Since baby dolphins have a tenuous hold on life for the first year or so, and especially in the first month, the students at SMU were called upon to undergo a 'dolphin watch' 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. Basically you monitor the baby and momma's breathing rate, nursing schedule and time spent nursing, how often and how long the baby separates from the momma, and how often the momma and baby swap positions when swimming near the edge of the enclosure (i.e. is the baby between momma and the wall or is momma in the middle). This was my first up close experience with dolphins, and they are every bit as cool as I anticipated.
Kip and I got to know the trainers that day pretty well, and they invited us back the next morning to help out with 're-training' Allegria. She had been kept in solitary confinment for the last few weeks of her pregnancy, and will be kept alone with her baby for the first year. This means it had been weeks since she was used for any dolphin experiences, and the trainers needed to get back in there with people to make sure she didn't lose any of her training. They wanted to use us as 'guests', since we had no training and would act like any other person who had paid for the experience. The baby would be in the water with us as well, but we were told to ignore her and focus on Allegria. Easier said than done! Allegria was very nervous our first time in, since this was the first time so many people had entered her sanctuary . She was very torn between wanting to do what the trainers asked of her (and thus receive her fish!) and trying to keep tabs on her baby at all times. All in all she did very well, and we were asked back the next day to try again.
The second experience was much better for Allegria. She seemed more relaxed with us in the water, and while she was still keeping tabs she performed wonderfully. The baby was also enjoying our presence, and was getting much more curious about who we were and what we were doing. At one point she got too close to the trainer at my left (for Allegria's comfort) and momma went to correct her. Baby darted between the trainer and I with Allegria close behind her. I just lifted up my hands and stood still hoping the baby wouldn't make a sound or something that set momma off!
That day we also got to jump in with the dolphins and perform physical exams, experience a foot-push (see video), dolphin kisses, hand shakes and more!
Kip and Raul performing a physical exam on Cappy
Kip checking out Cappy's mouth. Dolphins have a reduced gag reflex, allowing the trainers to check deep into their mouth for any lacerations or lumps.
Checking out Cappy's belly and sides, looking for any new lumps or lacerations from playing rough with the other dolphins.
Getting a kiss from Esperanza (Cappy's girlfriend)
Shaking hands with Cappy
A few dolphin facts I learned:
- Life span - Bottlenose dolphins live about 50 years, however there was recently a dolphin in captivity that died at 65 years old.
- Teeth - They have 100 teeth, and all are permanent teeth. They do not grow "baby teeth" (deciduous teeth) that fall out letting permanent teeth grow in, like dogs and cats. Also the most accurate (and not very nice) way to properly age a dolphin is to pull one of its teeth out and cut it in half lengthwise. The teeth have layers similar to trees and you can count the layers to deterime the age. (this is NOT something they do at Dolphin Discovery!)
- Gestation - They go into estrus once every 4 months. They do not bleed like other mammals, and the only way to know they are 'in heat' (if you don't monitor on a calendar) is to pay attention to the behavior of the males around the female. The gestation period is about 11 to 12 months.
- Babies - The baby is born tail first. The mom is supposed to bring the baby up immediately for air, however with Allegria she dove to the bottom with her baby first and it was almost 3 minutes before the baby surfaced! They are born with no teeth, which typically grow in around 6 months of age. The babies nurse for about 3 years, however they begin playing with and eating fish as early as 3 months.
- Echolocation - Dolphins have their own 'sonar', using high-pitched clicks to determine their location in reference to an object. People often use this as a reason why keeping dolphins in captivity is wrong; however echolocation takes a lot of energy on the dolphin's part and living in captivity reduces the need to use this energy-wasting ability. They do not have to expend so much energy in searching for food or enemies, and can thus live less stressful lives.
- Sleep - Dolphins are voluntary breathers in that they have to think about breathing. Unlike humans or other mammals, when they sleep a part of their brain always has to be 'awake' to maintain their respiration. They go into sort of a trance-like state, shutting down one side of their brain for a few hours and then switching sides to rest the other side. If you ever see a dolphin just floating the water, not really moving, it is probably sleeping.
Three dolphins napping on the job
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