dolphins who went missing from a marine centre during the hurricane that whipped the Island more than six months ago.

Every day staff and volunteers go out looking for Gibbs and Dolber, who escaped their Dolphin Quest pens on the South Shore last September.

Hurricane Gert battered the cove based at the Fairmont Southampton Princess, damaging the pen and allowing a total of four dolphins to escape.

A mother and her calf were rescued and taken back to the centre, but Gibbs and Dolber have not been found, although they were spotted a couple of days after the storm.

This week, director of animal management at Dolphin Quest, Michelle Hammond, said everyone was still devastated by the dolphins' disappearance.

She said: "We still have search and rescue parties out looking for the two males. We are sad that we have not yet located them.

"They were spotted soon after they left and they had not sustained any injuries. They are capable of catching their own fish in the wild, but if they are still in the area they will be disoriented and they won't be able to find their way back home.

"We spend a lot of time with the dolphins and have relationships with them.

Having two of them go missing is like missing part of your family. It's like a mother losing her children in the woods. We can't just stop looking for them.'' Soon after the storm last year, the Maritime Museum at Dockyard came to the rescue and offered Dolphin Quest space for a temporary pen while its permanent base at Southampton was being re-furbished.

Construction is still underway to make the cove bigger and stronger, but it will not be ready for the centre to move back to until the summer or autumn.

But, in the meantime, people can visit Dolphin Quest and its six dolphins, including two pregnant females, at the Maritime Museum at Dockyard.

Programmes are held throughout the day that enable visitors to feed and talk to the dolphins, and even swim with them.

It costs $95 for 30 minutes for people aged 13 and above. The charge for five to 12-year-olds is $85, but they are not permitted to go in the water.

People are advised to book for the programme by calling 239-6957.