Ric O Barry Former Flipper trainer Presented by Shannon Fields

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Ric O BarryFormer Flipper trainer Presented by
Shannon Fields
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Life Epiphany

• His world changed as he held Kathy, the dolphin
  who played Flipper for most of the time, died in
  his arms. He believes she committed suicide when
  she was moved to a small steel tank cut off from
  people and other dolphins.

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1970 Project Dolphin

• For the past 36 years the Dolphin Project has
  worked to stop the capture and confinement of
  dolphins worldwide. Captivity is wrong and
  dolphins should be released back into the wild.
• In nature dolphins enjoy the ability to move
  freely. Their streamlined bodies and smooth skin
  enable them to gain fast speed swimming up to 40
  miles a day. They spend only 10-20 percent of
  their time on the surface. They can hold their
  breath for as long as 20 minute.
• In captivity dolphins are restricted to the size
  of their tank or enclosure. They can only swim a
  few feet before a wall or a fence stops them.
  Captive dolphins--especially those kept in a tank
  -- spend a lot of time swimming in a small circle
  or simply lying motionless on the surface of the
  water.

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Free or Captive?

• In nature most dolphins spend their lives in the
  company of dolphins of their own kind, living in
  groups, known as pods. Dolphins are very
  intelligent and social animals. Belonging to a
  pod is important to them, because this is where
  they find safety, love, and companionship. The
  social bonds within the pod may last for many
  years.
• In captivity dolphins are forever separated from
  their pod. During the capture, the strong social
  bonds the dolphins have enjoyed and nurtured for
  years are abruptly destroyed. Different capture
  methods are used for different species of
  dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins are usually
  captured with a net before being hauled onto the
  capture boat. The capture is an extremely violent
  procedure, not only for the captured dolphin, but
  also for the pod that experiences the sudden and
  permanent loss of a pod member.

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Free or Captive?

• In nature dolphins use their sonar to check out
  various fish, coral reef, predators, their vast
  ocean world, and other dolphins. Dolphins are
  sound oriented in that they constantly scan their
  surrounding with bursts of sound. The use of
  sonar is as important to dolphins as eyesight to
  humans.
• In captivity dolphins are restricted in using
  their sonar. They cant use it to chase live
  fish, as they are fed dead fish as food rewards.
  Neither can they put it to full use to explore
  their underwater world, because there isnt much
  to explore in a barren, concrete tank. They cant
  use it to navigate, because they arent going
  anywhere. Depriving dolphins of using their
  highly developed sense or sonar is one of the
  most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much
  like forcing a person to wear a blindfold for the
  rest of his life.

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Accomplishments

• Ric O Barry has freed 14 dolphins and continues
  to educate people on the exploitation of
  dolphins. They are in this for the money take it
  away and theyll quit doing this. Dolphins are
  free-ranging, intelligent and complex animals and
  they belong in the oceans, not playing the clown
  in our human schemes.