Swimming w/Dolphins at Xel-Ha is it worth it?

[ecurrerie]

We are in PDC In 23 days = yeeha!!! My 10 year old promises me he'll bring me home a report card with all A's this Friday. In return, I told him I may let him swim with the Dolphins on our trip to Xel-Ha. At $100 for one hour, is it really worth it? Do you really get to 'swim' with them on their backs! Told him I'd get more info on it before I say yes .

[Rissask]

If you do a search on 'swimming with dolphins' you will get lots of threads and trip reports of how people liked it.

You may also get a lot of people who say it is cruel and unusual punishment to keep wild animals penned up in captivity soley for the fleeting amusement of humans, and advise you to take a boat ride out to see them in their natural environment. (This is how I think of it. )

[Icon oclast]

Originally Posted by ecurrerie

We are in PDC In 23 days = yeeha!!! My 10 year old promises me he'll bring me home a report card with all A's this Friday. In return, I told him I may let him swim with the Dolphins on our trip to Xel-Ha. At $100 for one hour, is it really worth it? Do you really get to 'swim' with them on their backs! Told him I'd get more info on it before I say yes .

It's worth it. My daughter, sister-in-law and brother-in-law all loved it. Have fun and don't let the naysayers lay the guilt trip on you.

[Mexivoof]

I've never seen the Xel-Ha operation but viewed the Puerto Adventura operation on the way to the Fat Cat last week.
I've always been a fence straddler on this issue, but the dolphin pools in PA did not look large enough to provide a healthy atmosphere for mammals that large (IMHO).
Congrats on the straight A's and enjoy your trip. We had a blast!!

[BeachyKeen]

This can be a very controversial issue but we too had done the "get good grades and we'll let you swim with the dolphins" bargain. I have to say it was the highlight of the trip for our kids ages 13 and 18. Here's a picture I took of them (first one on the left and fourth one from the left.)

[Icon oclast]

Notice the happy smiling faces on the dolphins. These super intelligent mammals would be frowning if they were unhappy. Or they would be on Prozac.

[orientbeachgirl]

We went to see the dolphins. It looked really cool. The people that were swimming with them looked like they liked it. I know a lot of people don't like that the dolphins are penned up and not free. But they look like they are very well taken care of and well adjusted. Of course I didn't talk with the dolphins to ask them if they were happy???!!!!

Just have fun. We are going to Playa with our teenagers as well--Fifth time.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Icon oclast

Notice the happy smiling faces on the dolphins. These super intelligent mammals would be frowning if they were unhappy. Or they would be on Prozac.

Cuba is full of happy smiling people too.

I believe the dolphin's mouths are somewhat frozen in that position.

Iconclast, you are entitled to your opinion on the practice, but people should get all the facts before they decide to support something. The original poster is certainly free to decide for herself whether it is worthwhile to spend her money on. The dolphins may appear to be 'happy' to you but you are guilty of anthropomorphism if you think that.

And the facts are that in many places that have swim with the dolphins programs, the animals are not nearly as well looked after as in places like Sea World or somewhere.


The water is too warm and the tanks are too shallow. Life expectancy of captured dolphins is much lower than ones left in their natural environment. Ignorance leads to many other negatives- like at the tiny dolphin tank we saw in Zihuantanejo where they were crammed into a tank maybe 6 feet deep only, and situated next to a Carlos and Charlies bar- the constant pounding music would have been very hard on animals with such senstive hearing.


That said, the Mayan Riviera programs seem to have better facilities and the dolphins better looked after. But it is still not preferable to simply not supporting these programs and hiring a panga and go out and see them in the ocean, there are other things to see out there too, it can be quite educational.

[Beachnutt]

I wouldn't do it. And the pens at XelHa seemed smaller to me that PA.

[QuintanaRooEss]

In addition to some of the other (excellent) points made by some of the other posters, I'd like to add some more info.

There was a study done regarding the "pools" and habitats that captive dolphins are kept and perform in.

Many have extremely high levels of fecal contamination from the excrement and urine of the animals. They can't put chlorine or other chemicals in the water to combat this, so you (and the dolphins) are essentially swimming in a large dirty toilet.

Dolphins are large animals and can be very aggressive. There are quite a few published incidents of injury when participating in this "activity."

Finally, the Humane Society of the United States takes an active stance AGAINST these programs. More than 50 % of the dolphins die within 90 days of their violent capture. Life for those which survive does not even begin to approximate their life in the wild.

Feel free to visit the Humane Society's website with their views and reasons why NOT to do this. Here is the link:

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/w...ity/index.html

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by Icon oclast

Have fun and don't let the naysayers lay the guilt trip on you.

If you have guilt, isn't that to say that somewhere deep inside you feel it was wrong?

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by Rissask

Cuba is full of happy smiling people too.

[Icon oclast]

Originally Posted by Rissask

Cuba is full of happy smiling people too.

I believe the dolphin's mouths are somewhat frozen in that position.

Iconclast, you are entitled to your opinion on the practice, but people should get all the facts before they decide to support something. The original poster is certainly free to decide for herself whether it is worthwhile to spend her money on. The dolphins may appear to be 'happy' to you but you are guilty of anthropomorphism if you think that.

And the facts are that in many places that have swim with the dolphins programs, the animals are not nearly as well looked after as in places like Sea World or somewhere.


The water is too warm and the tanks are too shallow. Life expectancy of captured dolphins is much lower than ones left in their natural environment. Ignorance leads to many other negatives- like at the tiny dolphin tank we saw in Zihuantanejo where they were crammed into a tank maybe 6 feet deep only, and situated next to a Carlos and Charlies bar- the constant pounding music would have been very hard on animals with such senstive hearing.


That said, the Mayan Riviera programs seem to have better facilities and the dolphins better looked after. But it is still not preferable to simply not supporting these programs and hiring a panga and go out and see them in the ocean, there are other things to see out there too, it can be quite educational.

I don't have an opinion except to say that I chose not to swim with the dolphins but would not criticize nor lecture others on their personal choices. That makes me a true independent liberal loath to proselytize.

[james]

Originally Posted by ecurrerie

My 10 year old promises me he'll bring me home a report card with all A's this Friday. In return, I told him I may let him swim with the Dolphins on our trip to Xel-Ha.

after knocking out an A on the Animal Ethics 101 final exam, he may not want to participate anyway.

[James A.]

playa.info needs a tongue-in-cheek emoticon, I think.