#dolphin quest

I was very lucky to be involved in Open Ocean training with Dolphin Quest during my internship there and I’m so happy to see it evolve into what it is today.

Cirrus is a former navy dolphin, so she took to the open ocean very easily and is the one who does the open ocean walks.

When I was there, there was still the netted ocean habitats. The net was there to provide the dolphins with extra security when going out there. But damn that thing was a pain to maintain. That thing needed to be inspected manually on any day ocean habitat training was happening - ensuring there was no damage to it.

Then it had to be cleaned every 6 months and it took a team of interns and trainers two whole days to remove it, clean it and put it back in. That was a loooong two days.

For Ocean Habitat training we were still working on encouraging some of the younger dolphins like Cooper, Marley and Cavello to go out to a netted habitat.

The dolphins were very hesitant and sometimes would bolt back through the tunnel if they felt it was too much. Other dolphins just flat out refused to enter the tunnel entrance lagoon because even that was too much for them.

A lot of people have this idea that dolphins in human care are desperate for more space and would swim off without a second thought. The reality is that the dolphins don’t understand why they should leave the comfort and safety of what they know to be their home and venture into unknown environments. How are they supposed to know that’s actually ~natural~ and ~better~ for them? They don’t care about that, they care about what is reinforcing, what feels safe and where their social groups are.

We literally have to convince them and reinforce them and show them it’s okay and trainers really need to have a good relationship with their animals for this to happen.

Honestly I was so surprised in seeing these reactions and seeing how the dolphins responded to being offered larger habitats. They really just. Didn’t care.

We created a reinforcement history around the open ocean and the ocean habitat. It didn’t offer any intrinsic value and the dolphins only showed interest and motivation in going out there when they were reinforced for it.

Dolphin IQ: How do you spot a friend from a distance? Their laugh, smile, or the way they walk? Bottlenose dolphins (one pictured above) can distinguish their pals not only by their whistles, but by the taste of their urine. A scientist had spotted dolphins swimming through plumes of urine, and thought there might be a reason, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, a calf at Dolphin Quest Bermuda, where biologists observed their interactions.)

Dolphin Quest terminates contract with Dolphinaris

FOX 10 - February 2, 2019

Dolphin Quest, the company that loans dolphins to Dolphinaris, has terminated its contract with the Scottsdale facility following the recent death of Kai. The company released the following statement.

"The Dolphin Quest team is heartbroken over the loss of our beloved Kai, a 22-year-old male dolphin, who died Thursday while in the care of Dolphinaris Arizona. The exact cause of death is unknown at this time pending the results of a post-mortem analysis. Kai was on loan to Dolphinaris, located in Scottsdale, AZ, where he participated in education and experiential learning programs for the public. As of yesterday, Dolphin Quest has formally terminated its animal loan agreement with Dolphinarius, and it is evaluating next steps for the remaining two Dolphin Quest animals.

'The safety and health of our animals is out top priority,' says Dr. Rae Stone, Co-Founder of Dolphin Quest. 'In spite of their best efforts, the animal health concerns have not been resolved at Dolphinaris. We have a senior marine mammal specialist from Dolphin Quest onsite at Dolphinaris who knows our remaining dolphins well and is closely monitoring them. They are bright, alert and in good condition at this time. We have contacted USDA and are working with them as we move forward.'

One of the main attractions at Hilton Waikoloa Village is Dolphin Quest, which is essentially a meet and greet where you can pet and swim with dolphins for roughly $300 per person. While I definitely saw people do this experience, it was never a particularly busy attraction--probably because it is so expensive--and I definitely have mixed feelings about it existing at all.

7 Reasons To Stay At The Hilton Waikoloa Village On The Big Island Of Hawaii

If you’re heading to Hawaii this summer, here’s 7 reasons why to stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and experience what it’s like to stay in paradise. Over time I have come to the realization that there are two types of people in the world.

There are the ultra, uber planners who have lists for their lists for their lists, who could command and transport a small army with precision and ease, and…