Swim With Dolphins In Hawaii

What would it be like to swim with dolphins in Hawaii? A dolphin is fascinating to observe and it is interesting to learn some of the many amazing facts about dolphins. There are different views about how to best interact with and conserve these intelligent creatures. There is also interest in determining whether interaction with a dolphin can benefit disabled persons, or those suffering from depression, autism or other cognitive disabilities.

If one looks at these creatures closely, amazing facts about dolphins emerge. As mammals, the animals give birth to live young and nurse them with milk. Each lives in families which help youngsters and injured members. The animals have a complex language for communication and navigation which includes a variety of clicks, whistles, trills and squeaks. After staying underwater for 15 minutes or more, each eventually surfaces to breathe through the blowhole on the top of its head. While sleeping, they do not go completely unconscious, or they would stop breathing and drown. Instead, they keep one eye open for predators and float near the surface, alternating eyes occasionally to allow rest to other parts of the brain. A dolphin has no fur, but a layer of fat (blubber) helps insulate it from colder temperatures. Not all are saltwater creatures. Several species of these river dolphins are endangered. The bottlenose dolphin so familiar to many is not endangered, although pollution, habitat destruction and accidental entanglement in fishing nets take a toll.

A dolphin uses echolocation to navigate and find food. Clicking noises are sent out, which bounce off objects and return, enabling them to distinguish size, direction, speed, and distance of underwater objects. One of the most amazing facts about dolphins is that they can even discern some internal structures. A female dolphin can even tell when a swimming human is pregnant and will often react protectively.

If a dolphin is not in the water, it may suffer from heat and weight problems which can be fatal. Blubber becomes a liability when the creatures are removed from water, for they have difficulty cooling themselves. Weight normally supported by water can crush internal organs if they remain beached for too long. These areas raise concern from animal lovers, who maintain that the animals are sometimes contained in tanks of insufficient depth to provide protection from the sun and are forced to perform acts (like beaching themselves upon a platform) which are unnatural and can lead to injury. Also, the lack of real exercise and stimuli for creatures who normally swim forty miles daily and occupy themselves in the wild with riding waves and playful exploration is seen as a cruel restriction. In the relatively tiny habitat of captivity, echolocation skills are undeveloped, and social life restricted to a few other captives, rather than the schools of dolphins found in wild settings.

The desire to observe these animals at close hand is understandable and is not negative in itself. Scripture portrays mankind as stewards of all of God's creatures. God tells mankind to ...have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28) Desiring to get closer to these fascinating creatures by taking a swim with dolphins in Hawaii or Florida seems enjoyable, yet knowing these amazing facts about dolphins seems to render the experience at best limited and artificial, and at worst, an enabling of continued (though unintentional) abuse against these magnificent creatures. Even at places which stress their role as an educational or rehabilitation facility, the deck is stacked against true knowledge of these creatures, or even much rehabilitation, for visitors are seeing the animals engaged in unnatural lifestyles and few facilities are able to demonstrate significant results in terms of actual numbers of dolphins successfully released. Fewer still follow up on a dolphin to discover if it has been fully reintegrated into the wild. Most of the money collected through facility tours and dolphin shows is not actually used in research or rehabilitation. This is not meant to cast aspersion upon those who spend much time, effort and finances in sincere attempts to aid dolphins. However, despite good intentions, some of the work done with dolphins does not actually accomplish the desired results.

One alternative which deals with a corporation's desire to educate people about true dolphin behavior while remaining financially solvent is the possibility of tours conducted in the wild. There are several outfits which offer the opportunity to swim with dolphins in Hawaii and in other locations. Although these are not immune from temptations to maximize profit, at least an attempt is being made to display dolphins in their natural environment. These tours seem much more humane for the dolphin, who is not confined or forced to do tricks for food. In addition, a search of websites offering such tours seemed to indicate a genuine effort to educate the public about respect for the fact that these are large, wild creatures, not 'smiling' friends who want to be patted or take people for a ride. In fact, participants are urged to observe rather than touch, to blend in (as much as possible) rather than chase or agitate the animals. Respect for the size and unpredictable nature of wild animals and the freedom that the creatures have to investigate or ignore their human 'visitors' is certainly more natural and truly educational. Patience is learned, since a dolphin who is not looking for handouts may not spend more than a few minutes investigating these visitors, no matter how much has been paid for the privilege. This, too, is a lesson in reality -- money does not guarantee that one will get everything one desires. It is difficult to see who benefits more from the chance to swim with dolphins in Hawaii, the dolphins who cavort freely or the humans who learn to restrain themselves and in this way, begin to function as true stewards of these magnificent creatures.

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