You learn something new every day. I just discovered that the State of South Carolina has a Marine Mammal Act. We are the only state that bans the capture of marine animals such as dolphins and whales.
This Act was a product of outrage that occurred over 50 years over the capture of an albino dolphin nicknamed “Snowball” that was known to locals but eventually captured off the coast of St. Helena Sound. She was captured and taken to the Miami Seaquarium where she died a few years later from varous ailments, according to published reports. The sadness and anger that South Carolinians felt about losing a precious treasure from our sea resulted in the Marine Mammal Act.
Now if you’ve read “The Prince of Tides” by treasured South Carolinian Pat Conroy, you will have read about Snowball. Reading that novel years ago, being unfamiliar with the story and the state, I thought it was bizarre Conroy included that subplot of the dolphin’s rescue. Afterr living here and discovering the true story of Snowball, I can understand why Conroy may have felt he needed to give the literary Snowball the happy ending she deserved in real life.