| Things you should know... by mollynlady, Mon Jul 19 19:42:04 1999 I happen to have a true love of Dolphins, like many of you do. I also had the experience of working with dolphins in the Florida Keys, and would like to share some of the "not so glamorous" things that you should all be aware of. Tonights show was very nice, however, what I would like people to realize is what happens to some of the dolphins that live in captivity. I would like to preface my comments by letting you know that the Dolphins that I worked with were in Natural Captivity, and were never confined to a pool or holding pen. This is where my problem with the Commercialization of Dolphins begans..... CAPTIVITY! One of the most horrifying "behind the scenes" things that I learned of while living in the Keys was what happens to so many of the "show dolphins" over time. Due to the fact that they are held in captivity in a 12-18 foot deep pool (usually.... I know there are exceptions) which is painted light blue, there is a major problem with this. I have personally seen Dolphins whose eyes have been glazed over (solid gray) because of the reflection of the intense sun rays bouncing throughout these pools that they are held in. The fact that the water is so clear, and the pools are almost always painted the "sky blue" in color, and the fact that the pools are not that deep, the ultraviolet rays from the sun continually bounce around the pool where they are held. You see, in open ocean, or when a dolphin is held in "natural captivity" such as a tidal fed lagoon, you do not see these sorts of things happening. The reason for this is simple, the water is much darker, deeper, and there are no light blue bottoms or sides for the suns harmful rays to bounce off of. The suns harmful rays actually dissapate and die in the water. Granted, in some parts of the world, the water is as clear in the ocean as it is in your bathtub, but the dolphins are not forced to stay in one place for any length of time. Another problem I have with dolphins in capitvity is the holding pens that they are often kept in. MANY, if not ALL captive dolphins are kept in very small holding pens that measure only 12' x 6'. The average mature dolphin is almost 9' long and weighs 400 to 500 lbs. They hardly have enough room to turn around. The answer I was given whenever I would ask about how small the pens were when I would see these things, was " oh, there is plenty of room for them to turn around and continually move". (It's important for them to be able to continually move) I want to let you all know that I loved my time spent with the dolphins, and have an extremely deep appreciation for how special they are....... ( I could tell you stories about them that you would have a hard time believing!) but I also want people to be aware of the "commercial money traps" that are out there taking advantage of your fascination with them. It's all about the mighty dollar and I think it sucks! There are some great avenues for the use of Dolphins, in fact, I worked with a group called MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION, where we would bring in terminally ill children who's last wish was to swim with a Dolphin. It was some of the most gratifying work that I have ever done.... however is was with dolphins in "natural captivity". I could go on and on about my problems with dolphins in captivity, believe me, but I just wanted to make some of you aware of the "behind the scenes" things that take place along with the "fairy tale shows" that you see at many of the highly visible attraction sites around the U.S. Just as there is A LOT more behind that smile on a Dolphins face than you could ever imagine..... there is A LOT more going on behind the scenes at these fancy money making adventures! |
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