Dolphins Helping Children

Children begin to arrive from different areas around Japan with their doctors and therapists. Before entering the water they start with muscle stretching exercises.

Sliding into the water on a shallow platform, they slowly venture out into deeper water with the assistance of floats to interact with the dolphins under the supervision of therapists and dolphin trainers. Inflatable boats or swimming boards are also used to help the children float.

Tears are shed by a few with the exciting experience proving a little too traumatic. For many it is the first time in the unfamiliar aquatic environment or without their parents. Noriyo Hirose is one of the trainers, and has been involved with the center since its initiation. She says the goal of the program is to get the children comfortable in the water, with the most important thing for them to have fun.

It’s training time once the therapy sessions are finished. When the dolphins perform well they are given fish, patted and talked to in a friendly voice, but the trainers try hard not to use food to make the dolphin perform skills.

The dolphins do not always behave, with Marin the oldest and most skilled dolphin, occasionally taking off to check out what the other dolphins are up to. Noriyo blows her whistle, but Marin is having more fun with the others. When Marin decides to return, Noriyo talks to her in a disappointed voice, and then continues with the training.

The staff prepare meals for the centers four dolphins after training. Due to the location and good relationship with local fishermen, the facility regularly gets fresh fish, with each animal eating around 2 to 3 kg per meal. The meals are prepared by the yellow t-shirted students that we saw earlier, calculated for each individual and injected with collagen, whole fish and mashed fish sausage.

The students on the staff have been at the facility for a couple of weeks as part of their school curriculum. Besides preparing the food, they monitor the health of the dolphins, exertions levels, amount of food, etc.

The animals are cared for by a veterinarian who watches over them during the therapy and training sessions, and says they can swim at 50km/h in the open water. Using vibrations the dolphins are able to recognize the difference between an adult and a child in the water, and he has felt them ‘scanning’ him through a wetsuit when he is in the water, saying ‘‘It’s a bit like a small electric shock running from your head to toe”.

I moved under the platform to try and get a better view, but unfortunately the visibility was the same. They would appear out of the murkiness from all directions, making it difficult to takes photo’s as they sped past. This task was made even more difficult by snorkelling, allowing a maximum of 2 or 3 minutes underwater at a time.As one dolphin passed me, another came from a different direction, and soon two dolphins started circling around me. It was like being in a trance as they eyed me and chatted with each other in high pitched squeaks. I could feel the magic of these animals, with time appearing to stop and I nearly forgetting to breath.

The staff were kept continually busy throughout the day with a number of other visitors including a news crew from a local TV station, and the occasional bus from a kindergarten or school tour.

The Sanuki center and trainers continue to work together with therapists, doctors and other specialists to learn more about the dolphins and the ways they can be utilized in animal assisted therapy. Our visit demonstrated the amazing benefits of animal therapy and how it can be used to help those affected by disability.

• Sanuki Dolphin Training Center Website
• Dolphin Trip Video Clips

We wish to thank the Sanuki Dolphin Training Center and staff for allowing us to visit and film the dolphins.