Trainers at a Vallejo marine animal park are mourning the death of a sprightly senior dolphin.
Terry, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's oldest bottlenose dolphin, died Saturday at age 51. Cause of death is pending a necropsy.
Her age was comparable to that of a 95-year-old person. Terry had lost the majority of her teeth and couldn't get out of the water much on her air spin.
"Terry had well surpassed the commonly held lifespan of this species both in captivity and in the wild," said Michael Muraco, animal care director, in a news release. "Each day that she lived in recent years was really a milestone and we're thankful so many individuals were able to learn from her and enjoy her lively spirit."
Terry, along with an ark of other animals, came to Vallejo when the park reopened in 1985 after moving from its original location in Redwood City.
Despite being a senior animal, Terry was the most reliable of dolphins during interactions with guests. She was agile, friendly and, right up to her death, adept at her wave, kiss, spit and hug.
She was much loved by trainers.
"She was the epitome of what we imagine an animal her age would be like – she had a gentle, loving nature but yet she was playful and very funny," said Kim Lara, marine mammal manager. "She will be missed by all."
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Bill Lindelof
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.