SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Ocean Adventure Marine Park has recently acquired four more dolphins to boost the growing cast of marine animals featured in its open-water viewing facilities here.

“The new arrivals – three female and one male Bottlenose dolphins – are the “new additions to our already exciting lineup of entertainment and activities,” said John Corcoran, director of the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium, Inc. (SBMEI).

Ocean Adventure is now home to trained dolphins, false killer whales, and sea lions that perform in a huge open-water habitat.

Under a permit approved by the Department of Agriculture, the four dolphins will be part of a cetacean breeding program “so that a stable and sustainable population of Bottlenose dolphins at Ocean Adventure may be achieved,” the SBMEI said in a statement.

The SBMEI added that the firm “has been extremely successful with its sea lion reproductive management program, as evidenced by the birth of three healthy sea lion pups this year.” A total of seven pups have been born at the marine park since 2001, it was learned.

The SBMEI added that the new dolphin arrivals will undergo a routine 30-day quarantine and acclimatization period before they are introduced to the existing dolphin population at the park.

Prior to their transfer here, the four dolphins have been living in an open-water facility in Japan, where they underwent some preliminary conditioning and training for the past two years.

Now, Ocean Adventure’s expert animal care and training staff “will enhance the animals’ development through their internationally-recognized positive reinforcement training techniques,” the SBMEI said.

Aside from being used in the SBMEI’s cetacean breeding program, the four dolphins will also be involved in shows at the Ocean Adventure Park, which opened two new shows this month: “Rap, Jump and Roll Show” and “Walk on the Wild Side.” (Franco Regala)