In late July, our Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) held
Maryland’s annual dolphin count event. This is just one of many
activities MARP participates in throughout the year, in addition
to rescuing and rehabilitating animals. The National Aquarium is
one of several East Coast organizations that participates in
this annual dolphin count. These counts allow marine specialists
and researchers to gather a “snapshot” view of the population
status of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. On July 22, our
Marine Animal Rescue team, along with members of our
Conservation Team and several volunteers, gathered in Ocean
City, MD. Record heat index temperatures could not stop them
from a date with the beach and dolphin watching! Teams stationed
at four separate locations, including Assateague, 40th & 130th
Street Ocean City, and on the Ocean City Coast Guard Vessel.
From land, our staff and volunteers spotted more than 130
dolphins, some of which were neonates and young of the year.
Surprisingly, there are no marine mammals