Deaf dolphin to be kept in Gulfport

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A deaf dolphin found stranded in March near Grand Isle, La., is heading for Gulfport, Miss.

Suzanne Smith, rescue coordinator at the Audubon Nature Institute, says the 2 ½-year-old dolphin will be taken Tuesday to the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies because he would be unable to survive in the wild.

She says deafness is probably the reason the 6 ½-foot-long marine mammal was stranded on a mudflat where researchers found him on March 6. He was deaf in the frequencies of dolphin sonar and was severely sunburned.

The animal was so weak that he had to be kept in shallow water, with a staffer present at all times to help him.

The animal's hearing was tested when he regained strength.