Re: Dolphin Fantaseas Antigua
From: Noel
Date: 10/2/02 8:29:08 AM
Remote Name: 63.64.43.144
I heard a little bird tell me that this used to be a sewage treatment facility? I can not confirm that though....maybe someone else will jump in and let us know.
Anyway, Eli is referring to my experience at a different dolphin swim program. I thought it would be the greatest thing...until I suffered 5 broken ribs from a renegade dolphin that was not even supposed to be in the pen we were in. He also shattered all the cartilege in my sternum. I still occassionally have complications. (It took an extra hour to get to sleep last night because of scar tissue under the rib cage.) My wife still has a hematomia on her leg about the size of your fist. And this in spite of the fact that the one year anniversary of the attack was this past Friday. I have no doubts that any children in our pen would have died from the attack.
I am not making this up--I have the XRays and medical bills to prove it.
Dolphins appear to be loveable and friendly. But remember, they are wild creatures. Not much different than stepping into a cage with "tamed" lions or into the center ring at the circus with an elephant. They are not tamed in the sense of your pet cat. Would you put your child into a fenced yard with a bunch of dogs you do not know? How about lions or elephants? This sounds extreme--but it is not as far fetched as you think...
I have plenty of co-workers who have done the dolphin thing at other locations (cancun, jamaica) and had a blast. However, my dolphin swim was not any fun at all. Just be aware of the dangers. It is not in the interest of the dolphin company to tell you how you might get hurt--and how long recovery may take. Do some real reasearch. You can even look up on the internet about dolphin attacks. There are a few groups--including one out of England-- that are starting to document these attacks. They are more common than you realize. Take a look on the internet about what a 450 pound animal swimming at full speed can do to your rib cage. Take it from one who knows personally---it can really cramp your life style for a while.
That said, I have never been to Dolphin Fantaseas. But from others that I have discussed the situation with--the place where my swim program was held was in a lot better condition, and had better dolphin training/facilities/pens/etc.
Because this reply tool on this newsgroup does not show the original article, I can not see Eli's suggested websites. But here are some more I have found. Please excuse any duplicates...
http://www.i5ive.com/article.cfm/whales/23805
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/whales/23805
http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/ask99/0494.html
http://slashdot.org/science/01/02/26/0133210.shtml
Dolphin attacks. (Score:1)
by Cliffton Watermore (cliff.watermore@hushmail.com) on Monday February 26, @12:02AM (#403498)
(User #199498 Info |
http://www.advancetech.com)
Indeed, this is also true in South Africa. The top researcher of dolphin life in South Africa, Dr Peter West, admitted this recently. In fact, not only do dolphins kill more people in South Africa and Mozambique than sharks, but they are also the leading cause of death in Plettenberg Bay, one of the key dolphin areas in South Africa. So I unfortunately have to agree with thogard about the "cute dolphin" theory.
http://www.discovery.com/stories/nature/dolphins/dolphins.html
http://www.polaris.net/~rblacks/dolphins.htm
http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/info99/0078.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=cach...g/artdolphagress.htm++"dolphin+attacks"&hl=en
http://www.divernet.com/letters/letters0700.htm
http://antigua-net.com/dolphin/
http://www.freethedolphins.com/
http://www.dolphinproject.org/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,109583,00.html
