Smartest Man Meets Smartest Mammal
By Mr. Sheard
In a recent survey, members of the public were asked, “if you were given the opportunity, what is the one thing that you would like to experience before you die?” The answer that the majority of people gave was, “I would like to swim with the dolphins.”
Here in Portugal, Zoomarine offers an interactive programme with bottle nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncates) which encompasses a real “hands on” experience. The dolphins really do have the desire to relate to humans in a delightful and entertaining way.
As a keen biologist I had some reservations regarding exploitation of animals in captivity, but I discovered that the dolphins are extremely well cared for and indeed a new generation of baby dolphins has been born. Mammals tend not to breed if they are stressed or unhappy.
In addition Zoomarine provides hospital and rehabilitation facilities for other sick or injured sea creatures, which are eventually returned to the wild. The interactive programme consists of an interesting introductory talk encompassing care and handling instructions when in the water with the dolphins and illustrations of many environmental issues. This is followed by actual contact with the dolphins under the watchful eye of the dolphin trainers. Mr. Sheard said it was a really rewarding experience to be in such close proximity to such a large creature in its own watery environment.
“The dolphins seemed to be trying to communicate with me by whistles and clicks through their blow holes and it is amazing to realize that these creatures have a sonar system which surpasses any man-made radar detection method. Altogether it was a wonderful life changing experience.”
