# Thoughts on swimming with dolphins? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054 "2012-01-29T03:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/21 "2012-01-31T21:10:48Z")
Obligatory Tom Papa joke [on swimming with dolphins](http://comedians.jokes.com/tom-papa/videos/tom-papa---swimming-with-dolphins) (youtube video) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/22 "2012-01-31T22:24:34Z")
I worked in a public aquarium with several Pacific white-sided dolphins, and I can tell you this: they have _huge_ penises and are not shy with them. That alone has made me reluctant to swim with them. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/23 "2012-01-31T23:44:38Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I worked in a public aquarium with several Pacific white-sided dolphins, and I can tell you this: they have _huge_ penises and are not shy with them. That alone has made me reluctant to swim with them. This. They have huge foot long dolphin dongs. Dolphins are not always friendly. Male dolphin groups will gang rape female dolphins to death. Leave the dolphins alone. They do not want to swim with you, and have you grope them or pat them. They really don’t. They are wild animals, let them be. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/24 "2012-01-31T23:55:02Z")
Thanks a bunch for all the information and firsthand accounts - I think I’ve made up my mind to do _something_ with the dolphins. The aquarium offers some choices, so I just need to decide whether I really need to spend that much money on a 20-minute _swim_ with dolphins, or if I’d be just as happy spending half as much and doing their “encounter” option. The encounter would have me on a submerged platform so I’m in shallow water, and the dolphin would swim close up and I could touch him. A little more reasonable, and that way both my husband and I could do it and not break the bank. And, honestly? Being in the water with huge, strong, wild animals (with huge penises, thanks, **Skammer** ) scares me a little. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/25 "2012-02-01T00:19:42Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > go for it! > it’s fun, and the dolphins seem to enjoy it too.I actually petted the dolphin on its head ,and was rewarded by it talking to me with squeaks. I’d be interested to know what it was saying–just because they’re “smiling” does not mean they are _happy_. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/26 "2012-02-01T04:15:27Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I’d be interested to know what it was saying–just because they’re “smiling” does not mean they are _happy_. you are absolutely right. I would _love_ to know what the dolphin was saying to me. That’s what made the experience so fascinating . He (or she) was clearly trying to tell me something…but nobody knows what those squeaky sounds mean. He may have been saying, "Gee , this is fun! " or he may have been saying, “I live here, ya know,…now please go away and get out of my house”. It’s a mystery, and that is part of the appeal. But it was the dophin who volunteered to interact with me-- I just floated quietly (according to the instructions from the tour guide) , and one of the dolphins _chose_ to approach me and interact. So whatever he was saying, he was saying it to _me_, and I felt special for a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/27 "2012-02-01T04:27:02Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > You can’t swim with a wild dolphin, because it’d be too dangerous. > > It’s unlikely the’d attack you but easily a wild dolphin could do a power dive and drag you under before a blink of an eye. Though perhaps in some countries where the laws aren’t as strong it’s done. Australians are known for their protection of things wild. So[when the state advertises swimming with wild dolphins](http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Things_to_See_and_Do/Sun_Surf_and_Sea_Life/Pages/Dolphin_Interaction.aspx), there’s gotta be something safe about it. Then again, a dolphin will only swim with you on porpoise. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/28 "2012-02-01T13:33:44Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > \ Being in the water with huge, strong, wild animals (with huge penises, thanks, **Skammer** ) scares me a little. Me, too, and ironically, any time I swim in the ocean I am, by definition, in the water with huge, strong, wild animals. My beach of choice has a big shark hole at one end. You can swim right next to some dude pulling little sharks out of the water. :eek: What’s funny about that is I don’t think twice about it. Well, okay, I _do_ keep an eye out for sharks. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/29 "2012-02-01T14:35:02Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Even people who have close encounters with 80,000 lb. whales don’t get dragged under. [Really?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o68rkiBl250) I’m not saying it happens often, but as this video demonstrates, obviously it does happen. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/30 "2012-02-02T00:54:09Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Obligatory Tom Papa joke [on swimming with dolphins](http://comedians.jokes.com/tom-papa/videos/tom-papa---swimming-with-dolphins) (youtube video) QI quote: \*Ross Noble: \*If you see proper wild dolphins, they’ve got lumps out of them, and bits missing, and they fight… I just love the idea that people are just going: “Oh, this amazing experience”… \*Stephen Fry: \*…Those serene and mystical and lyrical… _Ross Noble:_ …When actually it’s just like being chucked in with a bunch of wet skinheads. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/31 "2012-02-02T03:12:12Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Australians are known for their protection of things wild. So[when the state advertises swimming with wild dolphins](http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Things_to_See_and_Do/Sun_Surf_and_Sea_Life/Pages/Dolphin_Interaction.aspx), there’s gotta be something safe about it. No, no, no. Unsafe for the swimmer, not the dolphin. Everyone knows it’s impossible to get out of Australia alive, what with all the dangerous critters. Would you rather be drowned by a happy dolphin, eaten by a giant spider, or die a slow, agonizing death by jellyfish? Really, the choice is obvious. Dolphin every time. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/32 "2012-02-02T04:21:53Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > It’s unlikely the’d attack you but easily a wild dolphin could do a power dive and drag you under before a blink of an eye. They would do what now? Most beaches where I swam growing up had bottlenose dolphins about and they are one of the larger species. Whenever the dolphins come near swimmers try to get close. No harm comes. I don’t think there has ever been single instance of what you are talking about. If there has I haven’t been able to google it. If you don’t know what you are talking about why are you posting it? This isn’t Yahoo Answers. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/33 "2012-02-02T05:13:55Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Everyone knows it’s impossible to get out of Australia alive, what with all the dangerous critters. I managed to get out. Or maybe I’m really dead and this is just a _Ghost Whisperer_ moment for me. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/34 "2012-02-02T08:19:23Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > They would do what now? > > Most beaches where I swam growing up had bottlenose dolphins about and they are one of the larger species. Whenever the dolphins come near swimmers try to get close. No harm comes. > > I don’t think there has ever been single instance of what you are talking about. If there has I haven’t been able to google it. No need to Google it; I already posted an example upthread. It’s a video of a pilot whale (a species of dolphin) grabbing a swimmer and dragging her down several metres into the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/35 "2012-02-02T11:33:30Z")
…and letting her go, and anyway it wasn’t a “power dive” dragging someone under, it was an attack, which wasn’t what Bea Myra was talking about. Also, your example is of a pilot whale, not what is commonly known as a dolphin. Yes, OK pilot whales are technically dolphins. So are orcas for that matter and no one doubts they would attack, but they weren’t the subject of Bea Myra’s post which was contrasting the tame dolphins that people swim with in captivity to wild dolphins. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054/36 "2012-02-02T12:02:23Z")
For some reason, this thread reminds me of all the times I did botanical research in fields where there might, or might not be, cows in the same field with me. Honking big cows. And the occasional young bull-calf, all the more dangerus because of their playfullness. And the terrain had hills and bushes in it, so me and the cows might meet by surprise. Especially that one time that I sat on a hillside, busy with a difficult to name sedge grass, and suddenly someone breathed very heavily in my ear. I jumped up, startled, and found myself surrounded by curious, friendly but startled cows, and the fence was a long way off. I imagine that is what swimming with dolphins must feel like. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-swimming-with-dolphins/611054.md?page=1)