CHICAGO — Tique, one of the Shedd Aquarium's dolphins, died Friday.
The 30-year-old female Pacific white-sided dolphin was euthanized "due to a rapid decline in quality of life caused by an ongoing advancement of kidney disease," the Shedd Aquarium said in a press release.
“It is a very sad day for Shedd Aquarium – we’ve lost a family member,” said Tim Binder, the Shedd's vice president of collection planning..
“As one of the oldest of her species living in a U.S. aquarium, and one of the first dolphins here at Shedd, we’ve had the tremendous privilege to care for, and learn from, Tique for more than two decades. The relationships and bonds our dedicated staff built with her during that time make this loss a difficult one.”
The illness is common in geriatric dolphins in professional care, and in the wild. White-sided dolphins typically live 20 to 40 years, the aquarium said.
Veterinary staff provided Tique with kidney treatment similar to that which humans receive, including providing extra fluids to maintain hydration and supplements to reduce her kidney's workload.
Over the last few weeks her appetite decreased and she lost energy, alerting the staff of her illnesses progression.
An autopsy will be done on Tique to provide additional information to the Shedd's veterinary team and pathologist about the dolphin.
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