young age, they are unable to develop the natural survival skills that they need to make a successful transition to the wild.
Does that mean they have to spend the rest of their lives in a barren, concrete tank? Of course not. While not all captive dolphins can be successfully returned to the wild, they can all be readapted to a natural sea pen where they can once again experience the natural rhythm of the sea; the currents, the tides, the sunshine, and the thrill of chasing live fish. If the sea pen has an open gate policy, much like the one Stephania is enjoying, non-releasable dolphins can live out their lives in semi-freedom, without further human exploitation.
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