The Encounter 

To think you will be so close and personal with one of God’s beautiful creatures is exciting!. #AnimalLover As the day came I would be meeting with the Dolphins at the Miami Sea aquarium I was a little nervous but excited none the least. As I arrived I could see them swimming back and forth and couldn’t help but wonder...

(was this all the space they had to themselves?) It truly wasn’t enough. Concern filled me as i stepped into the water. Instantly grabbed with unexpected emotion I couldn’t understand to why silent tears began to fall hands shaking. The dolphin who’s name is (Colbolt) swam over to meet us, looking into his eyes and him looking back into mines it truly was an out of body beautiful experience, however.. I couldn’t shake my initial encounter.  A thought came to me...

Where those the emotions hidden deep inside this Animal?

Colbolt truly touched my heart in a way that was so REAL, to the point of it feeling Spiritual even.

On the drive back home, I couldn’t help but think of the Confined quarters he lived in. It started to tug on my heart and wouldn’t let me go. How all those animals in captivity live Confined never to return to the wild again roaming free, hunting with instinct and most importantly being with their families. I thought I have to do something..So I searched online for more information and found many Activist websites, the information you’re about to read is from..

(Impact of Captivity|Save the Dolphins)

 

Impact Of Captivity
The nature of these highly intelligent and social creatures makes them very unsuited for life in captivity. In captivity, dolphins are suffering an impoverished and often significantly shortened existence as compared to their counterparts in the wild. The chronic mental, emotional and physical stress a captive dolphin suffers can weaken its immune system, lowering its resistance to disease and death.

In captivity, dolphins have a lower survival rate than in the wild. Even though there are claims that this controlled environment keeps the dolphins free of predators, pollution and other threats, there is evidence that dolphins in captivity die young. At least 50% of dolphins in captivity will die in less than 7 years.

These dolphins would have been separated from their natural family groups, often in cruel hunts and are forced to live in artificial and confined conditions. It is almost impossible to maintain a family group in captivity, which is extremely unfavourable for these highly social mammals. When dolphins from different pods are forced to live together, problems of socialisation, development of domain wars and aggressive behaviour may surface due to stress. To keep them calm and prevent fights or injuries, tranquilisers or hormones may be given.

Dolphins are very sensitive to sound, and navigate by echolocation out in the wild, however in tanks, the reverberations from their own sonar bounce off the walls, eventually driving some dolphins insane.

Out in the wild, dolphins can swim up to 100 miles a day, to feed, hunt, roam and play. However, captivity cannot provide the dolphins with the space to perform their natural tendencies. Due to the confined space, it is common to observe stereotypic behaviour in captive dolphins such as swimming in endless circles or floating motionless on the surface due to boredom. There have been observations of dolphins biting off the metal bars or chewing on concrete walls of their tanks, which can break their teeth or cause serious injury.

In addition, behavioural abnormalities are observed, which are known to have long-term detrimental effects on the dolphins. Dolphins in captivity have been observed to exhibit abnormal behaviours such as throwing themselves out of the tanks and sliding down platforms.

Dolphins play an important role in keeping their environment in balance. They eat other animals – mainly fish and squid – and are themselves a source of food for some sharks and other creatures. Without dolphins, the animals they prey on would increase in number, and their predators wouldn't have as much to eat.

Training the dolphins for shows is another dark secret. Dolphins are forced to learn tricks and unnatural behaviours. Withholding food and isolating dolphins are 2 very common training methods. Activities like beaching themselves in performances have also been found to be extremely harmful to dolphins as it damages their internal organs

“I found a former dolphin trainer online who shared his story this is...”

 Life as a dolphin trainer| Auto biography of Richard O’barry

O’Barry became the trainer and caretaker of all 5 of the dolphins who eventually played Flipper in the television series, he had also assisted in all of their captures. Their names were : Susie, Kathy, Patty, Scottie, and Squirt. Kathy was his favourite. He also worked on the Flipper television series as a trainer of other animals, most notably Pete the pelican, a brown pelican he caught on Biscaybe Bay. He could make Pete nod, shake his head, seem hesitant, and even trained it to “nod sadly”.

As the filming steadily progressed, Susie, the original Flipper dolphin, started becoming rougher and more aggressive with people, the divers, crew members, and the actors. O’Barry sensed that her behavior was not just about play and testing limits, it was also the “frustration of being at odds with one’s true nature.” Consequently, he began slowly replacing her with Kathy.

In 1968, after his work with the Flipper television series ended, O’Barry went back to work for the Miami Seaquarium. This time, he worked with Hugo, a newly acquired killer whale. However, he grew disenchanted with his work, and traveled to India for some time.

In 1970, on his return from India, he received an urgent call from the Seaquarium, telling him that Kathy was ill. He immediately rushed down, and jumped into her tank with her. And it is there, in his arms, that Kathy took her last breath and died. No matter how much he tried to revive her, she was gone. “Why are we doing this?” he asked. Her death marked the end of his career as a dolphin trainer and the start of his activism.

In closing..

“ These wild animals are NOT here to entertain us. We the people can teach people about wildlife through different means of education, like rehabilitation and release and how to care for our world. We can do this one step at a time TOGETHER! These Animals are here to take care of the world we live in, so let’s take care of them. The ones with VOICES we do not understand. Let us raise Awareness to shed a light on these issues. LET US BE THE CHANGE! Start today by signing this petition to SET THEM FREE !  Be part of something BIGGER than what you can see.”✨ #StayBlessed