What's That Name Again?

We have a lot of nicknames for the dolphins. Some are used facility wide, like Pandorable for Pandora or MooMooSaurus for Molly. Others are used by certain staff members, such as Gyppopatamus for Gypsi or Jack Attack for Jax. Like we do with our human friends and family, we each have names of affection for the dolphins and sea lions.

Rainbow has a lot of affectionate nicknames.

Recently, a guest said, “I have heard this guy been called all these different names today and I can’t figure out if he has a real name.” He was referring to Rainbow. However, the big guy also goes by Bodacious, Bo, Bow Bow, Bolicious, Rain, and so much more depending on who is saying hello. Since Rainbow is used to all these nicknames and who calls him what, it doesn’t bother him to hear a different name every time someone walks by. In fact, he gets excited when he recognizes who is saying hello by their distinct greeting and voice.

Sometimes nicknames come and go very quickly for the dolphins and other times they stick for a long time. It’s funny that a lot of times, the nicknames for our flippered family members are longer than their actual names! Too bad we don’t know what cute nicknames they may have for us.