MARATHON (CBS4) – Louie the dolphin has a second chance at life.
The 2-year old was air lifted Sunday from New Orleans to Marathon Airport aboard a Coast Guard aircraft to his new home at Marathon’s Dolphin Research Center where he will live out his days as part of marine animal education.
Louie is a victim of last year’s BP oil spill. He was initially found Sept. 2 stranded on Fourchon Beach, La. with visible oil-related damage.
His survival is almost a miracle as he was given only a 5 percent chance of living.
It took more than 700 hours of care to get Louie swimming and eating on his own again.
Louie will remain in captivity because he does not have the skills he needs to survive in the wild, according to his caretakers.
BP provided funding to help defray the cost of the transport.
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