Some people believe that swimming with the wild spinner dolphins in Hawaii is disrupting their living patterns and causing undue stress. The dolphins often spend much of the day in shallow bays alternating between resting and playful activity. They are active for the first couple of hours and initiate interaction with human swimmers then go into their resting mode. More people are swimming or kayaking alongside them during most ofthe day so to some extent it may disrupt their resting pattern, although I have noticed that when they are resting they stay under the water longer and move to areas where they can be by themselves. A possible solution is to allow interaction with the dolphins in the morning and give them their space in the afternoon.
I had a discussion with a person a few days ago who felt that swimming with dolphins causes a lot of harm. I have been swimming with the spinners for 20 years and they initiate and enjoy the interaction and leave when they want to. The pods are healthy and I haven’t noticed any adverse affects. I have found that people who swim with them come away recognizing the dolphins preciousness and often take action to educate others to respect dolphins.
I would rather see people swimming with the wild dolphins than swimming with captive dolphins or harming wild dolphins as many nations are doing ( read my past posts).
Hi Scott,
I agree with you. I think both side of the dolphin swim issue should get along, the people that like the wild dolphin swims and the people that enjoy swimming with the dolphin in captivity. But I think that this awareness is good. Because it make the people that swim with the wild dolphins not abuse the wild space, like bring out hundreds of people and dumping them into the ocean. Also, the people that do the captive dolphin swim, this keeps these facilities on their toes to keep the dolphins well being at the top of their list.
Hopefully everyone is doing the right thing for the dolphins !!
God Bless,
John