Abstract

Little is known about the reproductive biology of the rough-toothed dolphin species. In particular, data on pregnancy, parturition, and early development of calves have been collected from stranded animals and have only provided limited information.¹ Animals managed in human care are ambassadors for their species and present an incredible opportunity to compile medical baseline data.

Since 1996, Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida has maintained the only population of rough-toothed dolphins in long-term human care in North America. The collection is made up of entirely non-releasable stranded animals. Monitoring of basic morphometrics, biochemical and hematologic values which included progesterone and testosterone levels, over several years has helped to establish baseline data for these mammals. Two different males and females have become sexually mature resulting in four separate pregnancies. These pregnancies were monitored closely through voluntary behaviors and staff observations. Valuable information was gathered during the course of these pregnancies such as length of gestation, morphometrics on the calves, hematologic and chemical parameters of the cow, milk composition, and social behavior between cow/calf.

Progesterone levels during pregnancies ranged from 1–18.4 ng/mL with an average progesterone of 5.8 ng/mL. Gestation length for all 4 pregnancies was an average of 376 days. The average weight of a Steno calf at birth was 25.5 lb (11.1 kg).

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the staff and trainers at Gulf World Marine Park for making these studies and data collection possible.

* Presenting author

Literature Cited

1.  West K. Ecology and Biology of the Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) [dissertation]. Manoa: University of Hawaii; 2002: 1–145.