On the Dock with Delta

Delta showed off his "present" of the day.

 

Staff members aren’t always on the dock for formal sessions, however sometimes we like to engage the dolphins in spontaneous play time. During these sessions, we come down onto the dock without coolers or treats and ask the dolphins if they want to play. Like every program at Dolphin Research Center, what happens depends on the dolphins. Sometimes we get a lot of love and other times our gray family members are more interested in something else in their lagoon.

However, if there is a dolphin who is going to come over to play it’s Delta. He loves to say hello, go under the dock, and grab a piece of sea grass to start a few rounds of seaweed toss. Delta hands over the grass and then swims out further into the lagoon to indicate he wants to play. It’s one of his favorite games.

The best part is the look on his beautiful face when he pops out of the water. He looks at you straight on with a giant smile. If you ask him if he wants you to play he squeals and does a tiny head nod, “Yes!”

Sometimes Delta grabs the seaweed and brings it back over to you and other times he’ll throw it at you, tossing a large amount of water with it. Even if you get soaked, you can’t help but smile and laugh. After all, how many people can say they started their day with a salt water shower from a dolphin? It’s worth bragging about.