Healing touch of dolphins

The Dolphin Resort has reopened for business with hardly a ripple rather than a splash of publicity ... but it is slowly growing in popularity with a series of daily shows and special pre-booked 20-minute 'swim with a dolphin' sessions. It is probably not surprising that the Gulf Dolphin Company has decided on a low-key approach after the former facility on its site courted controversy for years before a fire killed one of the marine mammals and caused its closure.

Campaign groups such as The Marine Connection called on the government to implement its permanent closure, and to ban the capture, import and display of dolphins. The benefits of swimming with dolphins, however, has been recognised as helpful for children with learning difficulties. Today GulfWeekly puts the argument 'for and against' the facility.

CHILDREN suffering from autism and other learning difficulties are enjoying a new found freedom of expression up close with the darlings of the deep ... a pair of dolphins.

The mammals, named Boris and Cola, are the star attractions at the recently re-opened Dolphin Resort in Manama and are more used to entertaining crowds with their high-flying antics, tricks and dives.

Parents of pupils at the RIA Institute in Adliya say they were amazed at the way their children interacted with the mammals and hope regular sessions will help them to better connect to the world around them.

Researchers have found that dolphins can help to calm children suffering from autism. The internationally-acclaimed DAT Programme (Dolphin Assisted Therapy) is thought to increase the speech and motor skills of children suffering from a range of disabilities from Down's syndrome to depression.

Autism is a brain development disorder. Its side effects include social impairment and restricted communication. The condition can be caused by a chemical imbalance within the brain and autistic children's inability to communicate can result in aggression and tantrums.

Special sessions with dolphins are regularly staged in Panama Beach, Key Largo Florida and San Diego in the US and a series of programmes have been set up to allow children to swim, massage and express themselves amongst the creatures for an astounding therapeutic effect.

To put the DAT theory to test, assistant manager of the Bahrain park, Ahmed Mahmoud Abdull-aal allowed two children from the institute in Adliya to test the waters.

Christine Gordon, its co-ordination head, brought along her autistic son Othman Emad, 15, and his friend Ahmed Husseini, 15, who has Down syndrome.

Christine, who comes from the UK, has lived in Bahrain for 16 years and founded the RIA Institute which shortly celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Catering to the needs of both nationals and expatriates alike, it offers a year round English curriculum pre-school nursery and a special educational needs unit for those students with communication disorders.

Othman enjoys listening to music, swimming and interacting with animals as Christine regularly takes him to visit horse stables in the kingdom.

"It's as if the dolphins have magical powers - that's the only way I can explain it. I'm already debating whether to make this a regular activity," she said.

"Animal psychology works so well with troubled and autistic children because they both have similar emotive and intuitive responses. These simple emotions make it easier for the children to identify and form a connection with the animal.

"I didn't even know that you were able to swim with dolphins in Bahrain. This whole experience has proved a great surprise because now we have somewhere new to take our children."

Initially intimidated by the sharp shock of the cold water, Othman and Ahmed chose to stand on the side intently studying the two vivacious dolphins, rather than diving in.

This was until Zahra Mohammed, 10, the daughter of Ganieva, a speech therapist who also works at RIA, fearlessly plunged into the deep and grasped onto the dolphins tail. Looking on at the squealing youngster enjoy the experience the other two boys started to relax.

"I know he's having fun because he's doing his happy run around the pool," said Christine as Othman followed Boris and Cola's antics. "It's a goal I'm going to set for him to accomplish," she said.

"I will bring him back at least once a week until he becomes comfortable enough with the dolphins to get in the water".

After Othman familiarised himself with Cola, he plucked up the courage to jump into a small rubber dingy boat and was pulled around the pool by the dolphin.

Ahmed, with the help of Bahraini dolphin trainer Hani Ashwany, excitedly threw small pieces of fish to Boris, watched him play tricks and eventually caressed the animal with a large smile on his face.

DAT therapy is not only used to combat the stress of autism, but to aid children with terminal illnesses, emotional disorders and difficulties in social adaptation.

Dolphins are not the only effective animals used in calming children down. In China touching, feeding and training Beluga whales is currently being used to treat 16 children suffering from autism at the Polarland Aquarium in the Heilongjiang province.

Similarly, internationally-renowned doctor of animal science, Temple Grandin, who is herself autistic, grew up in the rural province of Boston Massachusetts and says she felt most comfortable as a child when interacting with horses and cows.

for - Stan Szecowka

AS a present for my daughter Imogen's 10th birthday I booked a BD15 'swim with a dolphin' 20-minute session for her and her six-year-old brother, little Stan.

A photograph of her cousins enjoying a similar encounter during a summer holiday in Florida proudly sits on the mantle-piece of their home.

I also know one thing for sure; they paid a lot more for the highlight of their holiday and it was an encounter to this day they never tire from talking about.

Having lived in Bahrain for only a couple of years, I've no recollection of the former arena's chequered history and found the staff at the Dolphin Resort to be incredibly professional and polite.

The facility was spotlessly clean when we arrived for our Saturday afternoon treat. The trainer, who called himself Valentine, was armed with a little whistle and a bucket load of fishy treats and appeared to have a mesmerising connection with his mammal mates.

The water was chilly, the children said, but there was nothing cold about the way Cola the dolphin buzzed about the pool and interacted with them.

After careful instruction they took turns to cling on to his fin. Cola took them on a tour without a hint of aggression or stress for a little snack from Valentine, who really was a sweetheart to the mammal as well as the children.

When my colleague Gianne interviewed the dolphin park team she was told that its two dolphins would be eventually returned to the wild.

I cannot see the harm in children being exposed close up to these wondrous sea creatures and believe they can encourage children to find out more about wildlife. It also provides a golden opportunity for children in Bahrain to appreciate the environment and how important it is for the seas surrounding the island to be protected.

It's not as if the human race cares much for dolphins in the wild, as these poor creatures are often caught up in fishing nets and drowned for a few cans of tuna, or suffocated in oil spills, or driven bonkers by the sonar activity of military craft during exercises in the high seas.

Dolphins sometimes mysteriously beach themselves when naval forces are carrying out training exercises. The signals from ships are often sited among the possible causes being looked at for the dolphins becoming confused, although officials always deny responsibility.

So Cola and Boris are probably safer in Bahrain.

The fact that children with learning disabilities can also benefit from interaction with these incredible creatures is a bonus and makes the Dolphin Resort another gem in the kingdom's crown.

We also went to the evening show and Cola and Boris performed a series of high-flying flips and ball bouncing antics and when they were bored the performance came to an end.

These were dolphins with attitude and appeared to be quite capable of producing the thrills and packing it in when they had had enough ... with the full support of their trainer who indicated when the show was over to the audience.

There was also a sea lion on display for a few minutes which waved his flipper and performed a few tricks with a ball - in a similar routine seen in hundreds of zoos and animal parks across Europe during feeding time without courting any controversy.

I would happily visit the arena again and urge families to make the memorable trip to the Corniche.

AGAINST -_Liz O'Reilly

Dolphins smile at the world and the world smiles back at them. How ironic then that this beauty, intelligence, friendliness and almost other worldly ability to make us feel better, leads, for many, to capture, incarceration, enforced performance of tricks and, frequently, early death.

As a little girl I was brought up with the TV adventures of Flipper the highly intelligent dolphin pal of an American coast dwelling family. In the series Flipper was a wild, bottlenose dolphin who chose the Ricks family as his friends.

In reality the part was played by five animals who were captured from the wild and trained by Ric O'Barry. The death of one of these animals, which O'Barry later described as a 'suicide', convinced the world renowned trainer that teaching these beautiful, intelligent creatures to perform tricks for human enjoyment was quite simply wrong and he has spent the last 40 years as a dolphin freedom activist.

I wonder what he would make of the situation here in Bahrain, which considers itself the most enlightened nation in the Gulf yet tolerates a so-called 'family attraction' where dolphins perform tricks daily and are even enticed to beach themselves, coming out of their natural water habitat onto land, for pictures with school parties.

Dolphins are highly intelligent social animals and in the wild are used to travelling many tens of kilometres a day. In captivity they are forced to live in relatively dull, cramped and noisy environments that in my opinion cannot possibly accommodate their mental, physical and social needs.

Humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) can be seen in the local waters surrounding Bahrain. To see them in their natural environment is a powerful, moving experience and one that underlines the importance of protecting these remarkable creatures.

Even with the best and kindest training, dolphinaria significantly distort the public's understanding of the marine environment. The tricks displayed are exaggerations of natural behaviour and do little to further the public's knowledge of their habitats.

Confinement in captivity, which often follows capture from the wild, can seriously compromise the welfare and survival of whales and dolphins. In captivity, these animals often suffer from stress, reduced life expectancy and breeding problems.

According to experts animals in swim-with-the-dolphins programmes are also subjected to the additional stress of forced interaction with humans. In captivity, dolphins cannot escape from human swimmers when they do not want to interact with them.

Some dolphins have been observed demonstrating signs of alarm when they were in close proximity to swimmers and nails can damage dolphins' delicate skin. Dolphins are wild animals and unpredictable, even when well trained.

Some swimmers in swim-with-the-dolphins programmes have been known to incur bites, bruises, scratches, abrasions and broken bones. Disease transmission is also a concern, as dolphins carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans and vice versa.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), a leading international charity dedicated to the worldwide conservation and welfare of all cetaceans (aquatic mammals), has been highly critical of the park in the past and says it is 'concerned' that it has reopened.