"Wild dolphins have visited the beach at Monkey Mia since the early 1960s." This little statement sidesteps an important issue here. Why have the wild dolphins visited the beach here every morning at 7.30am for the benefit of tourists. Um, maybe cos someone is feeding them?
Monkey Mia
It's true, I really don't think wildlife should be fed. In a national park this is especially so, except here at Monkey Mia an exception seems to have been made, simply because of the tourists it brings in. Sure, someone started in the 1960s, they probably shouldn't have. What is certain though is they probably shouldn't continue to feed them, they could ween them off.
I know, I know, I here you say it. Party pooper. So what. Wildlife shouldn't be fed, they become dependent and it reduces their hunting skills. It's not a beautiful thing to wildlife dependent on being fed by humans.
So I missed Monkey Mia. I had swam with Dolphins in Port Craig in New Zealand. Perfectly wild and natural, I did not have to feed them for them to come over to play.
Speaking with some travellers later, they saw the pod of dolphins herding salmon into the beach so they could feed upon them, and the mother dolphins were teaching the calf dolphins how to do it. That, I think, is a truly special thing to see.
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