Dolphins Return to Sea

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The two last remaining Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins at Seoul Grand Park have been returned to their home waters off Jeju Island. Their return to sea comes 20 years after they were illegally captured in Jeju.

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Two Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins "Geum-deung" and "Daepo" were trained over the past two months in a net-cage in waters off Jeju Island for their return to wildlife. They have improved their skills in catching food and swimming underwater. In recent days, they were even witnessed interacting with some 80 other wild dolphins.

[Soundbite] Eo Gyeong-yeon(Seoul Grand Park) : "One concern is that Daepo has minor discomfort in one eye. But it won't be a huge problem when adjusting to wild life."

The cage finally opens and Geumdeung and Daepo return to mother nature, the open sea. Their return to Jeju waters comes 20 years after they were illegally captured. In Korea, now just one Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin remains at a tourist facility in Jeju. Environmental groups say the one remaining mammal should also be released while others are calling for measures for the bottlenose dolphins to live in protected safety zones.