Swimming with Dolphins...

[raina79]

Does anyone know of this program at the Sea Life Park?? Can anyone enlighten me on the dolphins there - were they captured or born there??

I am generally against these kind of things. A bunch of tourists plunging into a tank to swim with dolphins. I think it is MAYBE ok if the dolphin could not survive in it's natural habitat for whatever reason.

My sister has booked a dolphin swim at the above place while we are on Hawaii. I want to be educated on the subject before I bring up the topic / start the debate!! :no

 

[Cacia]

A Japanese company bought SeaLife Park about three years ago, I THINK. Anyway, shortly after that a lot of animals died and a lot of employees quit, I heard.

Now a couple of those people have gone back, I heard it was getting better.

I hear that some of the people that work there have some type of staph that is resistant to antibiotics, that would keep me out, until I hear something different.

I believe that the dolphin encounter at the Kahala (used to be the Mandarin) in Kahala is well run as far as these things go. I am there pretty often and the animals seem happy, they are in a bay swimming around fairly freely for captivity. I'm a bit against it also, but my children did it when they were little, I think it instills love and respect for the dolphins to have that experience, yet I cannot really justify it. There are more than me voting within the tribe, its not all up to me.

Did you see anything on the specifics on their website?

 

[DiveWestOahu]

the sea life program has 2 bottle nose and one wolphin in the tank, they was born in captivity and are trained like dogs if that's what you want to see, my kids loved it but i personally thought it was kinda sad to see those beautiful creatures "shaking hands, rolling over etc" but that's just me, i'd rather see them in the wild which i do almost daily 8)