Dolphin Connection Blog
Dolphin Connection Blog - December 201212/03/2012
Have you ever relocated for a job? How about for family obligations or just to see the world? And honestly, don’t you sometimes dream about relocating to warm, tropical places like Hawks Cay Resort in the beautiful Florida Keys? Sometimes it’s necessary for dolphins to relocate too. Recently we transported one of Dolphin Connection’s adult male dolphins, Semo, from the Minnesota Zoo to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California. Semo has fathered many calves in the past and we have high hopes for him in his new home. But it’s not this dolphin’s fertility that makes him so well-known and well-respected among those of us who work with dolphins; it’s his age. At 48 years old, Semo is the oldest male dolphin living in any zoo or aquarium in the North America!
One of the biggest marine conservation events to happen during Semo’s lifetime was the passing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, and if you’re good at math you’ve already realized the Act is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this Act was created “in response to increasing concerns among scientists and the public that significant declines in some species of marine mammals were caused by human activities. The Act established a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from declining beyond the point where they ceased to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part.” At the time, nowhere else in the world had a government made the conservation of healthy and stable ecosystems as important.
Throughout Semo’s life, he’s undoubtedly made quite a few people smile. He‘s likely been many people’s first dolphin encounter. He has certainly helped connect animal lovers to the oceans, made them aware of all the ways in which we depend on this incredible habitat, and how vitally important it is for us to work to conserve it.
So as 2012 comes to an end, a year that brought us the 40th anniversary of this historic Marine Mammal Protection Act, we thank Semo and other marine mammals like him who educate and inspire people every day. And we thank you, and people like you, who care enough to see the value in protecting our wildlife, our wild lands, and the beautiful planet we call home. From all of us here at Dolphin Connection, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season full of love, laughter and dolphins!
One of the biggest marine conservation events to happen during Semo’s lifetime was the passing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, and if you’re good at math you’ve already realized the Act is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this Act was created “in response to increasing concerns among scientists and the public that significant declines in some species of marine mammals were caused by human activities. The Act established a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from declining beyond the point where they ceased to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part.” At the time, nowhere else in the world had a government made the conservation of healthy and stable ecosystems as important.
Throughout Semo’s life, he’s undoubtedly made quite a few people smile. He‘s likely been many people’s first dolphin encounter. He has certainly helped connect animal lovers to the oceans, made them aware of all the ways in which we depend on this incredible habitat, and how vitally important it is for us to work to conserve it.
So as 2012 comes to an end, a year that brought us the 40th anniversary of this historic Marine Mammal Protection Act, we thank Semo and other marine mammals like him who educate and inspire people every day. And we thank you, and people like you, who care enough to see the value in protecting our wildlife, our wild lands, and the beautiful planet we call home. From all of us here at Dolphin Connection, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season full of love, laughter and dolphins!
Dolphin education and interaction programs in the Florida Keys. Swim with dolphins and learn about dolphin and marine conservation with the only on-property resort dolphin program in the continental U.S.
Phone: (888) 251-3674
