Dolphins of the Caribbean

After my doctor prescribed swimming for a back injury, I left for a small uninhabited Cuban Island for the healing ocean waters.

I landed in a tropical wonderland....miles of beach and ocean all to myself. Later in the week, decided to check out another beach. After a half-hour bumpy ride on a trolley.....(not fun if you have ruptured discs)...it finally came to a halt at a beautiful white sand beach with calm waters.

Walking towards the beach....i made out two dolphins swimming close to the shoreline beside an outdoor restaurant. They swam in a circle in a fenced off area. I walked to the edge of the water to get a closer look....and one tried to swim up as close as possible to say "hello". The dolphin was inviting me in...perhaps, because of boredom or for more fish....there was a sign that read "90 pesos to swim with dolphins". I have never paid to swim with dolphins.

As i talked to the dolphins from the shore....a woman busted on the scene with her toddler walking through the water...saying repeatedly to her child...kiss the dolphin! Kiss the dolphin!! The trainer intervened with a loud whistle which the dolphins swam towards.

Was told that the two dolphins were brought there about a month ago or so. I asked where they were from...he said the Caribbean Sea.

Learning that similar dolphin capture operations as in Taiji...are happening all over the world...and I keep stumbling upon it, even in the smallest and most unexpected of places.

Also, not only are there people who hunt dolphins for business....but there are people out there who hunt dolphins and seals for the thrill of the kill.

Please see below a posting i found on the internet:

We all know that the dolphin is a very smart animal. A little too smart if you ask me. But I discoved that while on a dolphin hunt near cuba that the slippery fish was adjusting their swimming patterns making them harder to track.Though the constant game of cat and mouse was frustrating, the trill of the chase was refreshing. Having participated in the northern Canada seal clubbing and the southern China panda shoot I have to say I found a rare challenge in the dolphin.

Many people parallel the intelligence of this murdurous mammal to that of human beings, so the only obvious conclution is that hunting the dolphin is the closest one could get to hunting another person. What a trill that would be.