The Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat has lost an 11-year-old dolphin.

The firm revealed Sunday afternoon that a bottlenose dolphin named K2, perished on Saturday. According to the company’s statement, he was being treated for a respiratory infection. The attraction was closed briefly while the firm investigated the cause of death.

K2 is the third dolphin that died in Secret Garden this year. Bella, a bottlenose dolphin which is 13-year-old  died in April after suffering from gastroenteritis. A  19-year-old bottlenose dolphin named Maverick, died earlier this month after a lung infection was treated.

“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.” Mirage Interim President Franz Kallao said in a statement.

A bottlenose dolphin’s life expectancy is around 28-29 years old, according to the worldwide organization Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. According to the AMMPA website, “dolphins in zoos and aquariums today live as much as or more than dolphins in the wild.”

At the Secret Garden, K2 was born.

“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,” Kallao explained. “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.”

Credits: Review Journal

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