Luna Steals the Spotlight

Luna has a sweet gracefulness about her.

As the youngest female dolphin living in the front lagoon, Luna seems to have defined her place. She plays rough with the juvenile boys and still stays in the loop with the older girls.   This once shy little girl is now a blossoming young lady full of spunk and independence. This was evident on a Dolphin Encounter, when her mother, Pandora, did not want to gate into the lagoon for the program. Since we do everything on dolphin time and choice, this allowed Luna to swim up to the plate and show us just how grown up she’s become.

Not only did she steal the spotlight by making every swimmer fall in love with her charm and grace, but she also showed her mother that she could do every behavior. Luna excitedly did every kiss, handshake, imitation and signal on her own. She even did several dorsal tows all by herself too!

Pandora peered at her daughter from the neighboring lagoon and it seems like Luna coerced her into taking part in the fun for the dorsal pull. Pandora screamed at one of the trainers until she was let into the lagoon. Once she swam with a few guests, she was more than happy to leave the others in her capable daughter’s flippers. She then asked to be gated back out again.

After the session ended, Luna and Pandora gabbed about what had happened. We can only imagine the pride Pandora had in her sweet little munchkin. As a free thinking dolphin, maybe it was Pandora’s way of pushing her daughter to venture a bit more towards self-sufficiency.