In the last six months, three dolphins have died in The Mirage’s animal exhibit—which is now temporarily shuttered.
K2 was fun to be around. The bottlenose dolphin was an energetic 11-year-old, a young adult in dolphin years, who was born at The Mirage casino on the Las Vegas strip and lived his entire life there.
Visitors sometimes paid as much as $450 to have brief in-water interactions with him and other bottlenose dolphins. His handlers said he was often vocal and made people smile.
But earlier this month K2 started to show signs of illness. He didn’t want to eat his fish. Bloodwork showed his liver enzymes were high, and internal imaging prompted treatment for respiratory illness. His care team administered antifungals, antibiotics, and nebulizer breathing treatments.
Yet K2 died on September 24, marking the third dolphin death at The Mirage