Eleven-year-old dolphin becomes third to die at Las Vegas hotel facility since April

An 11-year-old dolphin has become the third such mammal to die at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas since April.

K2, a bottlenose dolphin, died on Saturday at The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, according to MGM Resorts International.

The company says that K2, who was born at the tourist attraction, had been under treatment for a respiratory illness. The facility has now been temporarily closed while an investigation is carried out into the specific cause of death.

In April, Bella, a 13-year-old bottlenose dolphin died after being treated for gastroenteritis. Earlier this month, Maverick, a 19-year-old bottlenose dolphin died after being treated for a lung infection.

“All of us are heartbroken over this tragic loss, especially our amazing animal health and care teams who love and care for our animals on a daily basis,” said Mirage’s Interim President Franz Kallao in a statement.

“Many of our team were standing poolside the day that our matriarch, Duchess, gave birth to K2. They saw with relief when he took his first breath.

“They watched him grow and learn, from an infant to an adolescent and finally to an adult. K2 was very vocal, energetic, loved his toys and was a joy to be around. He always made us smile.”

And he added: “I cannot stress enough that nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and welfare of the animals entrusted in our care. We are temporarily closing the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat to focus our efforts on ensuring that we have the safest possible environment and the best care possible for our dolphins and to give our team the time they need to process and grieve.”

The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums states that a bottlenose dolphin’s life expectancy is around 28-29 years old.

On the organisation’s website, they state that “dolphins in US zoos and aquariums today live as long or longer than dolphins in the wild.”