Dolphin Stories

Fulfilling my childhood dream

My experiences

Picture a child obsessed with animals, literally screaming for joy every time she came across a sheep, a cow, or any kind of creature. Still, there was one specific mammal that fascinated her immensely: The Dolphin.

The little girl mentioned is actually me and I grew up dreaming about the sea and its wonders. I watched every animal documentary focused on dolphins and begged my parents to take me to each zoo where I could interact with them. Those were my resources to connect with the most incredible creature on our planet until something incredible happened.

My father was passionate about sailing and finally decided to acquire a sailboat. I had never sailed before and I easily get seasick so, in the beginning, I was a little reluctant, however, I rapidly fell in love with it due to the proximity it allowed me to have with the sea and the creatures living in it, including dolphins.

To my delight, thanks to my sailboat I was able to experience various close encounters with the brilliant animals I have been admiring in my lifetime. I sail along the coast of Portugal and Spain, an area filled mostly with bottlenose dolphins.

Being the extremely curious creatures they are, dolphins get really close to our boat, surrounding it and swimming below the casque with their bellies up. Especially when all the motors are off and we are solely sliding thanks to the forces of the wind, they seem to feel really secure approaching us in a confident manner.

On other occasions I have had the privilege to watch them jump, doing their stunts not too far away from us. There is so much delicacy in their movements, it really amazes me.

Unfortunately, I usually only film these encounters which makes it difficult to have photos that actually do justice to the beauty of the interactions.

When we anchor our boat, we commonly jump into the sea and swim in the water around us. Even though I have never clearly seen a dolphin behind me while swimming, on multiple occasions I sense their presence. They show themselves before we enter the water, and we can realize they are observing us due to the bubbles that come up in the surface. Usually, when we go back to the boat, the curious souls appear again, making us realize they were present all along.

I would absolutely love for a wild dolphin to approach me while swimming or paddling, but I understand they are wild animals, so I don’t pressure them or get too close. I simply wait and hope that one day a member of this incredible species feels playful enough to interact amicably with me.

The history of Gaspar, the famous dolphin

I’m Portuguese and every summer I and my family sail to the north of Spain, Galicia. This is an area filled with marine life including dolphins. When we first arrived, the big communities of bottlenose dolphins surprised me, so I started asking questions of the locals.

They confirmed the constant presence of the animal in the surrounding Spanish waters and ended up telling me the story about Gaspar, the dolphin that became a local celebrity.

Gaspar was a male bottlenose dolphin with peculiar behavior which intrigued specialists in the subject. The special characteristic of this aquatic mammal is that he preferred human interactions instead of being interested in his own species.

The animal chased boats, speeding alongside them. He played with swimmers and divers and would commonly visit the marinas so that people would play with him using floating toys. He attracted quite a crowd, curious to interact closely with the dolphin.

On the other hand, there were some behaviors Gaspar had, which were not so popular. He commonly pierced the fisherman’s nets and stole their oars. In addition, he dragged divers that were repairing some equipment underwater for the marinas on different occasions. This caused some locals to ask the authorities to act by relocating the rebel dolphin. These requests were denied as his actions were considered playful and not aggressive at all.

Gaspar had lots of scars on his body and due to his unusual preference towards humans, two main theories were formulated. Some specialists believed he had had previous military training. Some countries such as the USA are known for training dolphins so that they can patrol its waters. If Gaspar had been trained that would explain why he was so comfortable interacting with humans. The other theory seems to be more plausible. It was said that Gaspar was violently expelled from the group he belonged to, which explained his scars and his aversion towards his species. This is believed because on at least one occasion specialists determined that Gaspar tried to interact with a group of 35 dolphins and ended up gaining more scars.

After a few years, Gaspar disappeared. Obviously, being a wild animal, he might have just wandered off somewhere far away. However, most specialists on the matter believe that a fisherman or a diver ended up killing him due to his upsetting behaviors. An investigation into the subject was conducted, but nothing was ever discovered.

Despite his disappearance, Gaspar touched and inspired many lives which led to a series of children’s books being written about him.

Conclusion

I feel extremely lucky because I get to fulfill my childhood dream. I spend all summer admiring the incredible animals that are always amazing while still respecting the boundaries settled by this wilderness.

Maybe someday, a dolphin similar to Gaspar will approach me. That would certainly leave me dazzling with joy!

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