{"id":31715,"date":"2021-08-02T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/approaching-and-respecting-dolphins\/"},"modified":"2024-09-17T17:56:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T15:56:15","slug":"approaching-and-respecting-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/approaching-and-respecting-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"Approaching and respecting dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The dolphins we meet in the lagoon are the offspring of several groups of spinner dolphins (Stenella Longirostris). They are totally<\/strong> free<\/strong> and decide of their own free will to return to the lagoon every day or so, to play and rest.\nWe must therefore respect their way of life and the trust they place in us.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

During the approach phase, we always take care to do so gently and without imposing our presence on them.\nAboard the zodiac, we begin by spotting the dolphins’ tail fins as they surface to breathe, enabling us to assess how many we’ll be taking into the water with us.\nThen, gently, we approach the group, as if to ask if they’ll accept us. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

If they don’t swim faster, it’s a good sign that they’ll accept our arrival.\nSo, gradually, in small groups, we enter the water gently<\/strong> and without jumping.\nAnd then, the magic happens and we’re among them.\nSometimes they just swim on without paying any attention to us, so it’s up to us to swim in their wake to keep in touch.\nBut when they’ve decided to stay with us, they watch us<\/strong>, turn around, swim and play around us<\/strong> and sometimes wave provocatively, as if to let us know they want us to come down with them. <\/p>\n\n

With experience, we can sense whether the dolphins are inclined to swim with us or not.\nIf not, there’s no point in chasing them with the zodiac<\/strong>.\nSometimes we just float in the warm water of the translucent lagoon, then suddenly the dolphins come to meet us<\/strong>.\nIt’s then that the most magical encounters take place. <\/p>\n\n

Apart from the magic of swimming with the dolphins, peaceful or frantic depending on the moment, what touched me most were the moments when I met their eyes. The expression in their eyes can’t leave anyone indifferent<\/strong>, and it’s a chance for everyone to find in them the message<\/strong> they’ve come for and will treasure forever.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

There are different types of meetings:<\/h3>\n\n

If the dolphins are sleeping,<\/strong> they are silent and swim calmly in a tight, harmonious group, rising regularly to breathe.\nIt’s very important to respect their rest.\nSo, when it’s time to observe them, we ask you not to try to provoke them to play.\nHowever, it is possible to swim gently alongside them, without disturbing the harmony of the group<\/strong>.\nThey sometimes accept us with complete trust and close their eyes. <\/p>\n\n

When the dolphins are awake<\/strong>, it is possible to observe several types of situations.\nThey may be in a very active phase of play with each other<\/strong>, particularly games of hierarchy or seduction, resulting in chases and “salads” of dolphins interacting with each other, sometimes in a muscular manner.\nIt’s great fun to observe them at these moments, and to watch them evolve according to their age category.\nThe young babies remain wisely protected under the mother, the<\/strong> older babies<\/strong> risk a few escapes and offer us some particularly funny shows of jumping out of the water<\/strong>, while the teenagers provoke and jostle each other. <\/p>\n\n

In the waking phases, there are of course those moments we all look forward to and love, when the dolphins decide to integrate us into their activities and games<\/strong>.\nIn these moments, we don’t need to move to follow them, they come to meet us<\/strong>.\nThey turn and dance in circles around us.\nThey come to stand beside us, so close they sometimes brush against us. They come to stare us in the eye<\/strong>, or face us and provoke us into play by nodding their heads.\nThese moments are magical, because in this privileged relationship they offer us a unique relationship with them<\/strong>, in which we can perceive that wonderful feeling of unconditional love. <\/p>\n\n

The lagoon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

This peaceful lagoon is a 2-hour sail from our departure port.\nWith a depth of approx.\n15 meters, with water at around 28\u00b0 (30\u00b0 in autumn), it feels like swimming in a crystal-clear pool<\/strong>.\nThe lagoon is protected from the waves by the coral reef<\/strong>, which is why this colony of around a hundred dolphins comes here to play and rest during the day.\n The dolphins often swim close to the boat<\/strong>, as if they’ve come to look for us.\nWhen this isn’t the case, our zodiac takes us across the lagoon to drop us off near the pods of dolphins. <\/p>\n\n

Diving note<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

This trip is not a diving course. The most appropriate way to meet dolphins is to swim freely on the surface<\/strong>, with just a mask and snorkel to see and breathe well, and fins to move forward more fluidly.\nOf course, for those who wish, we offer the possibility<\/strong> of a first dive<\/strong> with our specially trained instructor. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dolphins we meet in the lagoon are the offspring of several groups of spinner dolphins (Stenella Longirostris). They are totally free and decide of their own free will to return to the lagoon every day or so, to play and rest. We must therefore respect their way of life and the trust they place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31715","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31716,"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31715\/revisions\/31716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dolphinlagoon.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}