Louie Shares His Story

Every day, guests from all over the world who visit Dolphin Research Center are able to get up close and personal with the resident dolphins and sea lions. As it is illegal to interact with wild marine mammals, visiting them at facilities like DRC enables people to follow their curiosity and get to know these amazing animals on a more intimate level. Louie, a rescued dolphin who was found covered in oil on a beach in Louisiana when he was under a year in age, acts as an ambassador to his wild cousins every day.

While conversing with guests, we are able to tell each individual’s story. Louie’s history resonates with people globally, as the reason for him being a DRC family member stems from human error. In 2010, there was an accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil spilled out into the ocean and caused massive chaos in the oceans and many Gulf-side towns. DRC was not affected by the oil spill, but as an organization whose mission is to educate the world about marine mammals and the environment, it tugged at our hearts to know the possible detriments.

Despite the accident and only being given a 5% chance to live, Louie not only survived, he thrived. He puts a face to the oil spill disaster. He was a dolphin who needed a home and fell right into our mission of providing a forever place for marine mammals in need. Our Theater Presentation, “Survivor Stories”, gives us a chance to focus on him,  along with the two other rescued family members, Jax and Lina. Jax was the victim of a shark attack who was found alone at under a year in age and Lina was a repeat strander who had not learned to forage on her own. Louie, Jax and Lina were all deemed unreleasable by the government and in need of a home. Now, they have a forever family and home here at DRC.

As a not for profit, we couldn’t provide homes to Louie and the rest of the animals without your support. The animals always take precedence above all else. We thank you, our supporters for enabling us to provide a home to both the marine mammals who needed a home and those who were born here.