Bluffton’s Lucky the Dolphin Makes a Splash with Dramatic Rescue

A dramatic neighborhood rescue turned a local dolphin into a media star, but for USCB researchers, she’s been a familiar fin for more than a decade

STORY BY CAROL WEIR

A dramatic rescue in a Bluffton neighborhood gave a local dolphin a moment of national fame — but researchers at USCB have known and followed her for years. A nearly 8-foot-long female dolphin, known as “Lucky” to the team at the Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program at USCB’s Marine Sensory and Neurobiology Lab, was rescued from a shallow tidal lagoon in the private Hampton Lake community in July after she became stranded. Officials believe Lucky swam through a culvert connecting to the May River at high tide during a storm surge. When the tide receded, she became trapped in 2 to 3 feet of water.Neighbors, firefighters and members of a nonprofit for marine mammals worked together to rescue her and release her into the May River, where the USCB team has been collecting data about her and other dolphins for over a decade. On July 12, a passerby in Hampton Lake noticed the dolphin in distress and told a neighbor familiar with wildlife rescue. This neighbor contacted the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, the federally authorized entity for marine mammal rescue in South Carolina. USCB researchers identify Lucky by her uniquely notched dorsal fin.

The rescue

Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network dispatched a team from Charleston, joined by volunteer Amber Kuehn, who also heads Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island.They called the Bluffton Township Fire District for help with transporting the nearly 500-pound wild dolphin out of the lagoon. The rescuers guided Lucky onto a marine tarp and then carried her up an embankment. They then loaded her onto a utility trailer provided by Kuehn and released her off a private deep water dock on the May River.

The rescue went viral, reaching millions of viewers through traditional news outlets and social media. Lucky appeared on ABC World News, in Firehouse magazine and in regional and local news.

SCIENCE ON THE RIVERUSCB’s Dr. Eric Montie and his lab manager Alyssa Marian conduct dolphin surveys in the May River and have been observing Lucky since 2015. Montie’s Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program at USCB’s Marine Sensory and Neurobiology Lab is one of the Lowcountry’s longest-running scientific studies.

Lucky’s followers

Since then, Lucky remains on the radar of the dolphin program, directed by biology professor Eric Montie. The program runs one of the Lowcountry’s longest-running scientific studies. Montie and his staff and students also conduct long-term acoustic monitoring of the May River estuary as part of the Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS).

Researchers are learning to distinguish vocalization patterns, particularly whistles and burst pulses, between resident and migratory dolphins. “Over the years we’ve recorded everything from the constant crackle of snapping shrimp to the complex courtship calls and choruses of fish, as well as the vocalizations of bottlenose dolphins,” Montie said. “It’s not far-fetched to think that one day we might identify Lucky’s presence through her unique acoustic signature alone.” 

Following Lucky’s rescue, the team has observed and photographed her in the May River near the headwaters and Palmetto Bluff, where she is frequently sighted.”We spotted her swimming and behaving normally,” said Alyssa Marian, who has managed Montie’s dolphin survey program since 2020. “She does have some new scarring on the tip of her dorsal fin.”

Marian says the new injuries appear to be healing well.Lucky seems unimpressed by her notoriety and has returned to spending time with other year-round May River residents, including many females with calves. Researchers call these “nursery groups.” Lucky is a Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin(Tursiops erebennus,formerly Atlantic bottlenose dolphin), which is the only dolphin species found in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

LUCKY’S LEGACY Lucky is a year-round resident of the May River and the mother of three calves, including this one.

Surveying the scene

Montie first sighted Lucky in 2011 and began monthly dolphin surveys in 2015. He and his team of faculty members and students easily recognize Lucky, based on distinctive notched markings on her dorsal fin — scarring they think may have been caused by a boat strike.Lucky has been documented raising three calves. Fortunately, no calf followed her into the lagoon during the incident.Of the 140 dolphin surveys conducted by Montie and his team since 2015, Lucky has been seen on 74 of them.”This is more than any other dolphin in our catalog,” he said.Twice a month Montie and his team travel the May and Chechessee rivers, counting adults, calves and newborns, as well as deploying and retrieving underwater acoustic recorders. This labor-intensive research by boat is expensive, and community support has been vital to allow it to continue.

SYMBOL OF SUSTAINABILITY Lucky is the symbol of Montage Palmetto Bluff’s sustainability program, which includes conservation measures in the resort’s guest rooms, dining facilities, grounds and the May River Golf Club. A card placed in each guest room explains the resort’s support for Montie’s dolphin research.

Eco-luxury in action

Since 2019 Montage Hotels & Resorts has donated $36,000 toward Montie’s dolphin research. This supportfalls in line with the resort’s mission of environmental conservation and preservation. Lucky is the five-star resort’s eco-representative and serves as a symbol for Montage Palmetto Bluff’s sustainability program, which includes moreefficient laundry practices, paper straws and to-go boxes at its dining outlets, and conservation practices at Palmetto Bluff’s May River Golf Club (a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary).”By partnering with Dr. Eric Montie and his team at USCB, Montage Palmetto Bluff will have a better understanding of the behaviors and needs of the [Tamanend’s] bottlenose dolphin in the tidal estuaries and rivers that make up the Lowcountry,” Montage Palmetto Bluff said in a statement.Other community support for Montie’s bottlenose dolphin survey program comes from Port Royal Sound Foundation, the Coastal Discovery Museum’sAdopt-A-Dolphin program and Pritchards Island Research.”It is truly a community effort that keeps everything going — fuel, boat and truck maintenance, and support for students,” Montie said.

NATURAL ENCOUNTERS Lucky frequents the headwaters of the May River near Palmetto Bluff. Montage Palmetto Bluffton naturalist Cassie Critchlow (left) often spots her near the resort during nature walks.

Who you gonna call? 

Dolphins aren’t just part of the Lowcountry’s ambiance, they’re protected by strict federal laws. That means if you come across a stranded dolphin, you should never attempt to handle it yourself. Only trained experts with federal authorization can provide care. Dr. Montie and his team are among those experts, conducting their work under a National Marine Fisheries Service permit. If you see a dolphin in distress, call:

Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network Stranding Hotline: 843-633-1132. Teams respond to strandings all along the South Carolina coast.

NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline: National, 877-433-8299

If you’re unsure or can’t get through, call local authorities (such as the Bluffton Township Fire District or Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office), and they will connect with the authorized responders.