If you feed a wild dolphin, you might just kill it.
Teaching dolphins to be dependent on humans can lead them to starvation, dehydration or fatal injury.
This has been a recurring problem at Hilton Head Island, SC.
Jean Fruh, a South Carolina Master Naturalist, has spent years educating tourists on the dangers of hand feeding.
In a recent interview, she recounted a story of an encounter will a well-intentioned, but misinformed family. The family was climbing into kayaks to go dolphin watching when Fruh noticed the large cache of sardine tins they were bringing with them.
Concerned with what the sardines might be for, Fruh approached the family to ask about the fish. Apparently, a store owner had told the family that dolphins liked sardines. Hoping to get a close-up glimpse of these animals, they brought several tins with them.
“The family (of 10) literally had pockets of them,” Fruh said, “They were visitors. They didn’t know.”
Photo Credit: Alexander Vasenin via Wikipedia
So what exactly is so dangerous about feeding wild dolphins?
First of all, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, feeding wild marine mammals is illegal and carries up to a $20,000 fine and one-year prison sentence.
But feeding can carry dire consequences for the animals too. Dolphins that learn to beg from humans will stop hunting. In turn, these “beggars” will teach their offspring to do the same.
The problem, however, doesn’t stop at general laziness. Fish serve as a dolphin’s primary source of fresh water. A dolphin can literally dehydrate if it alters its diet.
Amber Keuhn, an employee at the Coastal Discovery Museum, explained the drastic nature of the problem:
“You won’t ever see the horribleness of this, because they get sick and they die. That’s what kind of makes people like, ‘What’s the big deal?’ It’s over time where they’re not eating like they should.”
Photo Credit: The Outside Foundation