A calf will stay with its mother for at least three years and learns survival and behavioral patterns by copying its parent. It is illegal to feed wild dolphins near America's coasts as this can lead to the dolphins becoming dependent on handouts from humans. They can also become aggressive if they expect food from you and you do not provide it. The feeding of baby dolphins is limited to an orphaned calf or one in captivity where the mother has rejected it.
Things You'll Need
- Feeding bottle
- Wet towels
- Milk
- Helpers
Instructions
Feeding a Baby Dolphin
Get into the water where the dolphin is being kept. Dolphins feed their young underwater and although the baby can safely have their head lifted above the water to be fed, they would find it very distressing to be totally removed from the water.
Hold the baby securely. Cradling the baby under your arm or wrap wet towels or cloths around it to keep it still and secure while feeding.
Bottle feed the baby on milk. If it is possible to obtain dolphin milk from another female, that is ideal. A dolphin's milk is rich and creamy, with a consistency almost like a runny ice cream.
Have help available. At birth, a baby dolphin can weigh from 25 lbs. to 50 lbs. and will be about 3 feet in length. They grow quickly and can double in weight within a few months, so by the time they are three months old, it may take as many as three people to hold the dolphin while a fourth person feeds it.
Be prepared for this to be a full time task. Feeding will have to take place as often as every two hours for the first months of the dolphin's life, until they can be weaned on to fish from six months onward.