At the end of this month, Marine Connection will be unveiling a permanent stone memorial at Portland Marina, Dorset, to commemorate the life of a much-loved solitary social male bottlenose dolphin known as Danny. The memorial, the first of its kind in the UK, was part-funded by public donations and Portland Stone Firms Ltd, without the company’s incredible support, the striking memorial as it stands would not have been possible, we are therefore truly grateful to Portland Stone and also Portland Marina for agreeing to have the memorial at their location. Frequently seen in the waters around the Portland and Weymouth areas, Danny sadly lost his life due to a vessel strike in 2020.
Marine Connection’s Liz Sandeman comments “ There will be mixed feelings on the day of the unveiling, as although the memorial will be a lasting tribute to Danny who brought smiles to the faces of all who were fortunate to encounter this resident dolphin, he was only 10 years old when he died and therefore taken far too young. He was a regular sight for many water users and found his way into the hearts of the public around the Dorset coastline. There is however, always concern for solitary dolphins like Danny (of which there have been many over the years as outlined in the Marine Connection Lone Rangers report), when they become habituated and lose their wariness around human and vessel presence, as accidental encounters often result in serious injury or fatalities. His death was, and is, very sad but unfortunately not an isolated case.”
The unveiling will take place at 1.00pm on August 29th at Portland Marina, Dorset.
