Swimming with dolphins

For the band, see Swimming with Dolphins.

Woman swimming with a dolphin

The popularity of swimming with dolphins and other interactions with dolphins greatly increased in the 1980s and 1990s due to the satisfaction and learning that human beings experience while swimming with dolphins. This activity may help to treat depression in humans.

There has been a proliferation of dolphinariums around the world despite the controversy around this activity, which has yet to be circumscribed by the law. The renewed popularity of dolphins in the 1960s resulted in the appearance of many dolphinariums around the world, which have made dolphins accessible to the public. Though criticism and more strict animal welfare laws have forced many dolphinariums to close their doors, hundreds still exist around the world attracting a large amount of visitors. The risks associated with interaction with dolphins include injury for humans and injury, stress and death for dolphins.

Scenarios

There are three types of environments where people can swim with dolphins: ponds, natural demarcated areas and at the sea. The ponds are very large and deep pools, such as the SeaWorld aquarium. The natural demarcated areas are places adjacent to the sea that share the sea's pure water and seabed, Riviera Maya, and Cozumel in Mexico. Some (though certainly not all) sea swim programs are done at certain points where wild dolphins are accustomed to getting food. Some researchers are against feeding wild dolphins because of the risks of changing their eating habits. This practice costs somewhere in the range of 300 to 400 thousand dollars.

Programs

Swimming with dolphins is an activity offered by many dolphinariums around the world, and there is a large and varied array of interactive programs and activities. Each dolphinarium usually has their specific supply and particular way to present their activities. Most programs include direct contact with dolphins; in some places it is allowed to take the dolphin fin and be dragged by the animal. Other dolphinariums do not allow this because it could be harmful to the animal. In recent years a program that allows customers to have the experience of being coaches has become popular. Some programs offer guests additional interaction by allowing them to act as trainers for the day. Most programs offer pictures and video memories of the experience.

Countries with swimming with dolphin programs include Mexico, United States, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Israel as well as most caribbean nations like Bahamas, Cuba & Dominican Republic.

Most dolphinariums charge 400 thousand per person per session. As regulated by the WWF.

Main activities

• Swirl: several dolphins swim in concentric circles around swimmers, generating a lot of energy and movement.
• Kiss: with delicate movements, the dolphin poses its snout on the cheek or mouth of the swimmer.
• Hug: upright and with more than half of the body out of the water, the dolphin hugs with their pectoral fins.
• Footpush: two dolphins push the swimmer from the feet.
• Jump: dolphins are masters in jumping out of the water. During the swim they perform tricks in the air.
• Dance: into the beat, they move their body while the swimmer hold the pectoral fins.
• Singing: with order and as in a chorus, dolphins emit their characteristic sounds.
• Signaling: the swimmer learns some details needed to handle the dolphins.
• Free interaction time: the swimmer has the opportunity to establish free and open contact with dolphins.

Dive with dolphins

The Trek program features a different experience on dolphins-human recreational activities. As opposed to the common way of swimming with dolphins programs, Sea Trek equipment offers a new possibility to interact underwater with these skilled animals. This dive device is very easy to use and doesn't need any experience to handle. The participants are immersed 16 - 40 feet under water allowing them to observe with more detail the movements of the dolphins. This is a very new program only offered in a dolphinarium in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Lots of people have not yet tried sea treking but may in the future.

See also

• List of dolphinariums

References

• Au, Whitlow (1993). The Sonar of Dolphins. New York: Springer-Verlag.
• Curran, S., Wilson, B. and Thompson, P (1996). "Recommendations for the sustainable management of the bottlenose dolphin population in the Moray Firth". Scottish Natural Heritage Review 56.
• Leatherwood, Stephen and Randall R. Reeves, eds. The Bottlenose Dolphin. San Diego: Academic Press, Inc., 1990.
• Reiss, D. and Marino, L. (2001). Self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 8, 98 (10), 5937-5942.
• Ramírez, Ken (1999), Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement, Shedd Aquarium.
• Sonar Magazine, Scientific research information of Grupo Via Delphi.

External links

• Swimming with dolphins: a phenomenological exploration of tourist recollections, International Journal of Tourism Research
• The trouble with Dolphin swims: why swim-with-dolphin programs have some folks making waves, Animals
• Should You Swim With This Dolphin?, Washington Post
• Swimming with Wild Dolphin Guidelines, Swimming with dolphins where they live; on a dolphin's turf, on a dolphin's terms
• Human-Dolphin relationship
• Does an innocent swim promote animal cruelty? The Jeju Weekly, May 24, 2011