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History of Dolphin Encounters |
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Going to the Bahamas? Looking for the dolphin experience in a travel
guide? Dolphin Encounters is one of the top tourist attractions in the
Bahamas and is owned and operated by a local family. It began in 1989
when two Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins were rescued from an aquarium that
closed in Nassau, Bahamas. The animals were relocated to a large
all-natural seawater bottlenose dolphin habitat on Treasure Island
(a.k.a. Great Guana Cay) Abaco, Bahamas. Soon after, six more dolphins
joined our marine mammal family which created the foundation of what is
today known as Dolphin Encounters.
The Abaco facility
enjoyed instant success. In order to provide the state-of-the-art care
for the dolphins, the company opened a new facility on Salt Cay (Blue
Lagoon Island), only 3-miles from Nassau, in The Bahamas.
The bottlenose dolphins
were carefully moved to the beautiful natural seawater facility on Blue
Lagoon Island. In 1995, the facility underwent a multi-million dollar
expansion which enlarged the dolphin habitat to over three acres in
surface space and created depths of up to 25-feet. A modern fish
preparation kitchen, photo/video lab, bathroom and changing facilities,
gift shop and other amenities were also constructed.
In 2006, our beloved
marine mammal family expanded to include six California Sea Lions that
had lost their home and habitat at Marinelife Oceanarium in Gulfport,
Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. Once again, Dolphin Encounters
expanded creating a large, all natural habitat for the rescued five
females and one male sea lions.
In 1996, Dolphin
Encounters was chosen by Universal Studios to work on the movie
"Flipper" starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood. The company provided
three dolphins - to play the famous aquatic star. Dolphin Encounters was
also involved in the making of several well-known commercials for
companies such as Sony, and Visa as well as several music videos. Some
of our dolphins also starred in the Mary Kate & Ashley adventure film,
"Holiday in the Sun." Chances are you have also seen the dolphins of
Blue Lagoon Island. They have been featured on CBS, NBC, E!, CNN, ESPN,
MTV, QVC, Nickelodeon, Oxygen, many local ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliates ,
the BBC, SKY News, VOX TV and many other international television and
radio shows and networks, magazines and newspapers.
A few of our sea
lions are also celebrities and have starred as the lead in the movies
"Andre", "Slappy and the Stinkers", and various commercials and magazine
shoots. Dolphin Encounters Ltd. is a member of the International Marine
Animal Trainers Association, (IMATA) the largest organization of its
kind. In 1997, Dolphin Encounters also became a member of the
prestigious Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, confirming
its status as one of the top marine parks in its field. During its short
history, Dolphin Encounters has transformed itself from a dolphin rescue
project with two dolphins and three employees to one of Nassau's
foremost tourist attractions with eighteen dolphins, six sea lions and
over 150 dedicated staff. Our natural seawater lagoon has facilitated
many successful births, including three calves by our oldest female
Princess, one of the original dolphins.
The facility offers a
multitude of special education and marine conservation programs to local
schools and underprivileged children. Dolphin Encounters has made the
lifetime dream of many terminally ill children come true by
participating in the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other similar
organizations. Our facility also participates in research programs
involving our dolphins and dolphins in the wild to help scientists learn
more about marine mammals.
Over two million visitors
from around the world have come to the Bahamas and participated in our
dolphin experience programs as seen in many travel guides. Dolphin
Encounters provides this rare opportunity in a safe environment with an
emphasis on education and entertainment. Our main objective is to let
guests interactively experience bottlenose dolphins and sea lions in
their habitats and to heighten their awareness and understanding of
these truly magnificent animals and similar species. Not far from
Nassau, Bahamas, come visit us on magnificent Blue Lagoon Island or just
learn more about the marine environment and the marine mammals under our
care through our Education pages.
Source: official site of
Dolphin
Encounters (2013)
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