This is a student post written by Amanda
I had a great day with the dolphins!
Discovery Cove opened in 2000 as the first park that allowed visitors to swim alongside the dolphins. They only allow a thousand people into the park so the animals don’t get stressed.
There are so many wonderful creatures at Discovery Cove such as bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, sting rays, eagle rays, exotic birds and too many tropical fish to count!
If you want to go to Discovery Cove, there are a few things you will need to know. First, you’ll need to wear a special sunscreen that is okay for the animals. You will have to wear a wet suit or swim vest. You can’t wear jewelry or dangling strings.
He was so gentle!
The Discovery Cove trainers let the dolphins decide if they want to stay with the trainers or go off on their own. None of teh dolphins are forced to do anything and they will still get their fish. It’s all about the animals, not the visitors. If a dolphin goes off to do their own thing then another one comes to fill in.
The area I swam in was called The Sea Horse. There were fourteen dolphins training there. There are 48 dolphins in all. The dolphin I rode on is called Capricorn. He is 40 years old. He is known for his role in Jaws 3 and was one of the first dolphins to appear at Sea World. Capricorn is nice and gentle. He kept flopping over on his back to get a belly rub. He acted much like a dog!
Swimming with Capricorn
One dolphin looked different from the rest. It was a hybrid. A hybrid is like a mutt. Usually, the common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins are separated into different pens. That didn’t stop one common dolphin from jumping into the other pen though!
I spent the day as a trainer for the dolphins. I learned how to teach the dolphins to do tricks and how to feed them. My favorite time was when I swam on Capricorn’s belly. I learned how much work it takes to train the dolphins to do tricks.
Now that I have been to Discovery Cove, I have a new respect for dolphins!
I'll never forget swimming with them!
*Have you ever been to Discovery Cove before?*
*What would you like most about swimming with dolphins?*
*If you could spend a day with one animal, what would it be?*
Dear Amanda,
I wonder how old can dolphins get? I have always wondered that because I used to have an aunt in North Carolina and we always saw dolphins. I never knew that dolphins could get stressed if there are too many people. Thank you.
Your Friend,
Ashley
Techie Kids
Dear Ashley,
I’ll have Amanda write back to you when she gets the opportunity. She definitely did a great job sharing information about her trip. It looked like so much fun! I was very jealous because very few people get an opportunity to swim with dolphins!
Thanks for writing in!
Sincerely,
Mr. Avery
Dear Amanda,
That is so cool. You must have had so much fun. I wish could go swim with dolphins.
Sincerely,
Yaaressi
Dear Amanda,
WOW! You are so lucky. I wish I could swim with dolphins. Was the water cold?
From,
Brett
Dear Amanda ,
I’m so jealous that you got to swim with dolphins! That looked like so much fun! I hope you had a magnificent time!
Your friend,
Alexus
Dear Amanda,
You are lucky that you went to discovery cove. I am so jealous. Did you have fun? I bet you did. You must have something planned to go again, do you?
From,
Kaylee
Dear Amanda,
What an amazing experience you had! I am so happy for you that you got to spend time with such incredible animals, and I’m also glad that you shared that experience with your blog readers! You did a fantastic job explaining how you swam with capricorn and rubbed his belly like a dog.
I saw dolphins a few times when I lived in Belize but I never got close to them, and certainly never swam with them. Dolphins are truly fascinating creatures. I love how they are so social and curious. They even play games together and sometimes do things just for fun.
If I could spend a day with an animal it would probably be a dolphin because they are so social and intelligent. It would also be interesting to spend a day with a bird of prey like a hawk or falcon, but I’m not sure how I feel about people keeping falcons as pets or as hunting tools.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
From,
Mr. Salsich
Dear Amanda,
Hi, my name is Carly, and I am from Mrs. Ranney’s class in California. I really LOVED your post about you visiting the Discovery Cove, I think that it is so intriguing that you got to ride dolphins! I wish that I could have ridden dolphins too! I have some question for you:
Is this the first time you have ever gone in the water with dolphins?
Do you want to swim with them again?
I hope to continue being your blogging buddy!
Warmest Regards,
Carly:)
Dear Amanda,
That looks very fun! I have never been to Discovery Cove or swam with dolphins, I have never seen one before .
I want to ask my parents if I can go to Discovery Cove. If I had to spend a day with an animal it would be either a dolphin or a polar bear even though the polar bears might hurt you.
From,
Ariel D.
Dear Mr. Avery,
If I could swim with any animal, I would pick a sea horse. I want to take a ride a colorful sea horse. It goes deep in the sea and I would see all the fish and I could see what a sea horse eats. If you could ride any animal, what would it be?
Sincerely,
Natalie S.
Dear Amanda,
It looked like you had a lot of fun! I went to Discovery Cove before. I swam with dolphins and stingrays! It was a lot of fun! What was your favorite part? What parks did you go see? I Was swimming with dolphins cool? I think the dolphin looks very cute! I hope I go again soon! 🙂
On April vacation I am going to Georgia! The water is going to be warm and my family is hoping to get a tan. Have you went to Georgia before?
Sincerely,
Natalie S.
Dear Natalie,
Thank you for blogging to me:) I did not Know you went to Discovery Cove! My favorite part was when the dolphins rolled onto there backs and we hopped on and he swam to shore upside down. Did you do trainer for a day?
From your friend,
Amanda
Dear Amanda
Wow, this is awesome! It sounds like you had a fantastic time Amanda, and you did such a good job describing the experience. And the dolphins are adorable. 🙂
Sincerely,
Alexandra
Dear Alexandra,
I agree, the dolphins are adorable! If you could pick any animal you could ride, what would it be? I would pick a sea horse. Mr. Avery really asked a good question! It looks like Amanda had a blast!
P.S. Please write back!
Sincerely,
Natalie S.
Dear Amanda,
That definitely seems like quite the experience. You got to do something that very few people will ever have an opportunity to and you’ll have those memories forever!
You also did an amazing job of sharing your experiences with others. I feel like I know exactly how Capricorn acted around you just by the way that you described it. Amazing job!
We’re glad to have you back in school!
Sincerely,
Mr. Avery