Three bottlenose dolphins were released into the open sea in Indonesia Saturday after years of confinement for the pleasure of tourists who touched each other and swam with them.
As red and white Indonesian flags fluttered, underwater gates opened off the island of Bali to allow Johnny, Rocky, and Rambo to swim free.
The trio was rescued three years ago from their tiny pool in a resort hotel to which they had been sold after spending years performing in a traveling circus.
They regained their health and strength at the Bali sanctuary, a floating pen in a bay that provided a gentler, more natural environment.
The freed dolphins will be monitored out at sea with GPS tracking for a year. They may return to visit the sanctuary, though no one knows what they will do. They may join another pod, stay together, or go their separate ways.