The Last Traveling Dolphin Show
by Helene Hesselager

Dig a hole in the ground and line it with plastic. Fill it with tap water and add bags of salt and gallons of chlorine - instant synthetic sea water. Then put some dolphins in the hole, and, voila: you have Water Land - the world's last, and most abusive, traveling dolphin show.

Water Land, which originated in Cali, Columbia, features two, and sometimes three, performing dolphins and two or three sea lions. According to customs records, the Water Land traveling dolphin show began its tour on February 11, 1996. In the following l5 months, it took its nomadic sea-show to eight countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, leaving behind a grotesque trail of empty holes.

After a stint in Jamaica, Water Land headed for Puerto Rico to "offer the people of Puerto Rico both an educational and beautiful experience of our dolphins and sea lions," according to the company's permit application. A strong local animal welfare opposition kept the show from entering Puerto Rico.

The show returned to Jamaica in September 1997. At the end of its run, the sea lions were put in small steel cages and the dolphins forced into coffin-like transport boxes. The animals were flown in a chartered aircraft to Venezuela, first to Caracas and then to Maracaibo, where a new hole in the ground was awaiting them. Transport by air is an extremely stressful and claustrophobic experience for marine mammals that normally float in a gravity-free ocean environment.

In Maracaibo, Water Land tried to set up three separate locations, but Mayor Manual Rosales, who received faxes from around the world opposing the show, refused to issue a permit.

On October 12 1997, a film crew from a new TV-series called Earth Undercover gained access to the Water Land dolphins in Venezuela. The film crew, along with US dolphin activist Ric O'Barry (posing as a vacationing dolphin trainer from the Miami Seaquarium), was allowed to inspect and photograph the animals. Water Land road manager, Ruben Roca explained that Pepsi and Polar Beer were sponsors for the show.

Entering Water Land's dark tent, the team encountered blasting disco music and the strong smell of chlorine. In a corner of the tent, two sea lions languished in small steel cages. In the middle of the arena, surrounded by bleachers, two dolphins floated listlessly in a small tank that was little more than hole in the ground.

O'Barry recognized one of the dolphins as Cheryl, a Russian dolphin he had last seen in a filthy municipal swimming pool in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1993. When the Cold War ended, many of the USSR's 500 military-trained dolphins were rented out to various amusement parks in Vietnam, Malta, Hungary, Chile and Argentina. Cheryl is believed to be one of Russia's war surplus dolphins.

The other dolphin was Bilin, a Cuban dolphin. Both had stretcher burns on their bodies from being transported. The trainers informed O'Barry that the dolphins, who had not eaten in quite a while, were very sick and would not perform. Earth Undercover's hidden cameras videotaped the scene as two veterinarians flown in from Mexico force-fed the dolphins.

The tent very hot and so was the water that Bilin and Cheryl were kept in. O'Barry reminded Roca and the vets that Cheryl, accustomed to the cold water of the Black Sea, was suffering. He recommended icing the water to lower the dolphins' body temperature.

The next day, hostile armed guards denied us access to the grounds. Water Land appeared to be making an exit: The sea lions were outside in a small steel cage and a long curtain was stretched from the transport truck to the tent containing the dolphins. Ruben Roca had discovered who O'Barry really was.

By October 23, the trucks and all the equipment were still there, but the animals were gone. When we returned the following morning, accompanied by a local news team, the portable dolphin tank (now a naked hole in the ground) was being filled by a bulldozer. All the trucks and the equipment were being spray-painted white, in an attempt to camouflage the road show. As we attempted to videotape this, Roca's Colombian crew attacked the Earth Undercover cameraman and we were forced to leave.

The dolphins had reportedly been taken to Diver Land, an amusement park on the island of Margarita, off the coast of Venezuela. Hoping to find Cheryl and Bilin, our investigative team went to Margarita on October 29. Interpreter Evan Glassett and I entered Diver Land, posing as a couple writing a brochure on various tourist attractions of the island. We were met with open arms and given the complete tour by a park manager named Margarita.

Diver Land consists of a series of concrete tanks, surrounded by a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster and a popcorn and Pepsi Cola stand. We counted four bottlenose dolphins three in the main tank and one isolated in a small holding tank. Margarita identified the three as Mara, Betty and Bilin. The lone dolphin was Cheryl. She was lying still on the surface and appeared to be sick.

When we inquired why Cheryl was in isolation, we received conflicting stories. Margarita told us Cheryl was pregnant and needed peace and quiet. Later, park owner Alejandro Scholtz told us that Cheryl was not pregnant, she was just "in a bad mood and should be left alone."

A new tank was under construction and Scholtz explained that the park was expecting four new dolphins from Cuba in 20 days. When we asked how much Diver Land pays for each dolphin, he said: "We pay $130,000 for a trained dolphin and $40,000 for one fresh from the wild, untrained."

When we returned to the park on the next evening to observe the marine mammal show, we watched the nine sea lions as they played the trumpet, kissed their trainer and applauded their own tricks. When the turn came for the dolphins to perform (the so-called "educational experience"), Betty, Mara and Bilin jumped through hoops, let their trainer ride them and pulled children around the pool in a boat. The isolation tank, however, was empty. Cheryl was nowhere to be seen.

The next day we entered the park once again to ask what had happened to Cheryl. Marine biologist Alejandro Cumarri explained that Cheryl was doing fine and had been sent back to Maracaibo to perform there. When we said we were planning to visit Maracaibo and would definitely visit the dolphin show, Cumarri became evasive. Margarita the park manager then insisted that Cheryl was pregnant and had been sent to Cuba. Walking us to the exit gate, Margarita was overheard telling Cumarri, in Spanish: "From now on, if anybody asks, Cheryl is in Cuba."

We subsequently learned that no permit had been issued to move Cheryl or any other dolphin to Cuba or any other destination. There was no doubt: Cheryl was dead. She had died between the afternoon of October 29 and evening of October 30, and Diver Land was covering it up. A few days later, Evan Glassett ran into the owner of the dive shop that contracts the swim program at Diver Land. He told Glassett in confidence that Cheryl had died. When asked how Cheryl had died, he replied: "Her heart burst from stress."

The following morning, the Earth Undercover video team and O'Barry confronted Margarita and Roca. Both acted surprised at the mention of Cheryl. They claimed they never had four dolphins and then quite abruptly they ejected us from the park.

What You Can Do: Send letters expressing your concern to: President of the Republic of Venezuela, Dr. Rafael Caldera, Palacio de Miraflores Ave., Universidad, Caracas, Venezuela, Fax: (58-2) 801-3644.

Helene Hesselager is an assistant to Ric O’Barry and a staff member of the International Dolphin Project.