Fahlo The Odyssey Plush - Dolphin

One small plush. One big mission

• 10% of profits donated to FIU Marine Mammal Ecology Lab and their work conserving ocean megafauna. The Odyssey Plush helps further this mission with every purchase, tracking dolphins through the open ocean.

• Stuffing made from recycled water bottles

• Huggable for all ages

• Size: 12"

• Tracked via SPOT (Smart Position and Temperature) tag
• This animal’s safety guarded with the Fahlo Protection Ping™

Every Fahlo tracking experience includes the Fahlo Protection Ping™. This indicates each animal’s unique path may be live, delayed, or historical based on required safety protocol in accordance with our nonprofit partners.

While the experience of following an animal’s journey remains the same for you, we work behind the scenes with our partners to ensure this experience is presented in a way that keeps the animals safe, one step or splash at a time.

Why are dolphins tracked?

• Dolphins are tracked to better understand their movements and predict how environmental changes and human activities affect their populations! The specific goal of this project, being conducted in collaboration with their partner organization, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, is to learn about the health and movements of dolphins residing over the offshore waters of the West Florida Shelf. The primary dolphin species inhabiting this more than 100-mile-wide continental shelf are bottlenose and Atlantic spotted. Prior to this project, little was known about their ranging patterns or their health in these offshore waters.
  

How are dolphins tracked?

• The dolphins are tagged with satellite-linked transmitters that report their locations and other data every other day. The very small and hydrodynamic tag is attached by means of a small pin through the trailing edge of the dorsal fin, and comes off the fin after the end of the battery life of the tag.

Does tracking harm the dolphins?

• No, otherwise we would not want to do it, nor would we be allowed to do it, as these are federally protected species. The research is being conducted under a Marine Mammal Protection Act permit issued by NOAA-NMFS to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, and through Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approvals. The tag design has been tested on hundreds of dolphins over more than 10 years and has no effects on the movements and behavior of the tagged dolphins.