About
Meet Koa, the Lowcountry’s ‘Little Warrior’
A rare wild bottlenose dolphin is living in South Carolina (SC) waters without its tail flukes.
First documented by LMMN in the Spring of 2025, Koa’s survival is considered extraordinarily uncommon and offers a remarkable glimpse into the resilience and adaptability of wild marine mammals. Koa is estimated to be approximately 3-5 years old and believed to be with its (presumed) mom.
Understanding Koa's Survival...
Why Does This Matter?
Significance of flukeless living
Dolphins rely on powerful up-and-down movements of their tail flukes to generate propulsion throughout the water. This movement supports nearly every aspect of survival, including traveling, hunting, socializing, and avoiding danger.
The complete loss of the tail flukes is considered extremely rare especially in a wild dolphin. Scientists believe that Koa’s condition could be the result of a birth defect or a prior injury. Long-term survival following this type of disability are unique and provide valuable opportunities to better understand marine mammal adaptations, behavior, and resilience.
Koa has continued navigating Charleston-area waterways while adapting to this significant physical challenge.
How We Monitor Koa
Use of Photo ID to study wild populations
Citizen Science
We need YOUR help
Each dolphin’s dorsal fin acts as a unique fingerprint for identification. We are able to photograph the dorsal fins of dolphins, enter them into a database, and determine trends in behaviors, interactions with others, locations, and more. All of which are vital to further understand the dynamics of Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus).
Koa began visiting heavy boat traffic areas in Charleston (such as Shem Creek, SC), so alerting the public became crucial for its survival. Koa does not have a GPS tracker, as applying one could stress the animal potentially limiting its survival in the wild. Each sighting YOU report helps us get an idea of where it's traveling. This is especially important as the seasons and prey availability change.
We are gathering Photo ID data which helps us monitor behavior, population and general health data. We are also collecting water quality data from Koa's environment as well as hydrophone recordings.
Get Monthly Updates
Through our exclusive Koa's Current monthly Newsletter series, LMMN will share updates on Koa’s journey, the science behind dolphin adaptation and resilience, and ways our community can help protect marine mammals in coastal waterways.
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Adopt Koa
Funds generated from Koa's Adoption, will go towards research for health monitoring and all things Koa as part of our Dolphin Research Program
