Dolphin Adventures at SeaWorld San Diego on May 8, 2025

We're home to 15 dolphins, ranging in age from our newest rescue at just 8 months old all the way up to 46 years young. We love to care for these animals and celebrate each and every day with them. So now I just got one question for all of you. Are you ready to meet some dolphins? That is what we like to hear. Coming up first are one of our youngsters at only 60 years old. Time to show off how she puts a spin on everything she does. Let's give it up for Carly! Up next, another one of our superstars. She's a common dolphin showing off some of her beautiful stripes as she gives you her best impression of a sandman on your left hand side. Say hello to Rollit! And last but certainly not least, showing age is just a number. Our oldest dolphin at 46 years old. Say hello to Sandy! And of course, we could not forget about our dedicated trainers who care for these animals each and every day. Please say hello to our fountain team! Well everyone, these animals have a lot of energy and they love to have fun. So let's watch as they show us just how they celebrate life! We are the world! Hey everybody, if you're looking for my voice, I'm down here in front. This is San Diego and like so many San Diego families, we came to SeaWorld all the time. Now I actually sat in these exact seats as you and I just fell in love with dolphins watching the dolphin presentation. Now, I actually got my very first job ever here when I was in high school and I worked in the stadiums. And I got to help usher people to their seats and clean up afterwards. And it was during those times that I got a really cool behind the scenes look at what it was with what happened after the presentations with the dolphins and the trainers. Now I saw a lot of quiet moments just like what you guys see behind me right now. Just hanging out with the dolphins, getting to know them one on one with their likes and their dislikes. You can see Vanessa down there on your guys' right hand side. She's hanging out right now with Sandy who is an incredible animal. She just celebrated her 46th birthday. I know, right? Yes, Sandy is an incredible dolphin. She's also one of those dolphins that is just so great at teaching the new generation of trainers how to be a dolphin trainer. She's a very special girl. You can see Paula right here saying hello to everybody. She always has a ton of energy and she is so smart. Of course, we can't forget Carly who's hanging out with Carrie on your guys' left. She is probably one of the silliest dolphins that I know. She just loves everything that's really weird and silly. Carly just gets so jazzed on all of that. You can actually hear those squeals right now. Those aren't vocalizations that we're asking for. The dolphins here actually make a lot of different vocals when they're really excited or they're really stoked about something. You'll hear it a lot of times when they get something right. They go, woo, yes, I did it. Getting to know these dolphins one-on-one is so amazing. It's actually the reason why my friend Ethan is going to get to meet a dolphin. Is that you? Yeah? All right. What we're going to do is you're going to come on up here. We are actually going to be meeting Sandy, I believe. I'm going to have you step on up here on these stairs. Okay, great job. Then Sandy is going to come say hello to us. Have you ever met a dolphin before? No? This is your first time? This is great. All right, here's Sandy. What I want you to do is I'm actually going to have you reach out and see what Sandy feels like. All right, you can touch her right here on her back. What do you think? Is she really soft and smooth? Yeah? Yeah, dolphins have incredibly smooth skin. All right, let's tell her she did a good job. Look, she's excited. What we're going to do is you're going to help me feed her some fish. All right? You're just going to drop it right in her mouth like that. Drop it right in. Dolphins here eat a big variety of fish. This is actually some nice squid that you're giving her. Great job. Let me see what else we got in here. Oh, my goodness. All right, here's some capelin. Drop it right in there. And one more. All right, let's see if Sandy wants to show us some of her vocals. Does that sound good? All right, so take two fingers like this. I want you to bounce them up and down. Great job. Oh, my goodness. All right, here's some more squid to give her. And you'll notice she actually swallows all of her fish whole. Those teeth are for ripping or tearing her fish, and they're too big to swallow all at once. All right, so what we're going to do now is I'm going to have you take a step down here because we have a problem on our hands. Smell your hands. I know, I know. It's really fishy. Don't worry. We have a trick to get rid of it. Okay, so everybody help us out. Take your hands, smack them together, and just start rubbing it really fast. Get it really, really hot, and then just wipe it right down your shirt. Great job. You're going to smell like a dolphin trainer all day. All right, how about we get a great photo of you and Sandy. Turn around. Who's taking your picture? Is there someone taking your picture here? Right there? Great. Oh, I see them. All right, so Sandy's actually going to wave with her tail behind you. Wave at the camera. I'm going to get out of the way. Nice to meet you. My name's Troy, and I want you to greet me and kick things off. Now, short of assessment, each of our dolphins has their own unique personalities just like you and me. As trainers, we spend time one-on-one with them getting to learn what they like, what they dislike, and everything that's mean. Animals like Bullet. She loves to learn new behaviors. She loves to have fun with her trainers. Now, each of these things learned about our dolphins is truly important. It helps us do a variety of things. From the presentation sessions you all have the chance to see right now, to helping do husbandry. It's a special way of saying our animals are able to voluntarily participate in their own health care. They can slide out onto a scale where we can track their weights or even present their tail glutes to us. We can get voluntary blood jobs. Just like when you guys go to the doctor and get your blood work done, our dolphins are able to do the same thing right here at SeaWorld with our world-class veterinarians. Not all of that is only possible due to a strong, trusting relationship that we build with each of our animals. Luckily enough, we build them with each of our dolphins, but also two very special, short-finned pilot whales. And now, you all get the chance to meet them. Pilot whales can be found all throughout our global oceans, but are close relatives to both dolphins and orcas. Now, our two pilot whales here at the amphitheater have quite the story as to how they now call SeaWorld San Diego their home. Ava and Piper were actually part of a mass stranding event off the coast of Florida back in 2012 where they beached themselves with 22 other pilot whales. At the time of their rescue, they were estimated to be only between 3 to 6 months old of age, weighing less than 300 pounds. Now, that sounds like a lot, but putting that into perspective, that's about how much bullet weight the water puts off them that you met earlier. They were taken to SeaWorld of Orlando for a round-the-clock veterinary care and rehabilitation with the intent to release them back into the wild. However, due to their young age when they stranded, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission deemed them non-releasable, and luckily, SeaWorld has become their forever home. Thirteen years later, Ava and Piper are still thriving. They each weigh in at over 1,700 pounds and are still growing. Just like our dolphins, Ava and Piper also have their own unique personalities. Ava is definitely the spunkier one of the two. She loves to say hello to all of you in the swim zone. Piper's more calculated, introverted we say. She works best with those trainers that she builds a strong, trusted relationship with. Nevertheless, pilot whales have a zest for life. They are playful and curious. But one of the best ways that we can build our relationships with them is with a little bit of playtime. So, please enjoy this very special playtime with our short-finned pilot whales, Ava and Piper. Hi, Piper! Here comes the sun Dancing, it's all right Sun, sun, sun Here we come Here comes the sun Dancing, it's all right Up the stairways and on the top side of the amphitheater. Not only for your safety, but the safety of our animals as well. Now we are truly lucky to care for such incredible animals with such powerful stories. Ava and Piper are just a drop in an ocean of animals that SeaWorld has rescued over the past 61 years. In fact, SeaWorld opened its doors within a milestone company-wide to be able to rescue over 42,000 animals. And we could not have done that without our SeaWorld rescue team and support from all of you. So truly, thank you for being here today. You all deserve a huge round of applause. Now as our amazing animals make their way back out, we hope that they inspire you to protect the oceans that surround us. Not just for us, but for generations to come. By recycling, reusing, or reducing our use of single-use plastics, we can all work together to help keep trash from finding its way into animal habitats. You can even join or organize your own community or beach cleanups. Little things like this add up to make a big difference. Just by being here today, you've shown your love for animals, and we hope that you'll join us in our commitment to care for the world around us. Including the land, seas, skies, and of course all of its incredible creatures. Now folks, like I mentioned, that grand finale is just around the corner. But if you do need to leave early, we ask that you exit up the stairways and on the top side of the amphitheater. Not only for your safety, but the safety of our amazing animals as well. And as they make their way on out, I want to point out a very special individual dolphin. His name is Cardiff, and he's on your lower right-hand side. He's a common dolphin, just like Bullet, but he is almost a year old. He was rescued just last January off the California beaches, and it's truly special to incorporate him into our dolphin family. Well, it looks like the gang is all here, and that means it's time for some more fun. So let's live it up, because the world is ours! From the sky, to the sea, to the air that we breathe. From the depths of the earth, to the stars. Light the world, light the world, run like you're born to fly. Like you'll never know what you dare to dream. And everything in between. And if I need wonder, in the star-filled sky. Celebrate life and each other, and enjoy the rescue to San Diego!