Eight dead dolphins and five starving in an abandoned park in the Bahamas where tourists were allowed to swim with them for a fee

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A Bahamas resort that closed during the Covid-19 pandemic is responsible for the deaths of eight dolphins and the neglect of another five, according to a dolphin conservation group.

Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, a dolphin conservation nonprofit, claims that the Bahamas resort of Blackbeard Cay, also known as Balmoral Island, is responsible for eight dolphin deaths since 2018. There were a total of 13 dolphins on Balmoral Island. According to the organization, they were brought there in 2013 so that tourists could swim with them.

According to the report, eight of these dolphins have died since 2018, five of them in 2023 alone.

The organization’s founder, Ric O’Barry, made his first trip to the island on March 31 and reported his observations of the survivors.

“From what I have seen, the five survivors are in deep trouble,” Mr O’Barry said in a statement. “From the critical lack of food (and water) to the lack of much-needed shade and electricity, from potential dangers within the dolphin enclosures to the lack of adequate medical care, it would be more appropriate to say that the survivors are living a nightmare.”

According to the resort’s Facebook page, Balmoral Island is a “private beach island.” On May 26, 2020, the island announced its closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s unclear if any part of the private beach island has since reopened. The last post on their Facebook page is from June 17, 2020.

While the report describes the resort as “abandoned,” the organization says there is still a full-time caretaker there looking after the dolphins.

“He’s been with these dolphins for eight years,” Mr. O’Barry told Yahoo News of the caretaker. “He has no electricity at all, he’s like a homeless person living on the island.”

Mr O’Barry claims there is no electricity on site and that the surviving dolphins appeared malnourished and dehydrated. He also said that the resort’s “infrastructure was completely dilapidated” and there was no shade for the dolphins.

“Any of his dire observations … could be considered animal abuse,” the organization wrote. “And any of them could be responsible for the high number of dead dolphins.”

Now the activists are calling on the Bahamian government to intervene and save the five remaining dolphins, according to their report published on Monday.

The organization is working with environmental activist Sam Duncombe on this project.

The report said Ms Duncombe last spoke to Jomo Campbell, the Bahamian Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, on April 15. The report then states that Mr Campbell said the Dolphin Project would be granted access to the resort to help rescue the five live dolphins.

However, the organization says it has not received a response since then.

“The government of The Bahamas has a unique opportunity to forestall the terrible and heartbreaking reality surrounding the death of one of the world’s most beloved animals,” Ms. Duncombe said in a statement.

The Independent has contacted Balmoral Island, Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project and the Bahamian Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources for comment.