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Original poster

Ethical dolphin encounters

37 replies

PunkAssMoFo · 30/07/2018 02:05

Has anyone had any experience of this and can tell me where it was.

DD is desperate to swim with dolphins, but I hate those shows where people ride their fins and they’re in a small pool. I read of a couple of encounters where wild dolphins are almost guaranteed to come and swim with you in the ocean - Qatar (not on our holiday list) and New Zealand ( too far). Anyone know of anywhere else where this is possibly?

OP posts:
Joe66 · 30/07/2018 02:12

Too be honest I don't think it's appropriate. We have lots of dolphins in the bay where we are at the moment, and if they want to come and play when we are out sailing it's lovely to see them, but they are creatures of the ocean, and can be distressed by loud noise and sudden changes of direction. Best to be enjoyed from a boat or the land.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 30/07/2018 02:19

How about fungie in dingle ireland, you might not be able to swim with him, but you certianly get very very close to him

AltheaorDonna · 30/07/2018 02:27

Well its very long haul, but you can swim with wild dolphins near Perth Australia. Its totally ethical, you don't feed or touch the animals and they live wild in the bay. Its an amazing experience, the dolphins wouldn't come out to play if they were unhappy. You go out on a boat with a guide and then swim with a wet suit and a float and the dolphins swim up and around you. Although you don't always have to pay, they sometimes like to surprise you when swimming or kayaking. When I first moved here I was at the beach one day and spotted a fin in the water, I thought it was a shark and started swimming for my life. It was a sodding dolphin Grin

Doggood · 30/07/2018 02:28

Unfortunately they are wild animals and your choices are to either invade their natural habitat or support their captivity.

I would take the opportunity to explain to DD that sometimes these things aren't possible as animals aren't entertainment to be played with but perhaps you could go on a boat ride and see some up close without invading their space?

silkybear · 30/07/2018 02:33

Gibraltar is good for seeing them. You cannot get in with them I don't think but you can do boat trips and there are so many. They leap right behind the boat, playing in the spray so easy to get a good look at them.

Shmithecat · 30/07/2018 02:33

Not sure about actually swimming with them but take a fishing boat out on the Florida Flats and you'll see loads. We had a whole family of them (including babies) swim round with us. It was awesome.

AltheaorDonna · 30/07/2018 03:23

Invading their habitat? Its a bloody great ocean! If they didn't like it they would swim away! Grin They follow the boat to jump in the wake, they clearly love it! They are playful animals, no harm is done at all. Its very different to getting into a tank with them.

bonnielassie1 · 30/07/2018 03:34

Roatan (Honduras) you can dive with dolphins and it looks amazing!

penguinsnpandas · 30/07/2018 06:19

Think you can in the Azores.

speakout · 30/07/2018 06:33

I don't think it is appropriate.

Dolphins are not toys, or magical unicorns waiting to give a human a ride on their fins.
It's disrepectful to the animal to invade their life and habitat.
Dolphins can also be dangerous, they are strong, can be unpredictable- they are wild animals.

Teach your DD to respect wild creatures.
They are not there for human entertainment.

Candyflip · 30/07/2018 06:37

Mozambique? They don’t leave you alone.

Whyiseveryonesoangry · 30/07/2018 06:38

We swam with dolphins in Eilat. Totally wild, they chose whether to come to you or not. It was AMAZING,!!

pinkmagic1 · 30/07/2018 06:45

I swam with a wild one in Hurghada, Egypt.
I went for a swim and like a pp poster, just saw a fine appear out the sea and panicked as I thought it was a shark! It turned out to be a dolphin, and he/she stayed and played for over an hour.
It was a magical experience and I didn't invade their habitat. The animal chose to swim in close to the shore and investigate us!

AltheaorDonna · 30/07/2018 07:53

speakout no one is riding on anyone's fins! And do you ever go in the ocean, or is that always invading their habitat? There are over 200 wild dolphins in the bay where I live, they come out to play all the time if you are swimming or boating or kayaking. If they didn't like it, they would swim off. They don't though, they are very playful. No-one is being hurt or exploited, when we go out on my friend's boat they always chase the boat, jumping in shoals, its wonderful to see! It's not the same at all as a Sea World type thing, these are wild animals that clearly enjoy the interaction, as you would know if you could see it for yourself.

speakout · 30/07/2018 07:59

as you would know if you could see it for yourself.

You are funny.

You are making big assumptions.

I see dolphins on a daily basis.

AltheaorDonna · 30/07/2018 08:35

If you see them in the wild on a daily basis then I am surprised you don't know how they are sociable animals. How on earth can you be invading their habitat when you are in the ocean, and they are choosing to come and interact with you? Do you never swim in the ocean? If they didn't want to interact, they wouldn't.

Original poster
PunkAssMoFo · 30/07/2018 08:46

For clarification, I’m not talking about riding fins or touching them.

DD has snorkelled in areas with rays and much other marine life. They’re free to swim away and we are respectful of their environment. We’ve had many wild dolphins follow boats we were on and put on displays of their own accord. They’ve been chance meetings and not where we’ve planned to get off the boat and swim.

I’ve heard several stories as pp’s mentioned about dolphins choosing to come and swim around humans in certain areas. So thanks to the sensible posters who shared their experiences.

OP posts:
NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 30/07/2018 09:30

This is probably as close as you can get to dolphin www.dingledolphin.com/upcloseandpersonal/

Fungie is never chased and it very much depends on his mood

Butteredparsn1ps · 30/07/2018 09:34

Moray Firth in Scotland.?

DC used to sponsor a Dolphin through a charity (WWDS or similar) who supported the marine life in the area.

BubblesBuddy · 30/07/2018 13:00

My DD sponsored one too!!! It was Sundance. We chose to do that and have only seen dolphins from a boat. However that was hugely enjoyable.

Butteredparsn1ps · 30/07/2018 14:43

Bubbles I think DS might have sponsored Sundance too!

Stopyourhavering64 · 30/07/2018 20:54

We've got some in the Menai Straits in N Wales ( between Angelsey and the mainland) at the moment....you can go kayaking or take a rib ride to see them

201805spring · 30/07/2018 21:42

It's not swimming with them but New Quay in West Wales has regular dolphins which you can see from the harbour wall as they come very close. There are also boat trips for an hour or so. When my son was three we sat on the wall for ages watching a dolphin that was a few feet below us, it was magical.
I've also seen them from a boat in the Moray Firth, they are regularly sighted there.
Thomas Cook have just announced that they will no longer sell tickets to captive whale and dolphin facilities from next summer as the welfare of the animals is poor. I wish more people shared your views and avoided caged ones.

AdventuresRUs · 31/07/2018 06:10

I dont know enough about it but friends have paid to "swim woth dolphins" whilst at disney in florida (sea world) and the whole thing makes me very uneasy. Apart from the fact we cant afford it I've told the kids I dont like it.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 31/07/2018 06:15

adventure yes thats what this OP doesnt want to do shes looking for altertives with wild dolphins not sea world