Scottsdale's Dolphinaris Among Most Deadly For Bottlenose Species

PHOENIX, AZ — Scottsdale's aquarium that once housed dolphins had the most marine-mammal deaths ever recorded in the U.S., an analysis of federal data shows. Dolphinaris Arizona was only open for about two years, but saw four dolphins die before being closed earlier this year.

The rates of such deaths were four times higher than any other facility housing dolphins in the U.S., according The Arizona Republic.

The aquarium was built on a block of undeveloped desert off the 101, roughly between the Salt River Reservation and the McCormick Ranch Club and opened in October 2016. The site is surrounded by acres of wild desert, reaching temperatures of 100 degrees or more — about 110 days of the year. The area's water source is either piped or funneled in from other places.

These were some of the reasons ticket buyers were met with a group of some 100 protesters on the first day. Pressure to shut down the exhibit grew as news of another dolphin dying.

The official cause of two of the deaths were from infection, but the causes of death for the other two remain undetermined. The company claims their investigation was inconclusive.

#DolphinFreeAZ became a trending hashtag but business continued until the company who loaned the animals to the aquarium ended their agreement in February. Dolphinaris later officially closed. The surviving four dolphins now swim somewhat freely along an acutal coastline along the Virgin Islands in a conservation park called Coral World.

Only two U.S. facilities holding dolphins had a higher death rate than Dolphinaris, according to the Arizona Republic report.

Read the complete analysis on The Arizona Republic.