MGM Mirage officials are investigating the death of a dolphin at an aquatic habitat at The Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip. The eleven-year-old-dolphin, Sage, died at Siegfried and Roy's wildlife habitat over the Fourth of July weekend. Company spokesman Gordon Absher said Monday that animal care officials were still trying to determine the sudden cause of death.

This news comes after Phoenix Books' June 2008 release of the exposé The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy, which questions the famous duo's treatment of wild animals. Thirteen dolphins have died at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat since the attraction opened with five dolphins in 1990, fueling the animal welfare critics' attack of captive animals.

The tell-all is riddled with revelations about Siegfried and Roy, their "near-extinct" white tigers, and their lives both on and off the stage. However, the most shocking information disclosed in the book is what became of the Mirage's dolphins. The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy reveals: "Few golfers teeing off on that 17th hole know that just below their golf shoes lies Shadow Creek's very own dolphin cemetery…. Since 1990, eleven of [Steve] Wynn's prized dolphins died and were laid to rest there [p.185-186]."

Earlier this year, PETA issued a statement in response to the publication of The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy and its disclosing of the duo's animal-unfriendly practices. Debbie Leahy, PETA director, said:


While Siegfried and Roy have faded from the spotlight, their sad legacy lives on.

The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy's three co-authors had unprecedented access into the world of "Siegfried & Roy" and intimately share the often shocking but always juicy details of what they saw, heard and experienced over the course of the magicians' careers. Jim Mydlach was in charge of security for the duo for over twenty years. Louis Mydlach was Roy Horn's bodyguard and personal assistant in the years following his ill-fated 2003 tiger attack. Jimmy Lavery was privy to secrets of Siegfried and Roy via his girlfriend, Lynette Chappell, who was their longtime stage assistant and the Evil Queen in their show.

For more information contact: Karen Ammond-Publicist - kbcmedia@att.net