The dolphin's favorite toy, a basketball!
Dolphins are considered very intelligent creatures, sometimes even more intelligent than human beings (though that is yet to be proven). However, they are creatures that are filled with curiosity and love having fun. This particular dolphin at the Sea Life Park has taken a liking to a basketball.
Other than being smart and playful, they’re also very talented swimmers and performers. Dolphins are often taken to water parks to be trained and taken care of by the park. Although there are issues regarding confining dolphins to small spaces like water park tanks, it still is a popular industry that children love to see.
Dolphins and a 'wholphin'
However, at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, there’s a very unique creature that inhabits its waters. They called her a wholphin.
Look at the photo above and look at the difference between the three kinds of mammals. The four are bottlenose dolphins while the other one on the left side of the photo is the first ever wholphin born in captivity.
Her name is Kekaimalu and she was born on May 15, 1985. She’s a hybrid between a False Killer Whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin that were both kept in captivity. She’s now a mother at Sea Life Park with a healthy baby girl wholphin that was born on December 23, 2004. She’s quite unique with that as well since hybrids are usually sterile, meaning they can’t give birth.
Kekaimalu, the wholphin
Here is a full body shot of Kekaimalu. As you can see, she’s quite big as compared to the other bottlenose dolphins. After all, one of her parents was a whale.
One other noticeable difference with Kekaimalu is her dark coloration. It’s easier to distinguish her from the other dolphins in the show because of her dark skin color.
Hybrids like Kekaimalu are considered rare however, other bottlenose dolphins have been known to mate with other species of dolphins, thus creating other hybrids.
Sea Life Park
41-202 Kalanianaole Hwy, Waimanalo, HI, United States
+1 808-259-2500
sealifeparkhawaii.com
