Chuckles the dolphin dies
Chuckles the dolphin was in his 30s.
Chuckles, one of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium's largest attractions and the oldest Amazon River Dolphin to live in captivity in North America, died Wednesday.
"We are very sad," said Dr. Barbara Baker, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Zoo. "He was a very unique and charismatic animal. We are deeply saddened by the loss."
The spirited and mischievous Chuckles, who was in his 30s, was a natural ambassador for the new aquarium, which opened in 2000 and gave him a new, spacious habitat nearly three times the size of his former tank. One of the oldest residents of the zoo, he received visitors with an enigmatic smile, hovering playfully in the bottle green water.
Baker said Chuckles was doing well in the new exhibit until two weeks ago when he became sick. Chuckles died at 3 p.m. during a physical by veterinarians to help discover the cause of a general malaise and loss of appetite that had afflicted the mammal.
"We really didn't know he was dying," Baker said. "He would go on and off food for periods through his life when he would eat three fish one day and 15 fish the next day. We were hoping that was the case.
"When they put him in the stretcher he had no energy, no life, no energy left whatsoever. He expired during the physical."
Chuckles, who came to the zoo in 1970 or '71, was estimated to be between 34 and 36 years old. Previously, the oldest living Amazon River Dolphin in captivity was 18, Baker said.
Chuckles gained some notoriety in 1996 when he bit a woman's hand when she reached over an enclosure to pet the aquatic mammal. The dolphin released the woman's hand after her male companion poked it with his umbrella, zoo officials said. Chuckles was not injured in the incident.
There are no plans to obtain another Amazon River Dolphin, since they are an endangered species, according to Baker.
A necropsy was expected to be performed yesterday. Results might not be known for about a week, Baker said. The remains might be donated to Carnegie Natural History Museum, she added. Baker, a veterinarian, said the most likely cause of death is kidney failure. Chuckles had a history of kidney problems.
Baker said Chuckles was the most famous resident in the zoo's aquarium. Baker said Chuckles had a long nose and a permanent smile on his face, which is how he got his name.
"He was well known, and he had an unique appearance," she said. "He enjoyed interacting with the public. He would go up to the glass and splash water. He was known nationwide."
Amazon River Dolphins, who inhabit the rivers of Colombia and Venezuela, are less social than sea dolphins. Unlike their ocean-going cousins, the vertebrae on their backs are not fused. This enables them to turn very tight circles and catch fish in the narrow, shallow rivers where they live.
The elusiveness and solitary nature of the dolphins makes it difficult for scientists to determine their average life span in the wild, Baker said.
The death of the popular Chuckles is the most significant loss to the aquarium since a string of controversial deaths there in 2000 and '01. Eleven stingrays, several fish and sharks died in separate incidents.
Two national experts from other zoos who investigated the deaths in August 2000 found no neglect or mistreatment on the part of zoo staff.
