Dolphin Quest had a busy Easter weekend with two bottlenose dolphins, Caliban and Cirrus, giving birth.

Director of animal management Michelle Campbell said: ?Caliban gave birth to a healthy calf at 12.42 p.m. on Thursday, April 8 with her labour lasting two hours and 12 minutes.?

A large crowd of people cheered Caliban on while she delivered the calf, Ms Campbell said.

?Caliban delivered her placenta on time, the baby nursed on time and the mother nursed on time. Nothing was out of the ordinary.?

And more good news was on the way as a second dolphin gave birth the next day.

Cirrus had a very Good Friday when she calved after an astonishing 27 minutes at 11.07 p.m. on April 9.

?Cirrus delivered her calf rostrum, [or head first which is rare but not unheard of,? Ms Campbell said.

?A successful birth is usually under two hours, anything longer and there is a higher risk for the mother because the calf is in the birth canal for too long.?

Eight calves have been born in Bermuda since Dolphin Quest opened in 1996 giving their dolphins an average of one calf born each year.

Mrs. Campbell said the Dockyard facility has a ?very high success rate for Dolphin Quests world-wide?.

Bermuda?s dolphins are very well prepared for calving, she added.

?We try to keep things entirely natural for them with good preventative health care and a strong veterinary programme. We pamper the mothers a lot and even have a mock baby dolphin to teach them how to roll over to nurse properly.?

Caliban and Cirrus will be kept with their calves for three days under 24-hour supervision in an enclosure separated from the rest of the group as the calves are still ?very vulnerable?.

Dolphin Quest does not yet know the genders of the newborns.

Trainers discourage handling the calves unless it is an absolute necessity.

?Right now it?s more a question of sitting on the bottom of the lagoon and watching the calves swim over,? Mrs. Campbell said. ?It?s tricky with dolphins because they are streamlined and their anatomical parts are hidden.?