The Genoa Aquarium is mourning the passing of Luna, one of the facility’s best-known and longest-lived female dolphins. The animal, belonging to the Tursiops truncatus species, died on the evening of March 4, dismaying the staff who had been taking care of it on a daily basis for years.
The dolphin was 31 years old and had been a guest of the Ligurian aquarium since 2013. According to what was communicated by the facility, in the weeks preceding his death no clinical symptoms, signs of discomfort or abnormal behavior had been detected that could indicate a worsening of his health conditions. A sudden death that took even the veterinarians who were following the animal by surprise.
The investigations to understand what happened
To clarify the causes of death, a necropsy examination will be carried out, which is essential to precisely reconstruct what happened. The investigation will be conducted by the veterinary medical staff of the Genoa Aquarium together with a group of external experts specialized in the study of marine mammals.
The professionals involved include specialists from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta, through the National Reference Center for diagnostic investigations on stranded marine mammals (C.Re.Di.Ma.), as well as pathologists from the Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Nutrition of the University of Padua, who have been collaborating for years in scientific analyzes of cetaceans and other marine species. The objective of the examination will be to precisely establish the cause of death, evaluating any internal pathologies or factors not evident during previous clinical checks.
A presence lasting more than a decade
In a note, the structure expressed deep sorrow for the death of the animal, recalling the constant commitment dedicated to the care of all guests of the aquarium. According to what was explained by the staff, the animals in the facility are looked after with daily attention, veterinary checks and dedicated management programs.
Luna had lived at the Genoa Aquarium for over ten years and had over time become one of the most recognizable specimens for visitors and operators. The species to which it belonged, the bottlenose dolphin, is among the best-known dolphins in the world for its intelligence, learning ability and social behavior.
Specimens accustomed in nature to travel tens of kilometers a day in the oceans, to live in complex groups and to move in a vast and dynamic environment. In Luna’s case, however, she has spent her entire life in artificial structures where space and conditions inevitably remain limited compared to their natural habitat. A life in captivity that can never truly replicate the natural environment of these cetaceans.
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