Dolphin bites 8yr old

[Shivice]

It was an accident but its a good example of reasons why you listen to your parents and trainers at Sea World.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpThNTfWrA

[SeaGlass Siren]

.... I want to make a comment... But I think I'll just keep it in and say "I'm not surprised."

[seagirls626]

Poor dolphin... It was the girls fault anyway. She was grasping the bread (or whatever that was) pretty hard, and the dolphin just wanted to eat. It never meant to hurt anybody.

[Shivice]

Now Sea World is deciding whether or not they will up the age limit for children to be able to feed the dolphins.

[Shivice]

Poor dolphin... It was the girls fault anyway. She was grasping the bread (or whatever that was) pretty hard, and the dolphin just wanted to eat. It never meant to hurt anybody.

It wasn't bread it was like a cardboard container the fish came in. Her parents told her not to pick up the container and she did it anyways.

[Mermaid Annariea]

it was a paper carton. its what they put the fish on, and she moved it away from the water, which made the dolphin think she was taking the fish away i guess. they said not to do that before they went to feed the dolphins, it was one of the rules. they arent taking legal action or anything, the little girl knows she shouldnt have moved the carton away. but it was an accident.

[Shivice]

Yeah. At least they aren't going to put the dolphin down for it. Hopefully she will listen next time.

[MermanJesse]

The father said "That attraction is dangerous."

Did he not think it was dangerous while he was filming her hand feeding the dolphins?

Anything with a mouth can and will bite, it just doesn't tell you when.

Personally, I love Sea World and Busch Gardens. I love everything the park chain stands for.

[Mermaid Cascada]

Dolphins will be dolphins... when an animal sees food they usually don't comprehend that a persons hand is holding the food before they eat it.... I'm sure the dolphin meant no harm and there were rules set that the little girl unfortunately didn't follow. I think this was on Yahoo new the other day and the article I read said that the little girl was holding the food and she was told not to jerk it in and upward motion (the motion trainers use to have dolphins come out of the water) so I don't really think it was the dolphins fault though.

[Shivice]

My local news had an interview with one of the trainers for the attraction, she said " As guests enter the attraction, we tell the parents the carton must stay on the wall." She picked up her carton and said "mommy I'm out of fish" and the dolphin bit her. It was an accident. I love the park too. Kids just need to start being respectful and actually listen to their parents and staff at parks like that.

[MermanJesse]

The dolphin let go as soon as it realized that it was not fish in it's mouth. It would have been a lot worse to be honest.

I agree, there are rules stated by the trainers when feeding the animals. The little girl did state that she forgot.

[AniaR]

animals bite! Our dogs never bit, but when people asked "does your dog bite?" we'd answer "she hasn't before, but you know, she IS a dog". People shouldn't be surprised when an animal bites.

[Ashe]

Yes, the rules and the staff clearly said not to lift up the carton, but the girl did anyways. I don't blame the dolphin at all, it was just doing what it does everyday; trying to get food. People just need to listen to the rules and no one gets hurt.

[MermaidBrittany]

Um.. DUH listen to the rules when feeding any animal. I cant belive this is such a big deal. I personally think there should be an age limit, or perhaps just eliminate the feeding portion all together. Yes I know, wishfull thinking...

[MermaidofPeridots]

I found this video where an orca turns on a girl who was riding it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC-62_0ig5k

It's old and you might have seen it. But what do they expect keeping a giant creature in a tiny tack and having a human ride on it?

[MerAndrew]

That is horrible, I don't know why that might be girl who needs to listen all to the rules and not break the rules, but I am sure that dolphins will be smart and try to listen to the rules.

[Mermaid_Aryana]

The father said "That attraction is dangerous."

Did he not think it was dangerous while he was filming her hand feeding the dolphins?

Anything with a mouth can and will bite, it just doesn't tell you when.

Personally, I love Sea World and Busch Gardens. I love everything the park chain stands for.

So you love that they stand for confining an intelligent, self-aware creature accustomed to swimming at least 100 miles a day in the open ocean to 24x24 chlorinated, concrete hole?

[Mermaid_Aryana]

Cetaceans DO NOT belong in captivity. It's disgusting to keep them in these parks to entertain people for a few bites of fish.

[AnnaAbyss]

Why don't staff just hand out fish to people without paper plates and let them have a limit of fish they can give to the dolphins? I guess she just got carried away. :/ -sits on fence-

[New York Mermaid]

The father said "That attraction is dangerous."

Did he not think it was dangerous while he was filming her hand feeding the dolphins?

Anything with a mouth can and will bite, it just doesn't tell you when.

Personally, I love Sea World and Busch Gardens. I love everything the park chain stands for.

Jesse I agree with you on this, All animals even fish can be nippy, as my dad learned with a pet Oscar fish i had. I love Seaworld and Busch Gardens too, been going there for years, though they have changed for the better more on conservation of the species, less disnified show (minus blue horizons, which you got to admit is so colorful and beautiful) have you done the Turtle Trek attraction yet? I personally thought it was well done I love how they explain the device that is now in use by fishermen to keep the turtles from being stuck in nets and fish traps.

Mermaid_Aryana Dolphins in SWF is mostly Captive born population, non have been captured since the early 90s-,
USA Living Bottlenose Population is made up of ..
73% Captive Borns (through A.I. or Natural conception), 21% Captured (Before the end of US captures in 1995), 5% Rescued (which are the ones deemed unreleasable by NMFS)

Wild dolphins, they swim miles and miles a day because they follow their prey around. where the food goes, they go as well. As for the dolphins in SeaWorld's Dolphin cove: the lagoon is in fact bigger than what you explained, It has coral and rock formations, a sandy bottom and a shallow sandy "beach area". Much more than a barren concrete box as your implying. There are 15 or so dolphins at any given time. Mostly young ones, Ive seen groups of sub adult males,/ mothers and young calves and a mixed group as well.

But though you may not support captivity, but there are a few Mers here who do, and yes I've watched "the cove" and "a fall from freedom" which still doesn't change my p.o.v., but I understand how you feel, because it is your opinion.

@Anna Abyss I believe the reason is because theres a bunch of people who buy fish (which is a controlled amount) and only so many keepers who hand out the fish cartons which are in sanitary tray- they dont want people dropping the fish on the floor or such and then picking it up to feed the dolphins..While educators keep an eye on the people and dolphins. Yeah they do have keepers which occasionally give the pat on the back, along with reminders of " please keep the fish low so the birds dont get it, keep the fish in the trays at all times unless when feeding a dolphin, etc)

[Blondie]

I love how good the little girl was after it. She still loves dolphins and realized it was a mistake. It happens, she seemed happy and excited she fed the dolphins and the carton just slipped her mind. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to bad situations when I was younger just because I was happy and excited. You just don't pay attention and accidents sneak up behind you.

All is well now. I'm happy no legal action is happening.

[New York Mermaid]

There's talk around, on SeaWorld possibly changing the Age policy on the dolphin feedings. But i think its not worth it cause it can happen to anyone at anytime, young or old. and yeah excitement is the cause of accidents at times.. I got so excited one day i ran into a concrete Pillar. (as is a fail moment in my human life lol)

[MermanJesse]

Sea World and Busch Gardens has what is called a Conservation Fund. http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/

I grew up going to Sea World and Busch Gardens, I have annual passes, and will continue to show my support for the parks.

Even worked at Busch Gardens for a year at Rhino Rally.

The date in the photo is incorrect. I think it was February 2010 when this was taken. They released this guy or gal at Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest. It had ingested fishing net, that was surgically removed. It was an honor being present during this release.

[Coradion]

It happens... if you've ever actually worked with a marine mammal before it's not surprising. The only reason it's usually pertinent is if you have to tag an animal as being dangerous or not. They would not put a dolphin down for biting someone, first they'd probably fire a bunch of people. We have Hawai'ian Monk Seals at the Waikiki Aquarium where I work, incidents are rare, but they do happen. You log the incident, try and figure out the cause, see if it needs to be reported as a case of an animal being dangerous and then move on. Like once a seal tried to mount one of our trainers during mating season. Most marine mammals don't have very good vision, they rely on other senses. If you have something in your hand around an animal it's usually a toy, food, or a cleaning tool. Something that is new is usually a toy since most programs will give new enrichment items on a regular basis to stimulate the animal. Toys go in mouths most of the time.

[MerEmma]

Even worked at Busch Gardens for a year at Rhino Rally.

Whoa. You worked at Rhino Rally? That's so cool. It's sad that Rhino Rally is closed now. =\

[MermanJesse]

It's open, just not the river portion. I worked there in 2001-2002.