Swimming with the dolphins (for about 15-20 minutes in an amusement park) has been one of the most awe-inspiring and cherished experiences in my life. I always

Swimming with the dolphins (for about 15-20 minutes in an amusement park) has been one of the most awe-inspiring and cherished experiences in my life. I always knew dolphins are mammals, but the experience of seeing their features up close was still fascinating. They have eye lashes, and their eyes look very close to dog/human eyes and seem to have a spark of intelligence in them. In retrospect this is pretty obvious, but I still remember how amazed I was to see it up close. One of the dolphins was a new mother - her newborn was confined to a small area in the corner of the pool. Every few minutes the mother would turn around to briefly glance if her newborn is ok. They seem to really enjoy playing with people - they'd do tricks like swim up to you from the back and poke you in the butt to surprise you. Then they'd turn on their backs to let you rub their belly and after a while they'd rise above the water surface and touch your face with their nose. I asked the guide if they were taught to do this and she said one of the dolphins came up with the 'poking' trick and the other dolphins picked it up. These are really fascinating creatures. I have no idea whether holding them in captivity should be considered unethical, but the idea of killing them for a commercial purpose (or even research) makes me feel extremely uneasy. If you get the chance to swim with them, do take take the opportunity. It's worth the money many times over and will almost certainly change the way you think about these amazing creatures.