ArchiveXYZ: DANCING WITH THE DOLPHINS II

There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing the animals in their natural habitat. Zoos and aquariums allow us to see very closely many forms of wild life that probably we would never see otherwise. However, it’s impossible not to ask “Are they really this way? Do they really behave like this in the wild?” Naturally the answer, in 50% of the times, is no. Constant interaction with human beings and the artificial habitat naturally changes their natural behavior and probably also their emotions.

Anyone who loves animals and has coexisted very closely with several species knows this evidence. Animals have intelligence, emotions and feelings. And the artificial environment and interaction with humans really alters and shapes the identity of animals. With the exception of those species that were long ago domesticated by humankind, I would say that all the other animals feel unhappier, incomplete, restrained and “unnatural” in the human world than in their original home. That’s one of the reasons why I always found the action of returning an injured or imprisoned animal to their habitat very moving and a sign of respect and love for our brothers and sisters in Nature.

Dolphins are one of the few exceptions. The happiness that dolphins show when swimming freely in the ocean or the river is touching and overwhelming. But they are one of the rare species that naturally seek and enjoy human company. When they see a boat passing by, they follow and play around it in a kind of childish and free communication. That’s probably also one of the reasons why I never saw an unhappy dolphin in any pool or aquarium built by man. Though one may always ask “If they were allowed to return to their habitat, would they readapt and feel the original happiness in being just dolphins in the wild?”

That experience has been attempted several times. Some really readapt and find again their initial matrix. Others got so used to human company, communication and support that are only able to survive near human beings.

I don’t know if this is the case of the dolphins that live in the Zoomarines of this world, though I make myself this question several times when I’m watching them. What I see and know is that the dolphins that I usually see at Zoomarine (Guia-Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal) or at the Bay of Dolphins (Lisbon Zoo, just 15 minutes from my home) always seem happy and playful. They behave as friends of another kind that are there to share their exuberant joy of living. And I feel thankful because they are always there so near, happy to be there, without a single drop of rancor against the human beings that took them from their original home. The fact that we are all mammals may be a part of the explanation for this mysterious attachment, this natural and happy coexistence of two different species. Once, long ago, we all lived in the water… somewhere in the depth of our collective unconscious they are the closest ancestors that remain wild and near.

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