To Pet Or Not To Pet?

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These meet-and-greets present risks to all parties involved. Dr. Santiago Gallo, a gastroenterologist who has treated dolphins in Mexico, reports cases in which dolphins have swallowed keys, a swimming cap and even a disposable diaper. Worse, critics charge that several dolphins have died prematurely at Manati because of toxic waters. Responds Javier Moreno, the owner of Manati: "If there are deaths, this is not a surprise. These are animals. There is a cycle of life. They die. They are born." He plans to expand the facility and add five dolphins to the roster next year.

Humans also can face perils from these encounters. Recent data are hard to come by, since swim programs are not required to report human injuries. But a 1995 study in the U.S. found that dolphins, particularly those in unstructured swim-with programs, occasionally acted aggressively toward humans. The British-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society claims it has witnessed three encounters at Manati that endangered humans.

Some facilities work harder than others to make dolphins feel at home. Dolphins Plus, in Key Largo, Fla., fences off an area of the Florida Bay, thereby connecting the play area to the ocean. One of its owners, Rick Borguss, also holds stock in nearby Dolphin Cove, a natural lagoon surrounded by palm trees where children with disabilities interact with the sea mammals. Orlando's Discovery Cove has three man-made lagoons, seven holding pools, a medical pool for sick animals and a staff of 70-plus workers to tend to the needs of 30 dolphins.

Defenders of these aquariums insist that their goal is to educate, not exploit. "There are billions of people who have no access to animals or [any way to] learn about nature," says Borguss. "People who leave here appreciate the animals." Discovery Cove produces curriculum guides and encourages its specialists to visit local schools. A federal study conducted last year appears to back up the claim that playing with people is no more harmful to the dolphins than performing for them. It found that 12 "interactive" dolphins exhibited no greater stress than their counterparts who simply took part in shows.

That doesn't address a more fundamental question: Should dolphins become human pets? "I can show you a dolphin born inside of a building that has never seen the ocean, live fish or the sky," says Ric O'Barry, a consultant for the World Society for the Protection of Animals. "These are freaks we have created for our own amusement." He advises tourists not to buy tickets for dolphin swims or shows. But that flies in the face of another fact of nature--human nature.

--Reported by Jeanne DeQuine/Dominican Republic, Dolly Mascarenas/Mexico City and Jacqueline Savaiano/Los Angeles