First newborn for Atlantis dolphin family

NEW ARRIVAL: Butters the dolphin with her new calf. (Supplied)

The first offspring from the Atlantis family of dolphins has been born at Dolphin Bay, the new dolphin encounter and education centre at the Dubai resort.

The calf, as yet unnamed, was born to a dolphin called Butters in a special maternity pool within the habitat and mother and calf have spent the first days nurturing and bonding.

"The calf is being monitored 24 hours a day by marine mammal specialists to ensure the calf is healthy and developing on schedule,” said Frank Murru, chief marine officer, Kerzner International.

“This is the first birth for our Dolphin Bay family, a true testament to the acclimation of these incredible animals.”

In addition to the interactive lagoons, Dolphin Bay will also serve as the first marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation centre in Dubai.

It will be the only centre for stranded animals in the Gulf and every year, many injured marine mammals become stranded in the area and need assistance.

The new facility aims to rescue rehabilitate and return as many animals to the wild as possible.

Dolphin Bay is a 4.5 hectare environment with three interaction lagoons complete with sandy beaches in a tropical setting.

The habitat provides the dolphins with seven interconnected resident pools, sheltering from inclement weather and 26 million litres of crystal-clear seawater, which exceeds all marine mammal regulations in the UAE.

The residents of Dolphin Bay are all Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, who breathe air out of a blowhole located on the top of their head.

The average gestation period for a Bottlenose Dolphins are 10-12 months.

The calf, born with sparse hair on its snout, will nurse from its mother for 12-18 months and will begin to eat fish at about four months of age.

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