Swimming with dolphins or manatees......

[ZephyrHawk]

I've never liked the idea of dolphin swims because the dolphins are trained and just going through a routine. There are a very select few places left in the world where you can regularly swim with wild dolphins (meaning where they engage humans of their own volition). However, at Crystal River on the West coast of Florida (not THAT far from Disney) you can swim with a resident herd of wild (but human acclimated) manatees. They enjoy being scratched. It was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my life.

 

[DREAMS161]

if you are interested in further data, a great resource on Dolphin Hunts/Captures/Slaughters -so much info on captivity programs worldwide
http://www.ceta-base.com/drivefisheries.html

Of course the powerful Oscar winning documentary THE COVE which gives view of DOLPHIN HUNTS & link to captivity programs
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/cove/

This is a dark topic that many do not like to deal with but Dolphins deserve better than a life in captivity to serve our entertainment needs. The annual Dolphin Hunts/Slaughters in Taiji Japan continue feed this industry. As I said before knowledge is Key- once I learned of their suffering I could not dismiss it. Progress is needed...As Walt said, "We keep moving forward". Hopefully compassion is part of that movement.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We've been to Discovery Cove many times, in fact we were married there. The dolphins in Discovery Cove were brought over from Sea World when they are old enough to leave the dolphin nursery and after a lot of evaluation and supervision of the pods to make sure they transition smoothly and with little stress.

We've only done the dolphin swim once at DC. It was fun, but really short. We have Busch Gardens platinum passes, but even with the regular 1 year pass at Sea World you can get discounted tickets into DC ($99 no dolphin swim and $169 with dolphin swim). However, you don't get the 14 days unlimited admission to Sea World, Busch, and Aquatica.

 

[ilovebassets]

I wonder if you might think about a different option rather than swimming with captive dolphins? There are places where you can swim with dolphins out in their natural habitat. My son and I were going to do this in New Zealand but when our boat found the pod of dolphins, there were two new babies, and you are not allowed to swim when there are babies. We enjoyed watching the whole pod though!

Dolphins are intelligent, social animals and their life in captivity is pretty unpleasant for them. I try not to support that kind of thing.

TP

This a thousand times over. I hate to be a debbie downer, but the vast majority of swimming with the dolphin programs in the caribbean and the bahamas are quite cruel. Even if the program itself isn't, the process of capturing and transporting the dolphins is excessively cruel, and many die in the process.

 

[DREAMS161]

As I look closer at Discovery Cove they currently have 40 dolphins born there and FIVE WILD CAUGHT. I can't imagine the trauma and stressful life of those dolphins. It should not matter ticket price for a days entertainment for a consumer but rather the cost to the dolphin who's Life is trapped there.
Definitely cause for serious consideration & not easily dismissed for all who love dolphins, after all that is what it is about. Thanks for hearing my views, I really do feel strongly that we can be more compassionate to these amazing beings .

 

[MannyB]

Not Disney...but an option to explore.


For my Fiancee's Christmas Gift I wanted to do something like this but get the most bang for my money.

I found an option at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City to do "Trainer for a Day".

It was soooooo much more than your standard Dolphin Experience and she loved it. She got to literally spend a full day at the Park behind the scenes with all their animals. She fed and did training exercises with the Seals. She had a role in the Seal Show and got a kiss from the large Male star of the show. She worked with Rough Tooth Dolphins and got to feed, pet, and play with them. She got to have her picture made with a bird from the bird show. She had a role in the actual Bottlenose Show and got a picture. Then she got to get in the water for her Dolphin Experience as well. She did the dorsal ride, she did some training, etc

It truly was a lifetime experience and it ended up being essentially cheaper than what you would pay for a standard experience at Discovery Cove or Epcot.

 

[TIAMOMMA]

Not Disney...but an option to explore.


For my Fiancee's Christmas Gift I wanted to do something like this but get the most bang for my money.

I found an option at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City to do "Trainer for a Day".

It was soooooo much more than your standard Dolphin Experience and she loved it. She got to literally spend a full day at the Park behind the scenes with all their animals. She fed and did training exercises with the Seals. She had a role in the Seal Show and got a kiss from the large Male star of the show. She worked with Rough Tooth Dolphins and got to feed, pet, and play with them. She got to have her picture made with a bird from the bird show. She had a role in the actual Bottlenose Show and got a picture. Then she got to get in the water for her Dolphin Experience as well. She did the dorsal ride, she did some training, etc

It truly was a lifetime experience and it ended up being essentially cheaper than what you would pay for a standard experience at Discovery Cove or Epcot.

I've never heard of this place before this post, this sounds awesome.

 

[monarchsfan16]

As I look closer at Discovery Cove they currently have 40 dolphins born there and FIVE WILD CAUGHT. I can't imagine the trauma and stressful life of those dolphins. It should not matter ticket price for a days entertainment for a consumer but rather the cost to the dolphin who's Life is trapped there.
Definitely cause for serious consideration & not easily dismissed for all who love dolphins, after all that is what it is about. Thanks for hearing my views, I really do feel strongly that we can be more compassionate to these amazing beings .

Sea World parks do quite a bit of rescue. I'd be curious as to how many of the wild caught were wild caught because they were rescued and for whatever reason they couldn't be returned to the wild. Not disagreeing, just honestly curious, because I'm aware of the fact that they have many rescue programs and work hard to return their rescued animals to the wild.

 

[DREAMS161]

Sea World parks do quite a bit of rescue. I'd be curious as to how many of the wild caught were wild caught because they were rescued and for whatever reason they couldn't be returned to the wild. Not disagreeing, just honestly curious, because I'm aware of the fact that they have many rescue programs and work hard to return their rescued animals to the wild.

That is a good question. Through my research I have found SeaWorld likes to give that impression. You can see from the cetabase site data http://www.ceta-base.com/phinventory/ph_dc.html that the dolphins were in fact captured from the wild and traumatically transferred many times across the country. The oldest has been in captivity since 1970! wow over 40 yrs of a captive life.
SeaWorld's rescue work with manatees,turtles, birdlife is admirable. I wish they would focus on the that aspect of their business model and stop captive breeding and performances. Scientists have found that the constant human contact is indeed very stressful for dolphins. Just this week USDA complaint was filed against SeaWorld based on their care of both dolphins and orcas. Vets find physical signs of illness, injury from Life in captivity.
So much important information I hope Dolphin lovers take into serious consideration.

 

[jacksmom]

We swam with manatees in Cozumel and it was an awesome experience!

 

[Jaime4004]

Sea World parks do quite a bit of rescue. I'd be curious as to how many of the wild caught were wild caught because they were rescued and for whatever reason they couldn't be returned to the wild. Not disagreeing, just honestly curious, because I'm aware of the fact that they have many rescue programs and work hard to return their rescued animals to the wild.

The last wild caught dolphins (at seaworld FL and DC) were in the 1980's, over thirty years ago. Irrelevant to me because it's not done anymore. We all choose our own causes, i'm good with the captivity. After research, support both DC and SW.

To the OP, I've only ever did the dolphin swim with DC. It was fun to do once. I owe my youngest DS a trip because he wasn't old enough on our last trip and I told him i'd take him back someday. But after that, I wouldn't do it again. Too expensive and i'm fine with watching them, don't feel the need to swim. Love the rest of the park though.

Never knew about Manatee swimming, totally have to check that out!