Curacao Dolphin Academy response to reports on incident

"On January 1, 2008, three swimmers were caught by surprise when one of the dolphins veered off course and landed sideways against them. Analysis of Dolphin Academy’s complete video tape of the accident revealed that one dolphin attempted to change position with the other en route to the jump. It appears that once the dolphin Annie recognized there was no room to complete the maneuver, she “bailed out” to her right. However, in attempting to abort, she slid directly into the three swimmers.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. As a precaution, paramedics were called to provide professional medical evaluations. One swimmer elected to ride with the paramedics to the hospital for a doctor’s exam. She was accompanied by her spouse and a staff member of Dolphin Academy. The doctor suggested she may have suffered a mild concussion, released her that afternoon, and declared her fit to travel for her prescheduled flight home the following day.

Our guest re-visited Dolphin Academy the following morning and declared that she will visit us again in the future.

Several reports in the media have contained gross exaggerations and absolute fabrications. The swimmer was not “paralyzed” and this was most certainly not a “deliberate attack” on the part of the dolphin, simply a miscalculation on her part. Annie was by no means “stressed” or “exhausted” and Dolphin Academy never schedules “extra programs” in order to accommodate holiday business. Our daily schedule remains the same regardless of the demand for space.

Furthermore, the claim that the staff of Dolphin Academy confiscated photo and video equipment and harassed observers is a bold-faced lie. Our programs take place in plain view of the public and we have never denied observers the use of their cameras.

Since the inception of Dolphin Academy, more than 32,000 participants of the swim program have enjoyed their intimate experience without any such incident. We have a proud reputation for providing safe programs. However, interactions with animals can never be 100% risk free. Therefore, we continuously evaluate our programs and procedures. Due to this incident, we have adapted our protocol for the hurdle jump. We will continue to make a concerted effort to provide enjoyable, informative, and safe interaction between humans and dolphins."

Even in a confined space dolphins are very spacially aware, and therefore we question the explanation that this dolphin simply made an error whilst attempting a last minute adjustment. In view of this, Marine Connection will be contacting the Academy with a request to either allow the charity to view the footage in its' entirety in order for us to study the dolphins' behaviour or alternatively, if the Academy would consider uploading the footage onto their site to rebute reports by the media. We would also invite any of the partipants involved in this incident to contact us to give their comments on the experience.