Dolphin Magnets

Image by Rudy & Peter Skitterians, Pixabay

Is this what a dolphin ‘sees’ when it looks at an expectant human mother?

Over Christmas, my niece, Sarah, shared a beautiful experience she had while visiting her sister, Lizzie, in Melbourne. Having booked a boat trip to swim with dolphins, Lizzie called up beforehand to check it would be suitable, as she’s expecting. The trip organisers were delighted and urged her to come.

On the excursion, they used her as bait, explaining that pregnant women act like magnets to dolphins. The crew put Lizzie and Sarah into the water ahead of the rest of their group and here’s what happened in Lizzie’s words,

Image by Unsplash

‘A dolphin came right towards us so fast we were both a little scared; we didn’t know if it was going to stop! It came really, really close and clearly had a sense of the pregnancy. I half wish we’d had a GoPro camera with us to capture the experience but, on the other hand, it was good just to be present and enjoy the moment. It was amazing; how cool that dolphins can sense the baby’s heartbeat. It seemed really intrigued by the pregnancy. The boat crew wanted me to stay in the water the whole time but I got really tired and had to ask to come out and have a cup of tea. After I got out, the other passenger group had their turn in the water but the dolphin had gone away and no others came so they had a refund!’

Dolphins have been known to swim around pregnant women, often brushing up against them or even gently nuzzling them. It's believed that dolphins are drawn to pregnant women because they can sense the unborn child in the mother’s womb through their echolocation.

Lizzie and Emeka’s baby will arrive in the spring, the first of the ‘next generation,’ in our family. I wonder if he or she will have an affinity with dolphins?