Featured News

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, located on Okaloosa Island in Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida is embarking on a large, multimillion-dollar expansion project this winter and is excited to share the news with the community.
 
The project will add a brand-new dolphin habitat to the park.  Construction is scheduled to commence in late December of this year and will take roughly 14 months to complete. Park operations will continue as normal throughout the construction process, as the new habitat will be located on undeveloped land on the north side of the park. Dolphin Oasis will debut just in time for the 2023 Spring and Summer seasons.
 
A staple within the local community, the Gulfarium is also proud to have welcomed visitors from the region, country, and all over the world since 1955. From the moment guests walk through the doors, they are immersed in an underwater world where they can view and interact with animals they may not otherwise have the opportunity to encounter.
 
"Our main dolphin habitat was one of the first of its kind and has stood proud for over 65 years," states Will Merrill III, President of the Gulfarium.  "A pioneering habitat in the 1950’s, built with robust battleship steel, it has allowed us to provide dolphins the top-notch animal welfare that we offer all of our resident animals. Today we are excited to build expanded habitats fully suited to an animal’s long-term needs through all stages of their lives, and so the time has come to create something new."
 
After many years in the making and two years of design engineering through a team of individuals from Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, a design firm based in Seattle, WA, MIG|Portico, and PCL Construction, a company based out of Orlando, FL, the work to construct the brand-new habitat has begun.
 
Dolphin Oasis will be an immersive, natural-themed experience reflecting our Emerald Coast and consisting of three large, interconnected habitats, totaling over one million gallons of gulf salt water designed with animal welfare, the guest experience, and conservation education in mind.
 
The new environment will be dynamic, possessing the ability to suit each animal’s welfare needs in a variety of ways, such as offering the animals the option to move throughout the many different areas of the Oasis, providing various social groupings. There will also be a large maternity suite and nursery for mothers and calves as well as multiple locations for animal care specialists to interact and play with the dolphins, utilizing the additional enrichment features included in the design.
 
Each of the three main habitats will differ in size and depth, one habitat being the deepest, one being shallower, and one having a sloping beach, all mimicking areas dolphins would naturally venture to in the ocean. Dolphin Oasis will also have three husbandry habitats connected to the main areas, as well as a medical lift for the animals. Additionally, the new habitat will be supported by a cutting edge, state-of-the art life support system using Defender Filters in addition to sand filters, lowering energy usage by 50 percent. The Defender Filters will also provide the ability to cut oxidants from the water, allowing the habitat to house live fish for further animal enrichment and welfare.
 
Dolphin Oasis was designed around the desire to continue to provide education and inspiration, as well as fun and relaxation for Gulfarium guests. The new presentation habitat will provide seating for 480 guests, while still providing the intimate, up-close presentation experience that visitors have come to know and love. The exhibit habitat, which will serve as a nursery for the birth of new calves, will also feature split-level viewing through a 27-foot acrylic window where guests will be able to observe the dolphins from above and below the water’s surface. The encounter habitat will provide new and improved interaction opportunities for guests of all ages to play and learn through interactive, in- and out-of-water, hands-on experiences with the resident dolphins.
 
When visiting the Gulfarium, a facility accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums and the International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association, guests will journey past the C.A.R.E. Center for sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation, through Expedition Trail, a world of crocodilians, and arrive at Dolphin Oasis. Once they step foot on the pathway, they will be greeted by 2 acres of sandy dunes, palms, and the pristine emerald waters of the Florida coastlines where the dolphins reside. The new habitat will also provide a beautiful and unique event experience for weddings, celebrations, or any special occasion worth celebrating.
 
"We may have opened our doors more than 65 years ago, but our story is just beginning," exclaims Patrick Berry, Gulfarium's Senior Vice President. "We look forward to the enhanced welfare opportunities the new habitat will offer our animals. We are grateful to be able to move forward with this expansion and look forward to welcoming our guests into Dolphin Oasis in 2023."

On Saturday, December 11th, 2021, Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park was proud to once again host the foster families from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties with Inspired to Foster for their Breakfast with Santa event. This event brought in over 700 guests and over 100 volunteers to make sure each child and their families were able to have a day full of marine life and Christmas cheer. Each child was given a gift, were able to shop for important adults in their lives, wrap the gifts, eat a delicious breakfast, visit with Santa, and enjoy complimentary access to the park to experience the Gulfarium's amazing resident animals.  

"We are honored to be able to participate in this event for our local foster families," states Patrick Berry, Gulfarium's Senior Vice President. "Being able to bring families together at this time of year is such an important part of why we love to host this event." 

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released seven rehabilitated sea turtles on Friday, September 24, 2021 Saint George Island, Florida.

Tabitha Siegfried, Stranding Coordinator for the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center gently situated the rehabilitated turtles into the C.A.R.E. van to make the four-hour trek to Saint George Island, Florida. "It is quite a ways to go from our facility for this particular release, but many of the turtles are repeat offenders, meaning they have been previously hooked at piers, so the further away we go for release, we hope will give them a better opportunity at avoiding an accidental re-capture in the future." states Tabitha. 

The seven turtles, ranging in weight from 26 - 106 lbs. were released today after successful rehabilitations at the C.A.R.E. Center. All seven turtles (five sub-adult loggerheads and two juvenile green sea turtles) were accidently hooked by fishermen at local fishing piers. "We continue to see the majority of the turtles come in due to overlaps with recreational fishing, and we feel good for the turtles, the environment, and the fisherman that people are not cutting the line. Most of the time, if a turtle has an external hook or entanglement, we also find them internally. Some need surgery to remove while others pass the internal monofilament on their own under medical supervision. If you are fishing, whether from a pier or a boat, and a turtle appears, consider reeling in your line and moving to another location to avoid accidentally hooking or entangling the turtle. It is a collaborative effort to ensure the future generations of these remarkable sea turtles" states Will Merrill, President at the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center. 

All turtles were given a clean bill of health and approved to be released though FWC officials and the C.A.R.E. veterinarian and animal care team. 

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released five rehabilitated sea turtles on Thursday morning, August 19, 2021 at Inlet Beach, Florida.

It was a beautiful morning as the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center released some of it's recent sea turtle patients, consisting of three different species of turtle, including three Kemp's ridley sea turtles, one loggerhead sea turtle and one green sea turtle. "We were delighted to release these turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico. All species of sea turtle are endangered, with the Kemp's ridley sea turtle being the most endangered, so being able to rehabilitate these animals and release them back into the Gulf to help preserve the species is so rewarding" states Patrick Berry, Director of the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center. 

The five sea turtles, ranging in weight from 20 - 95 lbs. were released today after successful rehabilitations at the C.A.R.E. Center. All five turtles were accidently hooked by fishermen at local fishing piers within the past two weeks. "We were happy to see that each of these turtles only needed short stays with us. Mercury, Twilight, Saturn and Blackfin all had clear x-rays showing no ingested debris so were cleared for release once the external hooks were removed. Pluto had a J-hook within his esophagus that was non-surgically removed before being ready to head back into the Gulf" states Tabitha Siegfried, Stranding Coordinator at the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center. 

All turtles were given a clean bill of health and approved to be released though FWC officials and the C.A.R.E. veterinarian and animal care team. The C.A.R.E. Center continues to have several other turtles currently undergoing rehabilitation and the team expect this season to continue to be a busy one for sea turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and release.   

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released nine rehabilitated sea turtles on Tuesday morning, July 13, 2021 at Inlet Beach, Florida.

It was a cloudy but beautiful morning as the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center released its recent sea turtle patients consisting of three different species of turtle, including four Loggerhead sea turtles, three Green sea turtles, and two Kemps Ridley sea turtles. It was the second public-invited release in over a year due to COVID-19, "We had a large group of rehabilitated sea turtles going out this morning. Although the release site, Inlet Beach, was a bit farther away from our home base than the last release, we still had a good crowd of spectators. Sharing these moments with our supporters will never get old and is a rewarding part of what we do here at the CARE Center - public awareness, education, and involvement" states Patrick Berry, Director of the Gulfarium CARE Center. 

Nine turtles total, ranging in weight from 7.5 - 189 lbs. were among those released today after successful rehabilitations at the Center. Once again, the common ailment with these turtles was being accidentally hooked at nearby fishing piers and additional hook and entanglement removal procedures. "We were happy to see that Jaime, an adult female Loggerhead weighing in at 189 lbs. needed just a short stay with us, as she is of breeding age, so getting her back out into the Gulf of Mexico to potentially mate and lay a nest is what makes our efforts come full circle" states Tabitha Siegfried, Stranding Coordinator at the Gulfarium CARE Center. The team at the Gulfarium CARE Center expect this season to continue to be a busy one for sea turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and release.   

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released six rehabilitated sea turtles on Thursday morning, June 24, 2021 at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin.

It was a beautiful morning as the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center released some of it's recent sea turtle patients. It was the first public-invited release in over a year due to COVID-19, "We were delighted to conduct our first public sea turtle release since the pandemic began. We had several releases during 2020 but to be able to finally have large crowds experience these events since 2019 was exciting for all" states Patrick Berry, Director of the Gulfarium CARE Center. Crowds of several hundred cheered as each sea turtle was placed at the water's edge and made their way into the Gulf of Mexico from the beach one-by-one. 

Five sub-adult Loggerheads, ranging in weight from 70 - 95 lbs., and one juvenile Green sea turtle weighing 20 lbs. were among those released today after successful rehabilitations at the Center. The common ailment with these turtles was being accidentally hooked at nearby fishing piers and additional hook removal procedures. Stays at the Gulfarium from this particular group were shorter than usual, ranging from one week to almost a month. All turtles were given a clean bill of health and approved to be released though FWC officials and the CARE veterinarian and animal care team. The CARE Center continues to have several other turtles currently undergoing rehabilitation. 

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released four rehabilitated sea turtles on Thursday morning, May 27th, 2021 at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park off of West County Highway 30A.

It was a beautiful morning as the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center released some of it's recent patients. "It is always so rewarding when we release the sea turtles back into the Gulf," states Will Merrill, President of the Gulfarium. "All species of sea turtle are endangered so we are passionate about doing everything we can to help these animals. We have now entered sea turtle nesting season so we expect we will start to see an increase in the number of turtles visiting the C.A.R.E. Center."

The first turtle to be released was Rudolph, a juvenile green sea turtle weighing 34.8lbs, who was hooked in it's mouth at Navarre Beach Fishing Pier on May 21st, 2021. The hook was carefully removed after arrival at the C.A.R.E. Center and radiographs showed no other ingested foreign debris so Rudolph was quickly cleared for release after a short recovery.

Gourdon, a juvenile green sea turtle weighing in at 33.7lbs, was the second to be released after recently arriving at the C.A.R.E. Center on May 24th, 2021. This was Gourdon's third visit to the center for rehabilitation but on this visit, the C.A.R.E. team were pleased to discover that despite being foul hooked in the right front flipper, there was no ingested foreign debris and the green sea turtle was quickly ready to head back into the Gulf. 

Phoebe was next to be released back into the Gulf of Mexico. This sub-adult loggerhead was found floating and lethargic at Navarre Beach Fishing Pier on February 26th, 2021. Initially, there were no signs of life, but she took a breath during rescue and was quickly transported to the C.A.R.E. Center sea turtle hospital for emergency treatment. Phoebe suffered from pneumonia, GI issues, and anemia so was started on antibiotics and supportive fluids. After 4 months of rest and recovery she was able to return to the Gulf.

Seaweed, another sub-adult loggerhead was the final turtle to be released. Seaweed was foul hooked at Navarre Beach Fishing Pier on April 24th, 2021. She had a full blood testing panel upon arrival at the C.A.R.E. Center and the team were glad to see that all of her levels were normal. However, Seaweed was a slow swimmer and underweight when arriving to the center so she received a month of rest, relaxation, and close monitoring before being cleared for release.

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park is celebrating the holidays by announcing two new additions to their endangered African penguin family. The first chick hatched at the Gulfarium, located on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, on December 13th, 2020, with the second following close behind, just four days later.  
 
These penguin chicks will bring the number of chicks in the Gulfarium's penguin colony that were born to parents, Ninja and Jelly, to six. Ninja and Jelly's first chick, Becky, hatched in December 2016 and quickly became a well-known member of the Gulfarium's animal family. Becky's brother, Toto, hatched on September 12th, 2018, Timmy, their third chick hatched on December 23rd, 2019, and Sami hatched in March 2020.

In order to allow the adult penguins the opportunity to provide the best possible care for the chicks, the first hatched is being raised by its parents, Ninja and Jelly, and the second hatched chick is currently being raised by surrogate parents, mated pair Becky and Mooshu. Becky and Mooshu successfully raised their first hatched chick, Tin, in February of this year.

The chicks are currently out in the Gulfarium’s penguin habitat but visitors to the park are unlikely to spot the new additions as they will stay protected and kept warm underneath their parents within the viewable penguin huts. The chicks will be raised by the adult penguins for the first 3 weeks of their lives but will be moved off exhibit once they become more mobile until they have grown their waterproof feathers and learned how to swim.

“We are extremely happy with the progress that these young chicks have made so far,” states Patrick Berry, Gulfarium’s Senior Vice President. “Our animal care specialists monitor the growth of the chicks with frequent weight checks to ensure that everything is going well. These African penguins are an endangered species so our team is doing everything we can to not only protect this species from extinction, but also teach our guests about what they can do to help. Through the experiences and education that we provide here at the Gulfarium, we hope to inspire our guests to respect and love wildlife as much as we do."
 
The public is invited to follow the chick's progress on Gulfarium's Facebook page.  All updates, including milestones will be made available via Facebook.

The Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center in Northwest Florida has taken in twelve Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that were recently stranded off the coast of New England during a recent mass cold-stun event. The sea turtles made the trip down from Massachusetts to Florida on Monday, December 14^th, 2020.

The C.A.R.E. Center would like to thank Turtles Fly Too and their pilots Chuck Yanke and Julie Tromblay for transporting the sea turtles to the local area by private plane, where they were then collected and immediately taken to the C.A.R.E. Center for rehabilitation.

Cold stunning occurs when a sea turtle is exposed to cold water for an extended period of time. This exposure causes their heartrate to decrease, resulting in the turtle becoming lethargic and often unable to eat. Unfortunately, cold stunning events, where large numbers of sea turtles become stranded, are not unusual in Northern areas during the months of November through February as water temperatures drop below 50 degrees.

Upon arrival at the C.A.R.E. Center, the veterinary team assessed each individual turtle, took x-rays and determined the best plan of action to care for these endangered animals. These sea turtles will stay at the C.A.R.E. Center for rehabilitation until they are deemed releasable by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The recovery process can take up to a few months for cold-stunned turtles, but once their health has improved they will be released into the Gulf of Mexico.

 “We are so grateful to be able to help these sea turtles from the Northeastern seaboard of the Atlantic due to a cold-stun event they recently experienced ,” explains Terra Throgmmorton, Gulfarium’s Medical and Stranding Coordinator. “Kemp’s ridleys are the most endangered species of sea turtle in the world, so anything that we can do to try to conserve this precious species is vital. We are so thankful for everyone involved who has helped us to provide the best possible veterinary care for these turtles.”

The Gulfarium's C.A.R.E. Center successfully released four rehabilitated sea turtles on Tuesday afternoon, October 27th, 2020 at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park off of West County Highway 30A.

Despite the rainy weather, there were smiling faces all around as the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center released some of it's recent patients. "It's been an extremely busy sea turtle season for our C.A.R.E team," states Will Merrill, Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park's president. "Watching the turtles head back out into the Gulf is always an exciting and joyous event for all!"
 
All four sea turtles that were released were juvenile greens that had been reported by fishermen at Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. 

The first turtle to be released was Pinny, weighing 42.5lbs, who was hooked in the mouth on September 25th, 2020. The hook fell out prior to arrival to the C.A.R.E. Center but radiographs showed two ingested hooks and a fishing swivel in her intestines. These items all passed naturally without the need for surgery. This was Pinny's fifth visit to the C.A.R.E. Center, with her first visit back in 2018.
 
Blackfin was next to be released back into the Gulf. This sea turtle was found entangled in fishing line, wrapped around pier piling on July 12th, 2020. Fortunately, radiographs revealed that no foreign debris or fishing gear had been ingested by the turtle but he did need to be treated for pneumonia before being ready for release. 
 
The two smallest turtles, Dot and Links, weighing 11lbs and 9.5lbs, were both released at the same time. Dot was superficially hooked in the left front flipper on October 15th, 2020. The hook was removed and radiographs showed no other ingested marine debris or fishing gear so Dot was quickly ready for release. This was Dot's second visit to the C.A.R.E. Center, with her first stay lasting from June 28th through August 24th, 2020 due to receiving surgery for the removal of a hook from her esophagus.

Links arrived at the C.A.R.E. Center on October 8th, 2020 after being hooked in the mouth by fishermen. The hook was removed upon arrival to the center and radiographs revealed no ingested foreign debris. "Links arrived at the C.A.R.E. Center with a missing rear right flipper," explains Terra Throgmorton, Gulfarium's Medical & Stranding Coordinator. "This was from a previously healed traumatic injury which also resulted a an injured carapace. We monitored the wound and were very happy with how well it healed!"