Swimming with pink river dolphins
Safety concerns
They may become submissive or sexually aggressive when interacting with humans. Dolphins in SWTD programs have demonstrated agitated and aggressive behavior under the stressful conditions of forced interaction. These behaviors may result in serious physical injury to swimmers.
While they are known to be shy creatures, they are fascinatingly drawn to people, playing curiously with local children, and without demonstrating aggressive behavior. They also communicate using high-frequency sonar clicks to build a three-dimensional echogram of their dark riverine world.
But did you know that you could not just get a glimpse, but swim with pink dolphins? With many river boat cruises, tourists are invited to take a dip in the water, and the pink dolphins often come up to play with the humans, jumping through the river in their native habitat.
The only way to swim with dolphins ethically is to let them behave naturally – this means not getting too close, and definitely no feeding or touching. If you're in the water snorkelling or scuba diving and a dolphin comes over to check you out, consider yourself lucky!
While the majority of dolphins in the US are bred in captivity, they are not domesticated animals. Pushing people into deeper water, head-jerking, and biting causing broken bones, skin abrasions, and other injuries have all been reported with direct contact interactions with dolphins.
Dolphins do not swim with people, “kiss” people or tow people through the water because they like to — they do it because they have to. None of these are natural behaviors, and every captive dolphin is trained to correctly perform these behaviors because if they do not, they will not eat.
Mikurajima Island is one of the best places in Japan to see and swim with wild dolphins. The small island, about 200 km south of Tokyo, is known as "Miracle Island" due to its dramatic coastlines, beautiful forests and hiking trails. However, the local dolphins are the stars.
According to the Blue World Institute, pink- or white-colored bottlenose dolphins are rare, and it's a trait seen among those that have albinism. "Albino dolphins are uncommon and therefore attract human attention leading to some of them being unfortunately captured and held captive," the Institute says.
No, you're not hallucinating: it is a pink dolphin. Angel the bottlenose dolphin, pictured above, is the world's only albino dolphin in captivity.
The bottlenose dolphin is the most well-known specie of all. Their name comes, obviously, from the shape of their nose that resembles a bottle and makes them attractive because they seem to be always smiling. They are commonly found near humans because this specie is very sociable and friendly to humans.
Bottlenose Dolphins are stout-bodied animals with a short beak and erect dorsal fin. Their coloration is grey tinged with purple above and paler undersides.
Animals that prey on the river dolphin include large snakes, jaguars and caimans. However, once the species has passed adolescence they have few natural predators.
Although dolphins may seem curious, many of their behaviors are often misinterpreted as “friendly” when they actually are, in fact, signs of disturbance or aggression. If a dolphin approaches you in the water, do not engage, pursue, or otherwise interact with the dolphin, and take immediate steps to move away.
Sharks are solitary predators, whereas dolphins travel in groups called pods. Whenever a member of the group is in danger from a shark, the rest of the pod rushes in to defend their buddy. Dolphins have even been known to protect humans in danger of sharks.
Is it ok to swim if I have my period? Yes. Absolutely. Dolphins do not have a sense of smell, nor are they attracted to blood in the water like sharks.
Dolphins World writes, “Amazon pink dolphins are considered the most intelligent of them, with a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans.” Both saltwater and freshwater dolphins are known for positive interactions with humans and the ability to learn new skills.
The coloring is believed to be scar tissue from rough games or fighting over conquests. The brighter the pink, the more attractive the males are to females—at least during mating season, which takes place when the water has receded and males and females are confined to the river channel again.
Pink river dolphins have two types of teeth: Conical teeth in the front of the mouth grasp and hold prey, and molars in the rear of the mouth crush the prey. They also have good eyesight despite their small eyes.
DO NOT TOUCH the dolphins. If the dolphins want physical contact with people, they will initiate it. If you try to touch one dolphin, then all the dolphins invariably leave the area. Not only does this adversely affect dolphin behavior but it irritates the other people with your group since everyone loses on the swim.
If a dolphin approaches you while you are swimming, do not reach out and try to touch him. These dolphins are wild animals and rarely tolerate physical contact from humans. Trying to touch or grab a dolphin is illegal and is virtually guaranteed to scare them away.
Swimming with dolphins remains high on the bucket list for countless people and the Gold Coast has a huge dolphin population. In particular if you are out on boats, large pots of dolphins are observed every day cruising up and down the coastline reasonably close to shore.
Never touch or pet dolphins, even if they come close enough to touch. Use binoculars to watch dolphins from a safe distance in their natural habitat instead.
Humans and dolphins do have some romantic history
In fact, seven per cent of zoophiles (humans sexually attracted to animals) named dolphins as their preferred choice of mate. Some studies have also found evidence male dolphins are sexually attracted to women as they give off similar pheromones to female dolphins.
Sharks prefer to avoid dolphins. Dolphins are mammals that live in pods and are very clever. They know how to protect themselves. When they see an aggressive shark, they immediately attack it with the whole pod.