DOLPHIN WATCHING, ADOPTION AND RESEARCH

The concept of Website Warriors was introduced by International Dolphin Watch (IDW), a non-profit making organisation founded in 1978 that  is dedicated to the study and conservation of dolphins, especially their relationship with man. The IDW Website www.idw.org has links to many other organisations concerned with dolphin welfare.

Members of IDW are involved in a very wide variety of issues including:

Details of these activities, which include opportunities for volunteers, are circulated to members via its journal DOLPHIN. Other publications include an At-A-Glance Guide on dolphin watching around the world. To help fund its work IDW has a mail order shop which stocks books, posters, tapes, videos and a wide range of other dolphin goodies.

International Dolphin Watch also has an Adopt a Dolphin scheme. Adopting a named dolphin makes a special gift for a youngster who receives a certificate and an information booklet, plus a photo of the adopted dolphin. To make adopting a dolphin even more enticing adoptees also receive a Dilo book signed by the author.

Stories about the mischievous dolphin named Dilo have been published in many languages including Chinese, Japanese, Danish, Dutch and even Welsh. English versions can be borrowed from public libraries in the UK.

This first book in the series introduces Dilo as a dolphin who is always poking his nose, or more correctly, his beak, into everything. He likes to know what is going on. This sometimes gets him into trouble. When Dilo feels the Call of the Deep he and his mother set off on an adventurous journey to Seal Island. On the way they meet many sea creatures-including sharks in a feeding frenzy.

In Dilo Makes Friends Pat the lighthouse keeper has his life changed by the presence of Dilo the dolphin in the bay and the arrival of the Terrible Twins-Debra and Robin. Dilo and Debra become close friends. The dolphin gets into serious trouble when he goes to investigate the mysterious activities on board a sinister boat, Sea Wolf.

This book illustrates what can happen when humans are consumed by greed. Dilo the dolphin and his special human friend, Debra, find a gold ring and an ancient shipwreck on the seabed. When their secret is discovered they become ensnared in a dangerous adventure with a gang of ruthless divers, crazed with gold fever, who use explosives to loot the wreck.

Dilo and the Witch of Black Rock tells how Dilo gets caught and put into a dolphin circus where he joins another dolphin named Dolly. When one night Dilo mysteriously disappears from the bay Debra enrols the support of her companions to find out what has befallen her beloved dolphin friend. She uncovers a dastardly plot and will stop at nothing to set Dilo free.

All of the Dilo stories are based on the real life experiences of the author who, for instance, has been surrounded by sharks in a feeding frenzy on a diving expedition to the Galapagos Islands. The Dilo tales embody a major principle of IDEAL, namely that learning should be fun. Students do not have to sit through formal biology lessons in which facts have to be learnt. Instead, as Dilo’s exploits unfold, readers mentally join the dolphin when he meets people and explores the ocean’s realms. When doing so knowledge is subconsciously assimilated on human nature and the lives of sea creatures.

Dilo books can be obtained from bookshops or purchased directly from International Dolphin Watch who also publish Dilo’s Fun and Activities Book and a Fascinating Facts and Quiz Questions booklet.

A major role of International Dolphin Watch is to support research.  Operation Sunflower*, launched in 1986, is a long term, broad based programme on the beneficial effects dolphins can have on humans. No captive dolphins are involved in this research.

Operation Sunflower came about as the result of the chance observation that TV films about dolphins lifted the spirits of viewers – especially if they were depressed. The ability of dolphins to have such a positive influence on the human psyche was confirmed in a study conducted with a friendly wild dolphin in Dingle Bay in Ireland. The three diagnosed clinical depressives who took part were all changed in remarkable and beneficial ways.

Having proved that dolphin encounters can help people with depression the hunt was then on to see if the healing power of dolphins could be reproduced in the form of a pill - clearly an impossible task as nothing chemical had been exchanged.  However when the left and right hemispheres of the brain operate together unconventional solutions to problems can be found. In this case it was a psychological, not a chemical conundrum that needed to be resolved.

Fortunately there are people who have a greater understanding of the nature of animals than those who are steeped in the reductionist scientific approach that dominates western thinking. To survive people like the North American Indians had to have a profound knowledge and understanding of the wild animals and plants upon which they were totally dependant. Among those who acquired such an understanding of the forces of nature were the Australian Aborigines who lived a life style that has become known as the Dreamtime.

Bottlenose dolphin in Dingle Bay, Ireland.

In the Dreamtime the spirits of animals can be captured and passed around in the form of stories and music. One such story, accompanied by music, is Dolphin Dreamtime. In its modern from, recorded on tape and CD, the listener is taken on a guided visualisation into the world of dolphins. The imaginary journey starts outside a cave and eventually ends with the dreamtime traveller cavorting with dolphins in a beautiful bay.

With the possibility the Dolphin Dreamtime could provide the basis for a “sound pill” a detailed investigation got underway. Subjects, chosen at random, were invited to listen to the recording and write down their responses. The results collected over six years were analysed in the Department of Psychology at Swansea University.  The detailed report produced indicated that more than seventy per cent of those who listened to the Dolphin Dreamtime benefited in some way. As a result the “dolphin sound pill” is now used for general relaxation in addition to its application as a therapeutic agent in a wide range of psychological and psychosomatic disorders. 

Since its inception Operation Sunflower has moved steadily forward.  One proposal is to recreate interactive dolphin like experiences inside domes containing pools that can be transported to centres for children with special needs.

As always happens with projects like this, as research progresses ideas are uncovered that point the way forward to new horizons.  In 2001 following the observation that reading Dilo books helped children with learning difficulties The Dolphin Education Research Project was launched. It’s aim is to explore new educational programmes based on the ability of dolphins to stimulate learning and provide sound scientific data to validate the use of IDEAL as defined in this book.

Chapter 14