Swimming With Dolphins
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The popularity of swimming with dolphins increased in the 1980s and 1990s, occurring in over 65 countries, both as a form of therapy as well as a tourist activity. Proponents of dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) say that interacting with dolphins can help to treat mental and physical disorders in humans, but there is limited clinical evidence proving its benefits. Marine parks and other tourist destinations offering "swim-with-dolphin" experiences have also promoted the purported healing attributes of dolphins. Opponents argue that interactions between humans and dolphins have had a negative impact on dolphin populations both in the wild and in captivity, and that the practice can be dangerous for humans. Concerns over animal welfare have led to bans on swimming with dolphins in
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, as well as certain locations in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
.


Dolphin-assisted therapy


Claims

Dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) is a form of
animal-assisted therapy Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning ...
(AAT), in which captive dolphins interact with humans with a range of
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
and
neurological disorder Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique diagnosis, treatment, and ...
s. DAT is often claimed to help children and adults with
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
, as well as other conditions including depression,
cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...
,
encephalopathy Encephalopathy (; ) means any disorder or disease of the brain, especially chronic degenerative conditions. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of overall brain dysfunction; this syndrome ...
, Down's syndrome,
atopic dermatitis Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as atopic eczema, is a long-term type of inflammation of the skin. Atopic dermatitis is also often called simply eczema but the same term is also used to refer to dermatitis, the larger group of skin conditi ...
,
muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...
,
spinal cord injuries A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...
, and
attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...
. While some forms of DAT involve patients swimming with, or being pulled around by, dolphins, others entail simply observing, touching, or feeding them. In general, it is a very expensive form of therapy, costing thousands of dollars in addition to the expense of travel and accommodations to the facilities, located in the United States and Mexico, as well as the Caribbean, South America, Middle East, and Europe. Critics have expressed concern that families are forgoing more effective, scientifically proven therapy and treatments order to be able to pay for DAT.


Origins

Educational anthropologist Dr. Betsy Smith of
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
is usually credited with starting the first line of research into dolphin-assisted therapy in 1971, building on earlier research by American neuroscientist Dr. John Lilly on interspecies communication between dolphins and humans in the 1950s. Smith observed that two wild dolphins, adolescents who were normally aggressive, were surprisingly gentle around her mentally disabled brother, and that his mood and abilities had improved after playing with them. She offered DAT sessions for free, bringing groups of autistic children to Dolphins Plus in
Key Largo Key Largo () is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway ...
to swim in the 1980s, and called for more rigorous scientific research into the possible long-term benefits of swimming with dolphins. In 1978, Dr. David Nathanson, an American clinical psychologist born in Glasgow, started language experiments using swimming with dolphins as a motivator in teaching children with Down's Syndrome at Ocean World in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
. Nathanson found that when children were rewarded with dolphin swims for giving correct responses, they learned four times faster and retained information for longer. From 1988 to 1994, he ran a Dolphin Research Center in
Grassy Key Grassy Key, Florida, is an island in the middle Florida Keys. It is located on U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway), near mile markers 57—60, below the Conch Keys. It has an area of 3.65 km², with a population of 974 as of the census 2000. I ...
, Florida, which proved popular with families who were willing to pay a considerable expense for the therapy; it was even said to have helped some severely disabled children regain speech. In 1995, he moved his Dolphin Human Therapy centre to Key Largo, offering services for disabilities including learning difficulties, brain and spinal cord injuries, blindness, deafness, and other sensory handicaps. In 2003, Betsy Smith publicly renounced DAT, criticizing the fact that it had become driven by monetary gain rather than empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness, and argued that there is nothing unique about using dolphins specifically for the type of behavioral therapy carried out by Nathanson. Smith has stated that DAT programs are undermining valid treatments, and are “taking vulnerable children and vulnerable animals and profiting from them".


Theories

Possible explanations for why dolphin-assisted therapy works are usually vague, often using scientific terms incorrectly or out of context, and are generally unproven. One of the most popular theories is that when dolphins produce "clicks" as part of echolocation, they emit an ultrasound that stimulates the human endocrine and neural systems, helping to heal body tissue and cell structure. There is no scientific evidence supporting this. Dolphins used in DAT do not always echolocate on the patient, and the ultrasound emitted by dolphins is different from therapeutic ultrasound currently used by medical practitioners, which is applied repeatedly at a specific intensity and duration. Another theory is that contact with dolphins has a calming effect and increases relaxation in humans. Analysis of patients' brain wave patterns using
electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignal, bio signals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in ...
(EEG) scans have suggested that DAT produces a temporary "nonspecific relaxation effect", but it is unclear how this connects to therapeutic benefits for specific conditions such as
autism spectrum disorders Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...
(ASD). The theory promoted by Nathanson and his co-authors is that swimming with dolphins improves attention and responsiveness to external stimuli. In a major review of the literature through 2020, Lori Marino and Scott O. Lilienfeld point out that many of the patients in Nathanson's studies had neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy that are not linked to attention deficits. Even for patients with autism, they argue, "the minimal nature of the intervention of swimming with dolphins strains credulity as an adequate treatment for such a profound, complex, and lifelong disorder as ASD." Still other theories have focused on the positive effects of biophilia, or human attraction to nature; a special emotional bond between dolphins and humans; or a "secret language" in which dolphins "communicate acoustically with body movements" and are sensitive to the movements of children with disabilities. Marino and Lilienfeld argue that these theories are nonspecific, and provide no scientifically plausible mechanism for the effectiveness of DAT in treating specific neurodevelopmental disorders.


Effectiveness

There are very few scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals examining the efficacy of DAT in treating autism or other conditions. Past studies have been found to have fundamental methodological flaws, such as the lack of control groups, small sample size, lack of randomization, selection bias, and the absence of reliability and validity measurements. Investigator bias has been a problem in studies conducted by Nathanson and others, because most individuals were involved aware of the anticipated or "desired" outcomes. Respondent bias has also been a problem in studies where children were selected to participate because their families expressed interested in DAT. Likely interference of other treatments and the lack of experimental controls for other factors, such as the warmness of the water, or the novelty of having traveled by plane to a new location, are common problems across many studies. The novelty of dolphins, which most humans don't regularly interact with, is a likely influence on participant behavior as well. Lori Marino of
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
has stated, "Dolphin-assisted therapy is not a valid treatment for any disorder", with no scientific evidence for long-term benefits, and that at best, it affords "fleeting improvements in mood." There is limited clinical evidence that dolphin therapy is effective in treating depression. In 2005, psychiatrists from the
University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...
published a report in the ''
British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...
'' on a study which found that patients with depression experienced significant improvements in mood after swimming and snorkelling with dolphins. During the two-week controlled trial in Honduras, 30 patients discontinued their medical and psychotherapy treatments and participated in water activities instead. Half the group swam and snorkelled alongside dolphins, while the control group swam and snorkelled only with each other. The researchers found that patients who swam with dolphins experienced "greater elevations of mood and longer-lasting effects" than those swimming without dolphins. In recent years, interest has grown in
virtual reality therapy Virtual reality therapy (VRT), also known as virtual reality immersion therapy (VRIT), simulation for therapy (SFT), virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), and computerized CBT (CCBT), is the use of virtual reality technology for psychological o ...
which simulates swimming with dolphins underwater to reduce the impact of stress for patients with depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders, and other disabilities, and to ease pain for patients in hospital.


Tourist activity

Swimming with both captive and wild dolphins has become a popular tourist activity around the world. Fascination with dolphins is deep-rooted in many cultures; wild dolphins appear in stories as mythical or god-like creatures with a symbiotic relationship to humans, for example in the legends of pre-historic Africans, ancient Greeks and Romans, and the Maori in New Zealand. Historical accounts of dolphin-human interaction, particularly around cooperative fishing, have been reported in geographically diverse locations for centuries. During the 20th century, there were many cases of solitary wild dolphins who developed friendships with humans and eventually became tourist attractions themselves. Modern representations of dolphins in the popular media, such as the 1960s television series ''
Flipper Flipper may refer to: Common meanings *Flipper (anatomy), a forelimb of an aquatic animal, useful for steering and/or propulsion in water *Swimfins, footwear that boosts human swimming efficiency, also known as flippers * Flipper (cricket), a typ ...
''; depictions of happy people swimming with dolphins in advertisements for holiday destinations; the belief that dolphins love humans and performing for them; the rise of wildlife-adventure tourism; documentaries about dolphin-assisted therapy and the "healing attributes" of dolphins; and the proliferation of "wildlife selfies" in social media have all contributed to the desirability of the swim-with-dolphins experience.


Captive dolphins

Large marine parks in the United States such as Sea World in Florida first started offering a small number of tourists the opportunity to enter their dolphin pools to touch and swim with dolphins in the 20th century. As of 2006, there were approximately 18 facilities for swimming with dolphins in the United States alone. In a typical tourist encounter with captive dolphins, a small group of up to twelve people are briefed about how to behave; upon entering the water, dolphins swim past them. The tourists are then given an opportunity to touch or stroke the dolphins, which perform tricks in exchange for "rewards" from their trainers. The highlight for most tourists is "the feeling of being dragged along while holding on to the dolphin's fins"; having photos or videos taken during the experience also adds to their enjoyment long afterwards. Tourism industry studies have concluded that while most tourists taking part in swim-with-dolphin activities are impressed with the "grace, size, and power of dolphins", they tend to feed back that the experience is too short and too staged, and come away with concerns over the dolphins' welfare in captivity. In Hawaii, captive dolphin attractions have become controversial. While resorts such as The Kahala Hotel & Resort and the
Hilton Waikoloa Village Waikoloa Beach is an area located on the Kohala, Hawaii, South Kohala coast on the island of Hawaii (island), Hawaii and is located in the census-designated place of Puako, Hawaii, Puako. It can be confused for Waikoloa Village, a CDP in the same ...
offer tourists with the opportunity to swim with dolphins, newer establishments such as the
Ko Olina Resort Ko Olina Resort is a master-planned vacation and residential community on the leeward coast of Oahu, west of Honolulu. Ko Olina has of coastal frontage and includes three natural and four man-made lagoons with white-sand beaches. The master- ...
have stated that they will not keep captive dolphins. Dolphin Quest, a company which operates "swim-with dolphin" facilities in Hawaii, has argued that income from tourism has helped to fund the scientific study and conservation of marine mammals. Furthermore, they insist that the welfare of dolphins is often better in their care than in the wild, where dolphins are exposed to pollution, disease, injuries from boats, and insufficient food sources.


Wild dolphins

, in the Caribbean, there were more than 30 marine attractions offering tourists and cruise ship passengers the chance to swim with dolphins, with similar tourist activities in European tourist destinations including Spain, the Algarve, and the Canary Islands, and across the Middle East and Asia. In many locations, small- and medium-sized tour operators take tourists by boat to look for dolphin pods and swim with wild dolphins, snorkeling freely, or holding onto ropes. A study by eco/wildlife tourism researcher Susanna Curtin found that while tourists who swim with wild dolphins consistently feed back that the experience was "disappointingly brief", they tend to express feelings of satisfaction from seeing the dolphins in their "natural setting".


Impact on dolphins


Health

Swimming with dolphins has resulted in stress, injury, and death for dolphins. Dolphins are often susceptible to similar respiratory ailments as humans, and swimming in confined spaces can add to mental distress and weaken their immune systems. Behavioral and wildlife biologist Toni Frohoff has stated that even if dolphins appear to be enjoying their interaction with humans, they may be "performing" out of fear of isolation and punishment.


Population

In the
Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...
north of
Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, the population of wild
bottlenose dolphins The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...
shrank by 90 percent – from approximately 270 to only 30 – during a period of 20 years. According to the Department of Conservation in New Zealand, boat tours offering passengers the chance to swim with dolphin pods had upset their normal resting and feeding behaviour, and led to a 75 percent mortality rate among calves.


Risks to humans

Humans have been injured while swimming with dolphins, which are not domesticated animals. According to ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' magazine, "Reports in peer-reviewed papers indicate that dolphins have bitten people, rammed into them, or slapped them with their flukes. Even professional dolphin trainers have been charged, butted, bitten, or held down at the bottom of a tank." Dolphins are able to distinguish between men and women, and can be sexually aggressive towards women. Although the shape of the dolphins' jaw is interpreted by many humans as "smiling", dolphins in captivity may in fact be suffering from distress. Wild dolphins may become aggressive when they swim close to boats anticipating snacks, and don't receive any.


Legislation

In 2005, Costa Rica banned swimming with dolphins or whales, and made it illegal to keep them in captivity. In 2019, the New Zealand Department of Conservation banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands region.{{Cite news , date=August 30, 2019 , title=New Zealand bars humans from swimming with bottlenose dolphins , work=UPI Top World News , url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A597895153/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=76c7c594 , access-date=2022-10-14 , via=
Gale OneFile Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research a ...
In 2021, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in the United States banned tourists and residents from swimming with wild spinner dolphins in Hawaii.


See also

*
Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
*
Animal-assisted therapy Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. The goal of this animal-assisted intervention is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning ...
*
List of dolphinariums This is a non-exhaustive list of known dolphinariums worldwide. Many of these places are more than just dolphinariums; the list includes themeparks, marine mammal parks, zoos or aquariums that may also have more than one species of dolphin. The ...


References


External links


Should You Swim With This Dolphin?
(''Washington Post'')
Swimming with wild dolphins in Kaikura, New Zealand
(YouTube video) Tourist activities Dolphinariums 2010s fads and trends de:Tiergestützte Therapie#Delfintherapie ru:Пет-терапия#Дельфинотерапия