Dolphin Essay
Braided Essay: Blood dolphins and Endangered Species As my cruise ship approached the port we were about to dock at, I stood near the railing looking down into the beautiful water. Even from fifty feet up, I could see straight to the bottom of the crystal clear water. As my family and I headed towards the main door to exit the ship, the butterflies in my stomach grew more and more excited. Finally, we left the ship and were greeted by a large sign that read, “Welcome to the Bahamas!” Our first stop was to swim with the dolphins. We arrived at the aquarium and sat through a long video explaining how to act around the animals. As I finally stepped into my wet suit, I was able to see a few dolphins jumping up into the air and splashing back into the water. I jumped into the water as if I belonged there. As the dolphin popped his head out, I gave him a kiss right on the lips. I could not have been happier. Little did I know, that dolphin was not happy at all. The beautiful, clear water in the cove suddenly turns to a deep red. At this moment, hundreds of dolphins are being slaughtered in Taiji, Japan. Every year in Taiji, 23,000 dolphins are murdered and hundreds more are sold into captivity. These intelligent animals are unable to fight for themselves to live and unfairly die every year. In Taiji, dolphin intelligence, society, and culture are the last thing on the minds of the fishermen. Dolphins are sold into captivity after being forced and trapped into a tiny cove (The Cove). The remaining dolphins are left in the cove overnight. While enclosed in this small area, the dolphin’s stress level rises as they hear their babies crying (The Cove). The animals are able to sense that something is seriously wrong. The next morning, the dolphins in the cove are stabbed with sharp spears until they bleed to death (The Cove). They are then hoisted onto a boat, sometimes while still alive, by a long hook that is shoved into their head or stomach. Some of the dolphins are even