Post by Dive Bunnie on Feb 20, 2005 9:39:21 GMT
I am sure that those of you who have been to Sharm at any point in the last year, will have been shocked to see the latest "attraction" or rather blot on the landscape of the Ras um Sid penninsula… namely "Dolphinella".
Here two beluga whales (usually found in arctic waters) have been held captive along with two dolphins. There are two shows being held a day as well as visitors having the opportunity to swim with the dolphins for $10.
It blows me away that in a place where the natural wildlife just a few metres away, they feel the need to capture these beautiful creatures and have them on display like this. It is truly quite astounding.
The good news is that due to pressure from conservation groups and individuals who value the life of the ocean, the two whales have at last been taken to Cairo from where the aim is to have them returned to Russia and hopefully a life of freedom or at least relative comfort shortly.
Sadly whilst awaiting their return to Russia, one of the belugas has since died. Groups are still trying to find out why there is such a delay in their return. Also the poor dolphins are still on display in Sharm… and from what we hear, care is not being taken to ensure that visitors wishing to swim with them are properly showered and rinsed of makeup, perfume and sunscreen. Ok the whole idea of swimming with dolphins in captivity for me is pretty grim, but at least if they are going to do it, ensure that they are not vulnerable to all the toxins that we choose to put on our skin. We also don't know exaclty where the surviving beluga is going to be taken as yet, so this campaign is by no means over.
Previously this sort of freak show would never have worked over there, as most of the visitors were divers who just would not have an interest in seeing such creatures held in captivity. You can see them in the wild for free, if you just jump in the sea. However Sharm has been growing at an ever increasing speed and now divers only represent a mere 4% of the tourists that visit… so companies are looking for more and more events and attractions with which they can entertain their other guests. Even Thomas Cook were offering trips to Dolphinella… which is more than a little disappointing.
Whilst an intial battle has been won here, the surviving whale is not back in the ocean just yet, and there are still two bottlenosed dolphins held there, so we have not won yet. There is even news of another similar attraction opening up in the Sharks Bay area, which is again a bit on the depressing side.
To hear the latest news and to see what you can do to help, pop along to the Marine Connection web-site
