Dolphins are so popular in Florida, they’ve got stadiums, football and baseball teams, and more than 100 registered businesses with the name dolphin in them. Although it’s not the official state animal in Florida–the Florida Panther is–a trip to Florida without seeing a dolphin seems incomplete. Fortunately, there are about as many ways to catch a glimpse of these cetaceous animals as there are places that borrow their name.
Florida is known amongst American divers as “Paradise without Passports,” and to the international diving community as the “Conch Republic.” With five distinct diving regions offering a great blend of wrecks and reefs, coupled with a bustling tourism industry that boasts nearly every kind of marine encounter, it’s no wonder that Florida is a top destination for divers, snorkelers, and families looking to get up close and personal with big fish and marine mammals. The exponential growth of swim with dolphin adventures now makes Florida one of the best-suited destinations for dolphin enthusiasts of any age and comfort level in the water to encounter these smiling creatures.
Florida Dolphin Dives and Swims: Wild vs. Captivity
Because of high demand from tourists to see, touch, and even train and feed dolphins, a host of “swim with the dolphins” adventures have arisen. Many of the commercial centers where the encounters take place are somewhat controlled, and dolphins are “retired” performers or trained dolphins that are cared for by zoological societies or aquariums. Most of these encounters are offered inland or closer to shore, and guests are allowed to touch, ride, feed, and even train the dolphins. These workshops are great for kids, beginning swimmers, travelers with special needs, and anyone who isn’t keen on scuba or snorkel gear.
Other encounters, including most scuba diving tours and some snorkeling half-day, day, and two-day trips will bring divers up close and personal with wild dolphins in their natural environment. Generally, wild dolphin dives depart from Miami or the Florida Keys, although there are dolphin dive and swim operators in a number of other Florida cities such as Palm Beach, Panama City Beach, Orlando, and Fort Pierce (for a list of dive operators please visit our dive business directory). Some of the operators take divers to lagoons, while others take scuba enthusiasts and snorkelers to spots known as “dolphin coves,” and others will head out to open water farther from shore to see the dolphins.
For divers electing to encounter wild dolphins, please note that there are federal regulations that limit human behavior toward the dolphins. For example, it is against federal law to feed or harass wild dolphins, as swimming with or feeding wild dolphins can be dangerous for both human and dolphin. Divers are highly advised simply to observe when seeing dolphins in the wild. The NOAA Fisheries Service warns that disruption of normal behavior can ultimately harm these mammals and their exposure to humans increases their risk of injury from boats and entanglement in fishing gear, and decreases their willingness to forage for food. In addition, feeding wild dolphins inappropriate items such as contaminated food and/or food meant for human consumption can jeopardize their health directly. Dolphins are also known to become aggressive when seeking food or defending their territories as well.
Regardless of the kind of dolphin experience you want to have, swim centers and dive operators alike experience sold out reservations months in advance (especially in the summer). Most dive centers will offer online booking or contact form for reservations.
About Dolphins in Florida
Chances are that if you learn a bit about dolphins in Florida before you go, you’ll enjoy the experience even more. The following provides information about the dolphins you’re likely to encounter while diving, snorkeling, or swimming in Florida’s waters.
Several dolphin species are found in Florida’s coastal waters, but the most common of these is the bottle-nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), which is the one that divers, snorkelers, and swimmers will most likely encounter. Bottlenose dolphins have powerful bodies with a top coloring of bluish-gray and a lighter belly and sides. When fully grown, bottlenose dolphins measure between six and twelve feet in length (2-4 m). In the wild, bottlenose dolphins live both in and offshore along tropical and temperate coasts.
Each day, they consume more than 20 pounds of fish and marine invertebrates, including sheepshead, mullet, pinfish, flounder, and more. These dolphins, therefore, can reach weights up to 650 kilograms (1,400 lbs).
Researchers have determined that bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent, have a wide range of vocalizations, and seem to cooperate as a community or in groups when it comes to feeding and caring for other injured dolphins. These small social groups, called pods, can range from about 10 individual dolphins (inshore groups) to as many as 100 individuals (offshore). Daily travel is generally seen with groups of 4-20 dolphins traveling together with great interaction and movement amongst themselves. Dolphins cooperate in many ways–as a group they defend themselves from sharks, support sick dolphins by keeping them afloat, or circling around a large group of fish to eat. When they do the latter, bottlenose dolphins generally take turns feeding according to their age, size, and their health status. Of all the bonds among dolphins, generally the strongest is between two males of the same age–sort of like BFFs. These males will form a lifelong bond, and dolphins can live up to 50 years. The pair spends the majority of their time together, helping each other find suitable food and mates. And when they mate, they don’t mate for life like they bond to their best friend.
How to Tell a Male Dolphin from a Female Dolphin
If you’re diving with dolphins, you might want to try and identify the gender of the creatures you’re seeing. Although they might swim fast, you’ll probably be able to correctly identify at least a few. Even though male and female genitalia are internal, it’s fairly easy to discriminate one from the other. On the underside of their peduncle, or lower trunk, males have two separate slits or grooves. One is the genital groove and the other is the anal groove. Both of these slits or grooves are aligned, and loosely resemble an exclamation point. Females, on the other hand, have only one anogenital slit, but they have two mammary slits. These mammary slits, which will produce milk upon reproductive maturity, loosely resemble a division sign. Additionally, you can often tell by size–mature adult males are often much larger than females in weight and length.
About Dolphin Sounds
Click, click. That’s typically the sound that you’ll hear from dolphins. But contrary to popular belief, this clicking isn’t likely to be communication. It’s the sonar system–called echolocation– that dolphins use for navigation, finding food, and staying away from danger. Clicks are actually only one of the three classes of sounds dolphins produce. Other sounds that dolphin makes are sqwaks, whose actual purpose is unknown, but might be social in nature. And whistles known as pure tones. Each dolphin has its own “signature whistle.”
Other Locations to Swim and Scuba Dive with Dolphins
Not traveling to Florida? Although Florida is one of the world’s premier locations to swim with dolphins, there’s still a chance you’ll get to see cetaceans up close even if you’re not planning a trip to Florida. Other destinations that offer scuba diving or swimming with dolphins include Mexico, The Bahamas, Hawaii, The Dominican Republic, Tortola (British Virgin Islands), Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. For more information about these locations, please visit our scuba diving travel guides.