World's First Dolphin Spinal Tap Cranks Marine Medicine Up to 11

[Judi Lynn]

By Brandon Specktor, Senior Writer | February 1, 2019 10:58am ET

In an apparent world first, veterinarians have successfully performed a spinal tap on a live dolphin.

That dolphin, who underwent the procedure at SeaWorld San Antonio, is named Rimmy. She is a bottlenose dolphin, about 3 or 4 years old, who was rescued from Texas' Sea Rim State Park off the Gulf of Mexico, where she was found sick and stranded in 2017.

While trying to diagnose the cause of Rimmy's stranding, vets saw that the dolphin was riddled with ailments, including pneumonia and "nasal parasites," Dr. Hendrik Nollens, vice president of SeaWorld's veterinary services, told ABC News. [Deep Divers: A Gallery of Dolphins]

Rimmy spent the next 14 months being treated at a special rehab center for stranded marine mammals, where researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided she was too fragile and dependent on humans to return to the wild.

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