Aquatic Mammals

Ultra 2013: Ten Best Inflatable Animals, Blow-Up Dolls, and Other Party Props

Ultra Music Festival is a zoo. From land sharks to killer whales, pink flamingos to African zebras, UMF 2013 is starting to feel a lot like a World Wildlife Foundation fundraiser, complete with endangered species and cuddly critters. Sure, they're inflatable. But try explaining that to someone rol ... More >>

Florida Man Arrested For Making His Kids Ride a Manatee Calf

Manatees are for looking but not touching. Even people who lack common sense should have learned that after Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez turned herself in for attempting to ride a manatee in the Tampa Bay area.Not everyone got the message. Ryan William Waterman, a 21-year-old Fort Pierce man, has bee ... More >>

Giant Squid Captured on Film for First Time Thanks to South Florida's Triton Submarines

Giant Squid Captured On Film For First Time Thanks to South Florida's Triton Submarines

Last night, on the season finale of the Discovery Channel show Curiosity, the world got its first look at one of the most elusive and mysterious creatures on the planet: the giant squid.The kraken's cameo would never have been possible, however, if not for the futuristic submarine used to film it. J ... More >>

The Winner of Global Warming: Manatees!

Yesterday it was confirmed that 2012 was indeed the hottest year on record in the Lower 48, and yes maybe global warming may mean doom and gloom for the future of humanity.But don't worry. There's a cute side to the story. Thanks to a warmer winter, fewer manatees died in Florida waters this year th ... More >>

Manatee Rider Turns Herself In To Authorities

Manatees across the waters of Florida can breath a sign of relief. The woman who was caught on camera hitching a ride on back of an endangered sea mammal has turned herself in.Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez says that she was new to the area and didn't think there was anything wrong with riding a manate ... More >>

Manatee Molester on the Loose in Tampa Bay

An unidentified woman was seen hitching a ride on the back of a manatee in the waters off Fort De Soto Park in the Tampa Bay area, which runs afoul of the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.Now authorities are looking for the manatee molester.

Floridians Warned Not to Interrupt Big Manatee Orgies

If you see a large group of manatees suddenly show up in shallow water and start rubbing up against each other, there's a good chance they're humping, and you shouldn't try to interrupt them.Recently, such a group has appeared near Siesta Beach on Siesta Key, and wildlife officials have had to remin ... More >>

Deep Blue Something

Aristides Rodriguez, Serial Manatee Speed Zone Offender, Sentenced to Sea Cow Protection

Somewhere in Biscayne Bay there is a pod of manatees laughing their fat, mossy asses off.Aristides Lorenzo Rodriguez, 43, was sentenced to a year of probation yesterday for repeatedly violating speed limits in a manatee zone. Clearly, a federal judge Jonathan Goodman is trying to scare Rodriguez int ... More >>

Chris Brown Breeding Adorable Puppies! Five Species More Befitting the C. Breezy Brand

Chris Brown may be Rihanna's bitch. But he's unloading three of his own. Evidently, the angry pop singer is a backyard breeder and wants you to buy his bitches. According to ABC News, Brown's selling some pit bull terriers via the Internet -- three males and three females -- at $1,000 each. The ... More >>

Voice Daily Deal: You're On a Boat, Bitch

Living in Miami, we sometimes take for granted all the cool and amazing things that we have in our own backyard - like the ability to spend the day eating and drinking on a boat.Sure, owning a boat requires a lot of money that we don't have, but what if we told you that you could spend the day drink ... More >>

Are Seaquarium Animals Harmed by Excessive Partying?

​After two dolphins died at a Swiss marine park following a "techno party" across the street, Miami Seaquarium is taking a good, reasoned look at whether hosting late-night parties is putting its animals in danger. Just kidding! But putting a stop to such parties is the new rallying cry of animal ... More >>

Port of Miami's 2035 Master Plan Includes Manatee-Displacing Mega-Yacht Marina, Hotels

Like it or not, the Port of Miami is in for some major changes​If you thought the Port of Miami's deep dredging project was controversial, get a load of this.Riptide has obtained a copy of the port's 2035 Master Plan. It calls for adding three new cruise ship berths, a mega-yacht marina near downt ... More >>

Two Dolphins Possibly Killed by Techno Music in Switzerland

Sure, this tragic tale took place in Switzerland, but Miami is home to almost as many dolphins as it is to techno DJs, and it's a sad reminder that the two should never, ever be mixed.The Connyland aquarium and amusement park decided it would be a good idea to host a two-day rave on their property, ... More >>

Whale with Scoliosis Fitted with Back Brace at SeaWorld

​After beaching herself in the Florida Keys in May, a female pilot whale named "300" developed severe scoliosis during his rehabilitation at Sea World in Orlando. So, Sea World teamed with a Florida orthopedic surgery to create a special back brace for the whale. 

Finding Nemo

Birds of Paradise

Kit Curtin tracks manatees in Miami

PETA Sues SeaWorld Over Alleged "Whale Slavery"

Does this orca have Constitutional rights?​PETA, everyone's favorite group of totally rational animal activists, has launched a new legal attack against SeaWorld this morning, accusing parks in Orlando and California of mistreating five killer whales. Which, actually, OK! There are lots of reasona ... More >>

Kit Curtin, Urban Manatees Best Hope In Miami, Loses Funding In Recession

Photo by Kit CurtinA manatee with a strikingly well designed piece of canal garbage. (Not a posed photo, Curtin says.)​In a murky, garbage-strewn canal next to a dilapidated apartment complex, a mossy-colored beast breaks the water's surface. The manatee looks as out of place in this hood as a thr ... More >>

Baby Belugas Love Mariachi Bands! An Ode to Magically Musical Interspecies Exchanges

​So everyone's seen that video of the Mariachi band serenading a beluga whale, right? If not, do you own a computer? Holy shit ... Go watch "Mariachi Conneticut Serenades a Beluga Whale" now. Also, if you haven't seen it, that must mean you don't use Facebook-- or, really, the whole Internet (all ... More >>

Florida Tea Party Group Thinks Saving Manatees Is Part of Mass Godless Conspiracy

​Members of Florida Tea Party groups are so upset with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts to save manatees that they are claiming that new rules to possibly be imposed in famous Kings Bay would not only go against the Bible, but also are part of a vast United Nations conspiracy ... More >>

Blissberry Opens in South Pointe Park

All photos by Laine Doss Blissberry opens in South Pointe Park​South Pointe Park's renovation turned the southernmost tip of Miami Beach into a paradise for the thousands of strollers, joggers, bikers and dog walkers ;who enjoy the pathways, rolling hills and breathtaking views of cruise sh ... More >>

Science Working on Ways to Let Us Actually Talk to Dolphins

​Scientists working in Florida will soon attempt to test technology that could actually let us communicate with dolphins. No, we probably won't be able to chat with them about whether or not The Office will still be good without Steve Carell or the latest developments in the real estate market, bu ... More >>

Miami Seaquarium Food Truck Rally Serves Fish Tacos

Lolita The Killer Whale​Flipper is dead. Actually, the six dolphins who played him are. But that hasn't stopped Miami Seaquarium from planning the Flipper's Truck Stop food truck rally for this Sunday, March 27. A dozen trucks are scheduled to be there, including seafood-centric Fish Box and ... More >>

Try Caviar & Caviar at the South Beach Fest

​Michael E. Jalileyan will be serving caviar at South Beach Food & Wine Festival's Grand Tasting Village this weekend. To prepare you for the big event, he owner and president, of Caviar & Caviar. offers a plethora of hints for ingesting the stuff that has been the trea ... More >>

Sexy Beasts

Miami Seaquarium's "Dine with the Dolphins" on V-Day Offers Catered Buffet and Freebies

photo courtesy of Miami SeaquariumDolphin Harbor​A common myth suggests that humans and bottlenose dolphins are two of only three species of mammals (the other being bonobos) that have sex for pleasure, so it's only natural that this Valentine's Day you take your sweetie to Miami Seaquarium to "Di ... More >>

Dead in the Water

Che Guevera's Daughter Celia Cares For Dolphins In Havana Aquarium

​Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for The Atlantic Magazine, has been busy this week dominating the the Miami Herald's front page with strategically released scoops from his extraordinary interview with Fidel Castro -- the first given to an American since el commandante's grave illness four years ago. S ... More >>

Man Who Cut Off Whale Tail Admits He "Goofed," Wanted to Make Soup

Photo: MicheleEve.com​So earlier today a pygmy sperm whale washed up along the shores of Delray Beach. Sixty-year-old Chris Hogan who was on the scene decided the best thing to do in the situation was take out his pocket knife and cut off the whale's tail. Now he's admitted that he done goofed, bu ... More >>

Night Visions

Tilikum, SeaWorld's Killer Whale has Knocked Up Two Lady Orcas

via Gawker>Even in the animal kingdom, it seems that some ladies can't get enough of a bad boy. Tilikum, the orca who killed a veteran trainer during a performance in March, has impregnated two females at SeaWorld Orlando. Apparently, he's quite the sperm whale.Twenty-year-old whale, Taima will ... More >>

Secrets of the Weird

They're Animals

Humpback Whale in Distress in Biscayne Bay

via Wiki CommonsAn adult humpback whale, though not the one caught in the Bay​There's a humpback whale in Biscayne Bay off Bear Cut, possibly in distress. The U.S. Coast Guard believe he could be caught in a rope attached to an anchor. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati ... More >>

Easter Seals

Grovites Are Angry the Miami Herald Ignored Local Guy Ric O'Barry's Best Documentary Oscar

Ric O'Barry​The email arrived at the Miami Herald yesterday with some choice words about the paper's Oscar coverage. It came from Bob Ingram, a folk singer who has lived in Coconut Grove since the '60s. Here's an excerpt from the letter, which was never published: "When the Miami Herald reported ... More >>

Hello, Dalai

Porpoise Love

Record 429 Manatee Fatalities in 2009

The news for Florida manatees started off strong last year, as wildlife officials announced that their survey found a record number of manatees in our waters. In fact, they had found 500 more than ever before, but 2009 ended on a sour note when 429 manatees were estimated to have died. Much like ano ... More >>

Ric O'Barry's The Cove Hits Theaters

The film expertly exposes the horrific treatment of dolphins, but what about the uglies?

Have Pole, Will Travel

Hon, Grab My Noodle

Don’t Let the Day Go to Wasted

Free Ric O'Barry

A Miami guy stars in a Sundance film and is sued by angry Dominican dolphin geeks.

Glug, Glug, Click

Tim Calver shoots in mermaid territory

Crazy for Caviar

Champagne of Lounges

Caviar an champagne the way they're meant to be