Before You Swim with Dolphins

As a little boy I had a real fascination with nature and always dreamed of swimming with dolphins so it was no surprise that I was really excited to visit Marineland in Niagara Falls as a young teenager. If you don't know, Marineland is an amusement park featuring performances by a number of different marine animals such as dolphins, walruses, sea lions, and at the time, killer whales. 

But even back then, I knew something wasn't right. Relative to their size, the pools these animals lived and performed in were disrespectfully small. The facilities were more like prison cells for the mammals, and despite their happy demeanor, the animals were obviously stressed, especially the orcas, with their fins heeled over to one side.

Flash forward an embarrassing number of years and the documentary, The Cove, comes out and reveals how our insatiable appetite for all things dolphin is actually fed. The Cove brings to light how these majestic, intelligent creatures are herded and captured for export to marine parks and swim-with-the-dolphin exploits around the world. And if that isn't enough to make you mad and sad at the same time, hidden cameras and microphones reveal what happens to the dolphins and porpoises not selected.

The Cove is a must-see documentary, especially if you plan on visiting a marine park, swimming with the dolphins, or trying dolphin meat while on vacation, and even if you're not, it's definitely worth acting upon.

“A dolphin's smile 
is nature's 
greatest deception.
It creates the illusion 
they're always happy.”
- Richard O'Barry