TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s new rescued dolphin met fellow CMA residents Hope and PJ for the first time on Thursday.

The aquarium said earlier this month that it had welcomed Apollo into its dolphin family. The 2-year-old male is the first dolphin to join the aquarium since the death of Winter, star of the Dolphin Tale movies who died from twisted intestines on Nov. 11.

Apollo was rescued on May 15 after he was found stranded on Playalinda Beach, approximately 20 miles from where Winter was found in 2005. Since he lost his hearing, rescuers determined he was not a candidate for release, and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium was picked as his permanent home. He arrived at the aquarium on Dec. 14, and was still in his acclimation period.

The aquarium said that due to his age, Apollo was being slowly introduced to female dolphins, Hope and PJ. PJ, the oldest dolphin at the aquarium, is said to be over 50 years old, and has been at CMA since 2019. Hope, who starred in Dolphin Tale 2, arrived in 2019, and is believed to be around 11.

“Once he matures, he will be paired with resident male dolphins, Nicholas and Hemingway,” an aquarium spokeswoman said.

For tickets and more information about the aquarium, you can visit cmaquarium.org.