Special Features
Dubai Dolphins
“There is something amazing about seeing dolphins,”. “They’re really incredible-looking animals. If you saw one in the wild, you would definitely get the buzz — they are so big and so sleek.” That comes from Oz McMalik, a marine life lover and regular sea surfer in Dubai.Dubai Municipality had announced a unique Dhs205 million project, called Dubai Marine World that will offer both knowledge and entertainment to Dubai’s residents and visitors. The project, undertaken in cooperation with the private sector, forms part of the civic body’s initiative to involve private firms in setting up various long-term investment projects in the emirate. In addition to that, Dubai Marine World will actively seek to be a contributing member of society. It will work together with those institutions and programs that offer helpful activities to the physically & mentally challenged.
The first phase of Dubai Marine World shall be the Dubai Dolphinarium project. This project shall be built over a land of 4900 square meters and with an investment cost of approximately Dhs33 million.
Another program is swimming with dolphins, which will allow people to swim supervised for 10-30 minutes in a group or as an individual with a dolphin, they can also try to be pulled by a dolphin and experience talking with dolphins. Excursions shall be organized by experienced skippers, offering people the possibility to head out for a day trip to watch dolphins. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about these amazing creatures and will learn about the six species of dolphins, which can be found in and around the GCC waters.
The UAE’s two commonest dolphins are bottle-nosed dolphins and hump-backed dolphins — easy distinguished from each other by the shape of their backs.
Here are some quick facts: Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ) Description: Largest of the dolphins. In the UAE, some have been measured to be a little under 3m in length. Even from a fair distance, one may notice the robust head and relatively short and stubby beak, from which this dolphin gets its name.
Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris ) Description: The spinner dolphin is usually less than 2m in length, with a long, slender beak. The dark black back and top of the head are separated from the distinct white belly by a broad grey flank band. A dark stripe runs from the flipper to the eye.
However, McMalik certainly prefers to get his Flipper-fix in the outdoors. “If people want to see dolphins the best way is to go out to sea,” he says. “When the waves get up in Abu Dhabi you see them quite regularly. It’s an incredible feeling. You’re out there having a great time playing in the waves and so are they.”
