Dolphin Information Sheet
For the past twenty two years Joan has been swimming with wild Spinner dolphins in Hawaii. She has witnessed births and come to know the babies. Many of the dolphins we will meet have been Joan's friends for a long time; they have names based on identifying marks and are happy to swim among people. This behavior of the dolphins has grown out of years of developing trust together which continues to be reinforced by the gentle interactions we have with the pods every day. This is a friendship we value and choose to maintain.
The way we interact with dolphins is to become like a dolphin when entering the water. This means mimicking their behavior. ~~~~ If they are joyful and playful, we laugh, dive and somersault with them, if they are quiet, we are meditative and slow with them. Then we do not dive right above them or startle them in any way. We let them approach us and softly swim among us. We swim in the same direction, never cutting directly toward them, but becoming a member of the pod and turning and diving slowly and evenly whenever they do. Very deep communications occur.
The dolphins do not want you to touch them. If you reach out they swim away. To keep them close to you, swim with your arms at your sides and propel yourself along by kicking your fins. Mimicking their sounds is recommended. They appreciate your attempts to talk to them in their language.
When we leave the coastline by boat to meet the dolphins in the deep blue, we acknowledge the dolphins as the masters of the sea and we follow their lead. We enter the water when they have brought us to a safe bay or place in the ocean. When they are ready for us to swim among them, they mill around the boat, waiting for us.
It is great FUN! RETURN TO SYMPOSIUM PAGE
