'Dolphin therapy' at the island of dolphins

Pods of dolphins found in the sea waters off Garcia Hernandez town in Bohol province. Photo courtesy:  Jervin Galido

When "Dolphin therapy" became a "fad" in 2005, yours truly, frequently visited the Pamilacan Island to see the friendly mammals. 

 

I have had depression that a friend told me to see dolphins. 

 

My friend said that dolphins have reputation for their healing powers over the last couple of decades.

 

There are reports dolphins can use their natural ultrasound to zap tumors, heal muscle injuries and stimulate the brains of disabled children. Dolphins have relieved chest pain and restored faulty vision.

 

That explained that there are many facilities scattered around the world that offer various forms of dolphin-assisted therapy for people with mental and physical ailments. 

 

Essentially, it’s an expensive opportunity to swim with dolphins.  In the USA and Mexico, the program includes five 40-minute sessions with a single dolphin in a pool over three days. The cost is $575.

Parents of children with severe autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or other disabilities spend thousands of dollars on such dolphin-based treatments in hopes that the animals can reach their kids in ways that psychiatrists, physical therapists or medications never could.

 

But I didn't shell out money to see the dolphins in a facility. I had experienced them in their own natural habitat. 

 

Although my friend told me that I could swim with dolphins at Pamilacan Island, but it didn't offer therapy. 

 

Some experts said that the appeal of dolphin therapy is based more on mystical beliefs than on any real results. 

 

There’s no real research to support dolphin therapy, but I believe the animals bring joy, confidence and self-esteem to children and adults. 

 

During my visits to Pamilacan Island, swimming with dolphins had improved my feelings of well-being while reducing anxiety. 

 

When I learned that pods of dolphins re-appeared in Garcia Hernandez town last week, I am happy because their appearance means abundance of foods from our seas. 

 

The presence of dolphins in the sea waters off Barangay Cayam enticed residents to look for them in the open sea. 

 

Those who had a close encounter with the  dolphins  have been posting photos and videos of animals enjoying the newly quiet sea in the social media. 

 

Ruel Baguhin, 37, considers the presence of dolphins in the municipality as “rare” and “surprising” since the last time residents have seen the aquatic mammals was some decades ago.

 

Residents have been spotting bottlenose and spinner dolphins as well as orcas or killer whales starting last June 29.

 

The presence of dolphins in the waters off Barangay Cayam prompted residents to look for them in the open sea.

 

Those who had close encounters with the dolphins posted photos and videos of the sea mammals on social media.

 

According to National Geographic, orcas or killer whales are considered the largest among the dolphins and are among the world’s most powerful predators. They are recognized through their distinctive black-and-white colors.

 

John Brian Galendez, 29, a resident of West-Lungsodaan in Garcia Hernandez town, saw “hundreds” of dolphins last Saturday afternoon.

 

He said he and friends spotted them at around 5 p.m.

 

“It was my first time seeing dolphins here although I learned that some fishermen have had sightings of them in the past,” Galendez said.

 

The Bohol Sea is said to be one of the breeding grounds of whales and dolphins.

 

Whales and dolphins sightings were popular in the seas of Jagna, Garcia Hernandez, Lila and Pamilacan Island in Baclayon town, known as the highway of the whales and dolphins. 

 

However, it diminished in early 1990s due to rampant whale and dolphin hunting.

 

Since then sightings of these creatures became rare.

 

An outcry from local and foreign conservationists triggered the ban on the hunting of dolphins and whales. 

 

The Philippines, one of the first countries in Southeast Asia with policies protecting marine mammals, banned the catching, selling, or transporting of dolphins and whales since 1992 through Fisheries Administrative Order 185.

 

In 1998, the Animal Welfare Act was also put in place. In 2001, the Fisheries Administrative Order 208 on the conservation of rare, threatened, and endangered fishery species, which includes whales and dolphins.

 

Does dolphin therapy work? I don't know. 

But I feel better. 

 

 

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