Mirage dolphin habitat shuts down after 3rd death this year

Sophie Santos, 3, feeds Maverick with instructions from Dolphin Care Specialist Jen Schwab, behind, during a "meet-and-greet" tour at the Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage on Monday, May 17, 2021, in Las Vegas. Maverick died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, following treatment for a lung infection. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

K2, an 11-year-old bottlenose dolphin, died at the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (MGM Resorts International).

In the wake of Saturday’s death of K2, a bottlenose dolphin, the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat will remain closed until further notice.

No restart date has been set.

It could be a month before the cause of K2’s death is established. The 13-year-old dolphin had been treated for a respiratory illness.

K2 is the third dolphin to die at the habitat this year, following Bella, a 13-year-bottlenose dolphin, that died in April after undergoing treatment for gastroenteritis and Maverick, a 19-year-old bottlenose dolphin that died earlier this month following treatment for a lung infection.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.