Dolphins and The Cove

I watched the Oscar winning documentary "The Cove" last night. Many people had been raving about it and it was on my list of things to watch for a long time. One word review: "WOW"!


The documentary is about trying to expose one of what the filmmakers see as the most cruel acts against wild dolphins in the world in Taiji, Japan, where dolphins are routinely corralled, either to be sold alive to aquariums and marine parks, or slaughtered for meat. This activity takes place in a heavily guarded area known as "the cove" where no one is allowed (from IMDB).


First up, kudos to everyone involved in making this documentary. These people took great risks while carrying out their mission successfully.


Two world class freedivers (Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack) helped with this mission. I had to google freediving in the first place. Mandy-Rae can go down to 300 feet in one breath of air and come back up on her own....that's some serious skill worthy of 8 world championships under her belt.


I did not know dolphin meat was so high in mercury. They wanted to feed this meat to children in Taiji and other perfectures in Japan as school lunch. Thank God it did not get approved. I didn't know that dolphin meat was sold either, but I have come to assume that people can eat any form of meat if given a choice. After watching this documentary, I'm so glad I'm a vegetarian. Also most of the time we prepare meals at home, so we know what is going into our body. 


I also learnt many new facts about dolphins. Their smile is nature's greatest deception. In the wild, they travel 40 miles a day. The most fascinating fact is - in the water, dolphins can see right through you. They can see your heart beating. They can see your bones. They can see if you're pregnant. The best sonar we have compared to dolphins seems like a toy, isn't it?


Dolphins and whales do not automatically breathe air, like humans. So they can end their life by not taking their next breath :(. That's what dolphins in captivity do when life becomes too unbearable for them. All of us who go to Seaworld and other aquariums to watch them perform should think hard about whether we are doing the right thing by supporting these institutions who hold these mammals in captivity.


The filmmakers says 23000 dolphins are killed in this cove every year. What a sad sad situation. After watching the documentary, I read articles on the internet on what the progress is so far, and what little I can do to help. I'm surprised the International Whaling Commission is not doing enough to stop this slaughter. Even if some of the facts are exaggerated, this is clearly a major issue and I hope it gets resolved before the next whaling season that begins in September.