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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARINE MAMMAL
TRAINING AT DOLPHIN ADVENTURE
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AN INTRODUCTION TO MARINE MAMMAL
TRAINING AT DOLPHIN ADVENTURE
TRAINER FOR A DAY BOOKLET
VALLARTA ADVENTURES
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
ANIMAL TRAINING!
T
he Trainer for a Day
program was developed
for people who want
to learn more about training
marine mammals. Before we get
into details of training, you need
to first learn about the marine
mammals that we care for.
In this booklet, there are basic
information on two different kinds
of marine mammals that live in our
Center – the Bottlenose Dolphin
and the South American Sea Lion.
However, you will only be learning
with the dolphins in this program.
You will get the chance to spend
an exciting day working beside our
dolphin trainers.
You will be in close contact
with our family of Bottlenose
Dolphins throughout the day. From
feeding and behavioral techniques
to helping our dolphin trainers
during the Dolphin Encounter and
Swim with Dolphins programs, you
will learn the basic skills of caring
for and training dolphins as you
assist our trainers in every aspect
of their work.
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THE BOTTLENOISE DOLPHIN
A
mongst the many species
of dolphins in the world,
the Bottlenose Dolphin is
the most well known. This species
was popularized by the American
film and television series “Flipper”, in the 1960’s. This media
exposure sparked the popularity of
the Bottlenose Dolphin around the
world. It is also the species most
commonly seen in captivity.
Recently, studies have shown
that there are two species of Bottlenose dolphins – the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
and the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose
Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus).
ANCESTRY AND EVOLUTIONARY
ORDER
The ancestors of dolphins were
four-legged mammals that lived
on land about 50 million years
ago. Fossils have suggested that
dolphin ancestors were amphibious mammals that lived in shallow subtropical seas, somewhat
resembling that of a larger otter.
These amphibious animals evolved
into pure oceanic life about 10 million years ago.
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Dolphins belong to a group of
marine mammals of the Order Cetacea, which includes whales and
porpoises. The order Cetacea has
two suborders – Order Mysticeti
(baleen whales) and Order Odontoceti (toothed whales). Nine families fall under Order Odontoceti.
One of which is the Family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) where the
Bottlenose Dolphins belong.
DESCRIPTION
The robust body of a Bottlenose
dolphin is predominantly gray, varying from dark gray at the top nears
the dorsal fin to very light gray to
white on the underside. The common Bottlenose dolphin can grow
as long as 3.8 meters (12.5 feet)
and weigh up to 650 kilograms. Its
cousin, the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose
dolphin is smaller, growing only to
2.6 meters (8.3 feet) and weighing
up to 300 kilograms. It is difficult
to tell these two species apart, but
basically, the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins has some dark
spots on its belly and sides, and its
beak is a little longer than that of
the common Bottlenose dolphin.
DISTRIBUTION
Bottlenose dolphins are found
worldwide in temperate and tropical waters but do occur in the north
and south poles. They are found in
a wide variety of marine habitats.
There are offshore and inshore
populations. Some are even found
in bays and estuaries. It is regarded
as the most adaptable cetacean
due to its wide distribution.
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ANATOMY
The upper and lower jaw of a
dolphin is called the rostrum, also
known as the beak. The rostrum of
a Bottlenose dolphin is elongated
and conical, resembling a bottle,
which is why the species is so
aptly named.
The dolphin’s body is perfectly
designed for life in the ocean.
Their smooth rubbery skin and
b o d y s h a p e m a ke s t h e m g l i d e
through the water with ease. The
dorsal fin, which is located in the
middle of their backs, enables
them to keep their balance.
The pectoral fin found on both
sides of the body enables them
to steer through the water, while
the tail flukes are used for propulsion, which controls their speed.
Dolphins have adapted very well to
living in the water, however being
mammals, they must breathe air.
They breathe through the blowhole, which is located on the top
of their heads.
The blowhole acts like a single
nostril only that it is upside down
and has a flap, which keeps the
water from coming in.
Dolphins have ears, however,
they look and act much differently
than the human ear. In a Bottlenose dolphin, the ear is located
about 5-6cm behind the eye and
is very small, only about 2-3mm
in diameter.
The gender of dolphins can only
be done by close observation. Since
dolphins are streamlined, the male
sex organ is hidden inside the genital slit which is located in between
t h e n a ve l ( u m b i l i c u s ) a n d t h e
peduncle. The general difference
is, only the female dolphin have
mammary slits, which are located
on both sides of the genital slit.
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6
Rostrum / Beak
DORSAL FIN
BRAIN
SCAPULA
Blowhole
Mouth
Dolsal fin
LUNG
KIDNEY
Eye
SPINAL
COLUMN
Ear
Pectoral fin
BLUBBER
BLOW HOLE
Peduncle
FLUKES
SKULL
MELON
Mammary slit
Anus
EYE
INTESTINES
LIVER
FEMALE
PELVIS
ANUS
Genital slit
STOMACH
Umbilicus
LARYNX
TEETH
ESOPHAGUS
HEART
FLIPPER
MEDIAN
NOTCH
Anus
MALE
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ADAPTATIONS
Sleep
Since they breathe air, dolphins
have developed a very unique
way of sleeping. While they sleep,
only half their brain is shut down
together with the opposite eye.
The other half of the brain remains
awake and retains a level of awareness. They need this to sense any
danger as they rest. The terms that
best describes this kind of sleeping behavior is being “half-awake
or half-asleep”. Being in this state
keeps the dolphin from drowning, as
the alert side of the brain will signal
the dolphin to take a breath of air.
Insulation
Dolphins are warm blooded
animals and have adapted to withstand the cold waters of the ocean
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through their thick layer of blubber, which essentially is fat. They
are able to retain a high internal
temperature due to this insulating
layer. This layer also functions as an
energy reserve.
Vision
Dolphins have adopted to vision above and below the water.
Dolphins have special elastic lenses
on their eyes that expands and contract, which enables them to focus
both above and below the water.
They also have large pupils that
allow them to see in deeper depths
where light is minimal and they
can contract the pupil in brighter
areas.
Vocalizations
The sound that a dolphin emits
does not come from its mouth. It
actually comes from the blowhole.
There are air sacks located below
the blowhole that allow dolphins to
produce sound for communication
and echolocation. Air is filled into
these sacs and released to produce
sound. They produce high frequency sounds like whistles, clicks
or squeaks.
Echolocation
Echolocation allows the dolphin
to hunt and navigate with great
efficiency. They basically send out
a high frequency sound towards an
object, it bounces off that object
and returns as an echo, which gives
the dolphin information such as
the size, shape and distance of the
object. These sounds are emitted
through the “melon” of the dolphin,
which is located in their foreheads.
Echolocation is very important because it works to their advantage
in the absence of light, in turbid
waters and in deeper waters.
Status
Since Bottlenose dolphins are
found worldwide, generally, their
numbers are still abundant. In some
areas, however, Bottlenose dolphin
populations suffer from direct and
indirect exploitation. Millions of
dolphins have drowned by being
entangled in fishing nets. The tunafishing industry has killed more
dolphins in the last 35 years than
any other human activity. Dolphins
are also killed directly for food in
some countries.
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THE SOUTH AMERICAN SEA LION
T
he South American sea
lion (Otaria flavescens,
formerly Otaria bryonia)
is also known as Southern sea lion
or maned seal. They are found on
the coasts and offshore islands of
South America.
ANCESTRY AND EVOLUTIONARY
South American sea lion belong to the Order Carnivoria and
Suborder Pinnipedia, together
with other eared seals, walruses
and true seals. The word “pinniped” means winged feet, which
basically describes the flippers of
these marine mammals. There are
three pinniped families: Odobenidae (walruses), Otariidae (eared
seals: sea lions & fur seals) and
Phocidae (true seals).
Pinnipeds are believed to have
evolved from a doglike ancestor
about 23 million years ago. Just
like the ancestor of dolphins, the
pinniped ancestor is believed to
resemble an otter, which moves
well on land and in water.
DESCRIPTION
Sea lions are different from
seals. They are called “eared
seals” because they have external
ear flaps while seals only have
ear holes. Sea lions also have
more doglike snouts compared
to seals. Male South American
sea lions have large heads and
well-developed manes, making
them best fit the name “sea lion”
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compared to other species. Males
are characterized with upturned
snouts and are about twice to
three times the size of the females.
Fully-grown males can reach up to
2.6m (8ft 6in) in length and weigh
up to 300Kg (660lb) while adult
females grow up to 1.8 – 2m (6.7ft)
and weigh about half the weight
of the males. The sea lions pups
are dark brown and sometimes
black, then molt into a chocolate
brown color.
ANATOMY
A sea lion body is perfectly
designed for life in the ocean.
They are fast and move swiftly
in the water with the use of their
limbs called flippers. They have
larger webbed fore flippers and
hind flippers compared to that of
the seals.
Despite their relative small
ears, called pinnae, sea lions have
an excellent sense of hearing.
Sea lions have a membrane
at the back of their eyes called
a tapetum lucidum, which helps
them see in low light. This is basically why the eyes of sea lions
appear to glow at night. They
also have a nictitating membrane,
which keeps away sand and other
debris from entering their eyes.
Sea lions can navigate and hunt
efficiently even in the absence
of light by using their whiskers,
called vibrissae, which act like
sensors. The vibrissae are thick
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BRAIN
AORTA
ADAPTATIONS
Locomotion
Sea lions have adapted very
well to the aquatic life. Their limbs
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LIVER
SCAPULA
hairs found on the sea lion muzzle
that detects sound or vibrations
around them.
S e a l i o n s h a ve s h a r p t e e t h
that they use to catch their prey.
They have 10 pairs of teeth in the
upper jaw and eight pairs in the
lower jaw.
STOMACH
KIDNEY
EYE
TEETH
TONGUE
ESOPHAGUS
RECTUM
BLADDER
SPLEEN
SPINAL
COLUMN
HEART
DIAPHRAGM
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have evolved into wide and flat
winged flippers, which they use to
move efficiently through the water, swimming as fast as 30 miles
per hour. They are able to increase
their speed by leaping clear of the
water (called porpoising), in which
they use to stay clear from their
enemies. On land, they are able
to move much better than a seal
because they use all four flippers
to walk and are able to rotate
their hind flippers underneath
their body.
Breathing
S e a l i o n s a r e air-breathing
mammals. When they dive into
the water, their nostrils close
automatically to prevent water
from entering their lungs. They
also have the ability to stay underwater for long periods of time.
Sea lions have been recorded to
dive to depths of over 600 feets.
They have a high tolerance for
carbon dioxide and they manage
to conserve oxygen by slowing
down their heart rate to about
one-tenth of the normal rate. The
blood flow is then directed to the
nervous system and vital organs.
Insulation
Sea lions are able to keep warm
in cold waters through their fur
and thick layer of blubber under
their skin.
Vision
Sea lions can see well both
above and below water. They have
a clear membrane that covers and
protects their eyes when they are
in the water.
Senses
Sea lions can navigate in the
absence of light with the help of
their whiskers. Their sensitive
whiskers also help them sense
prey underwater.
Distribution
The South American sea lion is
found along the coasts and offshore islands of South America,
specifically on the Chilean, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Argentine
coasts. Some individuals have
been found as far as the Galapagos
Islands.
Status
South American sea lions were
threatened by hunting in the 19th
and 20th centuries. Today, the
species is protected in most of its
range. However, sea lions populations are declining in some areas.
Their populations are considered
to conflict with fisheries. Some
countries allow the culling of sea
lions since they are blamed for
competing with their fish catch
and damaging fishing nets. The
sea lion populations in Argentina and Chile are protected and
therefore increasing by 3% each
year. However, the populations in
Uruguay and the Falkland Islands
are decreasing due to their
conflict with fisheries.
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THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF
TRAINING
A
Now that you’ve learned
a few important facts
about our marine mammals, now is the time to learn and
understand how and why we need
to train them.
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TRAINING IS TEACHING
Animal training refers to teaching animals certain responses or
behaviors to specific conditions
or cues. Animals are commonly
trained for obedience, entertainment and education purposes.
In many cases, we need to train
animals because we need to help
them to help us. Animals are used
in search and rescue operations
as well as to assist people with
special needs. For animals in a captive environment, training helps
make their lives less stressful. For
instance, animals learn to cooperate during veterinary procedures,
which in turn become less stressful to them, and to those who take
care of them as well. There are
many more reasons why people
train animals, just as there are
many ways to train them. Although
training methods differ from place
to place, and styles differ from
trainer to trainer, determining
the training method that benefits
the animal the most should be an
important consideration. The most
acceptable method used by many
trainers today is training through
positive reinforcement.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Positive Reinforcement is giving a reward to the animal after a
desired behavior, increasing the
possibility that the behavior will
occur again. The reward may be
in the form of food, verbal praise,
affection or a favorite toy. Negative reinforcement, on the other
hand, also increases the likely
hood that the behavior will occur
again, however, it is something the
animal does not like and wants to
avoid. The latter would not be ideal
since a good training relationship is
based on trust. Gaining an animal’s
trst would be negative if negative
things are used to make them do
what we want. The animals would
only respond correctly because of
fear. With positive reinforcement
the animal performs the behavior
because he receives something he
wants. This is an important difference, and it is the reason why this
positive reinforcement is primarily
used by trainers today.
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THERE ARE THREE VERY IMPORTANT
TOOLS THAT WE USE IN TRAINING
First, of course, is the reward.
The reward can be anything the
animals like. So what do you think
is the favorite reward of a dolphin?
Fish of course! But sometimes, they
also like toys, praise and affection.
Our next tool is the whistle
or clicker. This is how we tell the
animals that they are doing well.
Whenever the animals hear the
sound of the whistle or clicker, they
know that they are doing correctly
what we asked them to do. They
also know that they will get their
reward when they complete the
behavior.
The third tool is the target. This
is what we use to SHAPE or create
a behavior. We teach the animals to
follow the target with their rostrum,
flipper or arms. So by moving the
target in different positions, we
can create all sorts of movements
or actions with the animals. Like
the bow, wave, breach or flip. But
when they complete behavior, we
no longer use the target. We use
hand signals.
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COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US AND
THEM
Training is about developing a
bond with the animals you work
with. Training animals is not merely
making an animal do something.
Training is about trust and partnership. Training can only begin when
trust has been established. Marine mammals are very intelligent
creatures, and their trust must be
earned. Trust is usually developed
when the animal needs are met.
This may be achieved through daily
interactions of feeding, playing,
and caring for them, treating them
with respect and being sensitive
to their needs. Training is then
possible when both human and
animal are willing partners in the
process. The successful training of
an animal is not independent to its
good health and welfare. Therefore
the success of a trainer will depend
on the trainer’s ability to work cooperatively with the animals and
provide its needs to keep it happy
and healthy.
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TRAINING AS ENRICHMENT
Animals in captivity are deprived
from their natural behaviors, like
hunting, foraging for food and
avoiding predators. These important missing elements in a captive
environment may result to an aggressive, depressive or apathetic
animal. Training is a way of keeping
an animal physically fit and mentally stimulated. It is the trainer’s
goal to provide the animals with
substitute behaviors to replace the
behaviors they used to do in their
natural environment. It is a learning
process that may be challenging to
both trainer and animal.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT
The captive environment does
not come close to providing the
enrichment that a natural environment offers. Therefore trainers
must work hard in enriching this
captive environment to meet the
needs of the animals. The goal
of environmental richness is to
improve the quality of life of an
animal in captivity. It basically provides a variety of behavioral op-
portunities for the captive animals
that would be similar or related to
the behaviors they would be doing
in their natural environment, thus
increasing their physical and mental activities. Environmental enrichment comes in many different
forms and are designed depending
on the purpose. Sometimes enrichment is offered in form of live food
so that the animals can hunt or in
form of toys and mechanical devices are used to keep the animals
mentally stimulated. Providing
enrichment regularly looks after
the animal’s well being and is now
a key element in managing animals
in captivity.
EDUCATION
Dolphins and whales have been
the main attractions for aquariums,
marine parks and zoos around the
world. However, keeping these
marine mammals in captivity is a
highly controversial issue. The justification for these captive animals
is that they act as ambassadors,
probably providing the only chance
that people will ever get to expe-
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21
rience them. Even If some people
argue that seeing them in the wild
is still the best and right way, not
many people have the chance to do
so. Many people leave aquariums
or marine parks with a whole new
respect for these animals, since
they witnessed their intelligence,
beauty and grace at first hand.
Many aquariums and marine parks
also increased public awareness
on the threats that face these
animals in the wild, from hunting
and pollution to their conflict with
fisheries.
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Captive dolphins and whales have
also given biologists a chance to
study them up close. A great deal
of information can be obtained by
studying them under controlled
conditions. Important detailed biological and behavioral data taken
under these conditions have contributed greatly to our understanding of these animals. Research has
also shown that dolphins have an
amazing effect on people. Many
believe that dolphin encounters
can alleviate cases of depression or
anxiety, speed up the learning potential of children with disabilities
and even healing people form life
threatening illnesses. The research
done on captive dolphins has resulted in valuable information that
may have not been realized if only
wild populations were studied.
PROTECTION
There have been several laws
passed and organizations set up
towards the protection of marine
mammals. In the United States,
all marine mammals are protected
under the Marine Mammal Pro-
tection Act (MMPA) which was
passed on October 21th, 1972.
This law prohibits the hunting,
killing, harassment or capture of
marine mammals in US waters and
the trade, import and export of
any marine mammal parts or biproducts. However, there are some
exceptions. Permits are issued to
some facilities and research centers and the law does not apply to
indigenous people of Alaska, who
still hunt whales as part of their
tradition.
Another law was passed towards the protection of dolphins in
1990. The Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act basically
protects dolphins by establishing
conditions that are dolphin friendly
in conjunction with the tuna fishery. Basically tuna products to be
sold in the U.S. now have labeling
standards. Tuna products with
“dolphin safe” labels mean that no
dolphins were killed or harmed in
the whole tuna fishery process.
The International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) /Species Survival
Commission (SSC) Cetacean Specialist Group Action Plan also helps
in the conservation of bottlenose
dolphins and research on threats
that face them. The Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), an international treaty
developed in 1973, helps regulate
the trade of certain wildlife species. CITES protects all species of
toothed whales. Bottlenose dolphins are listed on CITES Appendix II
which means any trade concerning
this species is strictly controlled.
There are numerous organiz a t i o n s ( Wo r l d W i d e F u n d f o r
Nature, the Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society, American
Cetacean Society, Greenpeace, etc)
campaigning against the threats
that face marine mammals by
increasing public awareness and
government support. There are
also stranding networks around
the world that help rehabilitate and
return stranded marine mammals
back to sea.
More and more people are
working very hard to protect ma-
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23
rine mammals all over the world.
We can also help in our own personal way. Spreading the word
about marine mammals and the
threat that face them indirectly
protect these animals as people
becomes more aware of the issues. Keeping the ocean clean by
participating in beach clean-ups
and other activities is another
way to help protect these animals.
Volunteering in marine mammal
stranding events is another way to
be involved in their conservation.
We must remember that one effort
already makes a difference.
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REFERENCES
1. Cawardine, M., E. Hoyt, R.E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. The Nature Company Guides:
Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Time-Life Books. US Weldon Owen Inc.
2. Reeves, R., B.S. Stewart, P.J. Clapham and J.A. Powell. 2002. Guide to Marine
Mammals of the World. National Audobon Society. Chanticleer Press Inc.
3. American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet: Bottlenose Dolphins.
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/btlnose.htm
4. South American Sea Lion. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_sea_lion
5. South American Sea Lion at MarineBio.org.
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=311
6. Pinnipeds. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piniped
7. The Marine Mammal Protection Act.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/mmpa/
8.Environmental Enrichment. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Enrichment
9. Sea Lion. San Diego Zoo.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalsbytes/t-sealion.htm
10. The Marine Mammal Program. US Fish & Wildlife Service.
http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/marine_mammals.htm
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