Cancun’s Ventura Park Dolphins in Delicate Health; 2027 Retirement Plan Set

Cancun, Quintana Roo — Nine dolphins living at Ventura Park in Cancun are in delicate health because of their advanced age and related medical conditions, according to the state’s Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (SEMA).

SEMA director Óscar Rébora Aguilera said the group — seven males and two females — includes animals older than 30 years, above the typical 22-to-25-year life expectancy of dolphins in the wild. He spoke after residents demanded transparency about the mammals’ health and pressed for a plan to move them out of the facility.

Inspection and operating conditions

Following public complaints about Dolphin Discovery’s operations at the park, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) conducted a technical inspection and imposed operational requirements. Rébora Aguilera said recent evaluations show the water quality in the pools is adequate and that the dolphins receive daily feeding and stimulation.

Retirement plan and release concerns

Authorities project the process of withdrawing the dolphins from their enclosures will be completed by 2027. However, the SEMA chief categorically ruled out releasing them directly into the ocean.

“They have never lived in the wild, and setting them free would be throwing them to their deaths,” Rébora Aguilera said, adding that moving social mammals carries risks related to dominance hierarchies and biological stress.

Profepa and the federal Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) are drafting the technical management rules and protocol that will govern the relocation. Until the process is complete, the Quintana Roo government says it will keep supervising the park to ensure medical care prioritizes the quality of life for what it called the last generation of dolphins in captivity there.