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Oasis Sea World Chantaburi - Dolphin experience

If you ask people who are interested in marine life and the ocean, regardless of whether they are divers or not, the majority would say they'd love the opportunity to see dolphins up close, and maybe even swim with them. Very few people get the chance to see these highly intelligent creatures let alone get close to them in the water. We are fortunate to have wild dolphins here in the Gulf of Thailand, although we very rarely see them in the ocean (although pics below:). There are two species which are indigenous to this area - Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins, which have pink skin, and the snub-nosed Irrawaddy Dolphins, both of which can be seen at Oasis Sea World. The Indo-Pacific Humpbacks are grey when they are born but, as they mature, they lose their grey pigmentation and their skin turns pink. The older they get the more pink they become.

Other interesting facts:

• Dolphins can live to 50 or 60 years of age.

• On average they each eat between 5 and 6 kilos of fish a day.

• They can swim at a speed of up to 20km per hour, but generally only do 3-5 kph.

Some people feel that keeping any wild animal in captivity is morally wrong, but the other view point is that it serves an educational purpose by increasing awareness of the threat these creatures are under, as well as giving people the opportunity to experience something that many only dream of. With this in mind we organized a visit to Oasis Sea World in Chantaburi, Thailand, which is approximately 2 and a half hours drive from Pattaya. It is a privately owned operation which is monitored and controlled by the Thai Government and was founded in 1991 after a group of local fisherman accidentally caught some dolphins in their nets. Sadly, some of the original dolphins died, but others were cared for and survived and so the foundation for Oasis Sea World was laid. Today, there are approximately 16 dolphins in their care, and they take in others that have been injured. As well as looking after injured dolphins, they have a nursery for newborns and a training area for the dolphin show and swim with dolphin experience. When we visited they had recently had a baby dolphin born although we didn't get to see it.

There are specific guidelines laid down for swimming with the dolphins, which are there to protect their health as they are very vulnerable to human diseases and infections. At the end of each day the dolphins are checked for injuries and washed in a special solution which kills any bacteria that my have been passed on from contact with humans. Our guide informed us that the water in the enclosure is monitored very closely and tested regularly to ensure the ecological balance is as close to their natural habitat as possible.

Upon arrival at Oasis Sea World we took our seats by the pool side to watch the 45 minute dolphin show, after which we were taken to the main pool area for the swimming experience. Before entering the pool all jewellery had to be removed and everyone had to shower to remove traces of deodorant, perfume, sunscreen and the like. After this life jackets were donned and we entered the water to swim over to the floating pontoon in the middle of the enclosure. Under guidance from the Thai trainers, signals were given to the dolphins to perform various tricks, which were rewarded with fish. For example, by waving your arm in an upward movement, the Irawaddy dolphins will squirt a jet of water at you from their mouths; by patting the surface of the water they will come up to the edge of the platoon, and by tapping your cheek they will come up and give you a kiss. After the swimming experience we had lunch and then it was time to head back to Pattaya. We were given a choice of visiting a temple to feed the monkeys on the way home or to stop at the aquarium in Rayong. We chose the aquarium which is well worth a visit.

Ironically, on the day we did this trip, an Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin was spotted swimming through the wash at the bow of one of Mermaids dive boats for about 10 minutes while heading back to the pier ... and here are the pictures:

(Excursion organized and written by Sue H of Mermaids Dive Center Pattaya, Thailand - Sue is Mermaids' Green activity coordinator)

For more information about Oasis Sea World, check out Swim with Dolphins