Watching the Dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean where they belong and not a theme park!

My view from the boat looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. Dolphins were swimming all around us.

I snapped this picture from the front of the boat as we were floating along the Atlantic Ocean to see dolphins and whales up close. 

During a recent excursion into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape May, New Jersey,  I was elated to see a pod of bottlenose dolphins flying out of the water and swimming within feet of the boat I was riding.

Bottlenose dolphins are common to the Cape May area but not to me. To see these spectacular mammals in their natural habitat was an amazing experience.  I think it was also an exciting adventure for my tripawd dog, Brody, who joined my husband and me on this trip.  This was Brody’s  first-ever ride on a boat.  I think he was more intrigued with the water and the seagulls than with looking at dolphins.

Here is a photo that replicates what I saw – many groups of dolphins swimming in unison around the boat.  There were calves (babies) swimming with their moms, too.  They were so fast with their movements that I was unable to capture a photo. I did capture some video but I’ve been unable to upload it here.  I wanted to take in the full effect of watching these free spirit mammals in action as well.

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center,  the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin can reach a length of up to 12 feet and a weight of 1,430 pounds.  The Bottlenose Dolphin is known to ride the surf and have been seen jumping clear of the water as high as 15-20 feet. Most Bottlenose Dolphins occur in groups of several hundred individuals that usually consist of smaller groups with no more than a dozen animals in each.  We didn’t see several hundred dolphins on this trip but we did see at least a hundred.

“Dolphins in the wild are almost always in motion even when resting and spend less than 20% of their time above water. I certainly can attest to that as we saw the constant motion of dolphins swimming around us.   Dolphins in the wild have highly complex societies in which certain dolphins hold a specific role in a group. They also have strong, long-lasting social bonds with certain members of their pod.”

Bottlenose dolphins can travel 100 miles per day! In captivity, there are no miles in a Sea World pool.

We were also hoping to see a humpback whale (pictured) but that wasn’t to be. Albeit disappointing, I still reveled in watching the pods of dolphins.

As I watched the dolphins in their natural habitat, this trip punctuated what I already knew.  Dolphins and whales belong in the ocean and not in small pools in a theme park, most notably Sea World.

SeaWorld is the largest marine park conglomerate in the world which holds most of the world’s captive killer whales- 24 in total. They are known for their shows using orcas, dolphins and porpoises.  Families around the nation visit these parks each year.  However, attendance has decreased after the tragic death of trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in 2010. and two documentaries,  the critically-acclaimed film, BlackFish and The Cove, with both shedding light on the manner in which SeaWorld has obtained their dolphins and how badly they (dolphins and orcas) are treated in their care.

In captivity, dolphins are forced to live in a small environment that cuts them off from a natural habitat. They must now entertain crowds with several shows every day.  Unnatural. They can no longer form social bonds of their own free will. Some are kept by themselves in small pools which is the opposite of how dolphins live in the wild. They undergo fertility control.  They are forced to eat food they wouldn’t eat in the wild. They suffer from stress from unusual noises and living in an unnatural habitat.  They have a reduced life expectancy even though their new environments are free of predators, pollution and other threats experienced in the wild.  According to the Marine Mammal Inventory report, they list causes of death to dolphins in captivity as drowning, ingestion of foreign objects and aggression from pool mates.

“Killer whales aka Orcas at SeaWorld spend most of their time floating listlessly at the surface of the water with little to no shade from the hot blistering sun. In the wild, orcas spend up to 95 percent of their time submerged and would find shade in the depths of the ocean, but at Sea World their tanks are far too shallow. Their deepest tank is 40 feet deep—not nearly deep enough to give them a reprieve from the harsh elements.  Killer whales travel 100 miles a day in the ocean.”  At Sea World, they are caged and will never be able to experience the feeling of freedom again.

BlackFish centers on Tilikum, the most well-known male killer whale belonging to Sea World. His story is an extremely sad case. ” Tilikum started life as a free orca before he was taken from his mother and his home at the age of 2. He then lived in a cruel environment where they used food deprivation to teach him tricks and he was kept in 20×30 foot container for 19 hours at a time till his next show. Before even arriving to SeaWorld Tilikum was involved in the death on one of his trainers at this park. Sea World vowed that he would only be used for breeding purposes and would not therefore be forced to perform alongside humans. Of course within a short time span he was a star attraction in one of Sea Worlds ‘educational’ shows. We all know the end result and Tilikum famously killed his trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Tilikum is not the only example and killer whales in captivity attack not just their trainers but each other, sometimes fatally, growing slowly madder and more bored at their existence of swimming around the same small area every single day of their lives.”

Tilikum now lives a solitary life in a pool at SeaWorld. Because of his deadly attacks, he no longer performs.  They have taken a killer whale who never had the chance to be a true orca and reduced him to solitary confinement until he dies. Alledgedly, there are three other orcas living in solitude.  This is what Sea World calls loving these mammals?  

What kind of life is this for a huge marine mammal or dolphins, both of which love to swim and stay in motion?  To live in a pool for entertainment purposes? How can anyone justify this?  To me,  it is indicative of dogs in small cages in puppy mills. Never experiencing the taste of freedom so the puppy mill farmers can make a profit by forcing the dogs to “perform” (impregnate) for them.  Keeping them caged for their entire lives instead of allowing dogs to be dogs.  Same principle can be applied to these marine mammals.

As said previously, SeaWorld incorporates dolphins in their shows on a daily basis. Did you know dolphins swim 100 miles per hour in the ocean?  There is no room for dolphins to swim freely or as much as they want when kept in captivity at SeaWorld.

In light of the negative press after the trainer’s death and the documentaries, SeaWorld has a campaign running with commercials showing trainers speaking to the camera to make viewers aware they do love the mammals as much as the public. I believe they do love whales and dolphins but are blind to see how wrong it is to hold these animals in captivity.

SeaWorld announced their plans in 2014 to build a larger pool (7 million gallons) for their orcas.  The Atlantic Ocean covers 80 million cubic miles.  It contains approximately 82 million trillion gallons of water.  This amount of water could allow everyone in the states to live underwater with each having their own cubic kilometer.

There is obviously no comparison between the Atlantic Ocean and a seven gallon tank of water. How is creating a larger pool for orcas going to make a difference?

Killer whales and dolphins need the wide open space of an ocean to swim and be free in their natural habitat where they belong.

While families may enjoy SeaWorld’s shows with these majestic creatures, I hope more people become informed that living in captivity isn’t normal for them.

Dolphins and whales have the same fate at Sea World. Both are kept in tiny unnatural environments.  Both have been forced to learn tricks for food. This is not their natural behavior.  Sea World wants you to think that it is.

Building larger pools will never replicate the ocean.  A larger prison is still a prison.

If kids can understand the impact of dolphin and whale captivity, why can’t adults?

While Sea World claims they allow children and adults to have an experience with these marine mammals,  just remember you can accomplish do this by going to the ocean and see a more spectacular show than you ever thought possible!

Living in captivity means being held captive.  Let the dolphins and whales stay in their natural habitat and be free.

Brody peering out at the Atlantic Ocean

Have a story, please email me at tevangelistaepp@yahoo. Like my tv page at https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues.