Happy Birthday Ric O’Barry!

Today, October 14th 2014, Ric O’Barry is celebrating his 75th birthday. His name first became known in the 1960’s when he captured and trained the dolphins for the first oceanarium in the United States, Miami Seaquarium. On September 19th 1964, he introduced the world to dolphins via a television show called “Flipper“. The show ran until April 15th 1967, and everyone fell in love with the dolphins smile. After one of the dolphins who played Kathy died while Ric O’Barry watched, he vowed to change public opinion about the captivity of these sentient beings. On Earth Day 1970, he founded the Dolphin Project which educates the public about captivity and does what they can to help captive dolphins. Ric has rescued and released over 25 captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, the Bahamas, and the United States. He is the author of 3 books, Behind the Dolphin Smile, To Free a Dolphin, and Die Bucht. In 2009, he was featured in the Academy Award winning documentary “The Cove” about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.

Ric still continues to travel around the world helping dolphins after over 40 years. He was just in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month, he was in Taiji in September, and he will be in London in November… and who knows where in between! Wherever a dolphin needs him to be,  he goes. We here at MojaveDolphins.com think that it is time that the activists “born” from Ric’s movement give back to Ric O’Barry and the dolphins. Ric is only one person, and there are hundreds of facilities with thousands of dolphins stored in various conditions and environments worldwide. We want you to take this challenge for Ric O’Barry’s birthday. Look up all the dolphinariums that are in your country, and then focus on the ones closest to you. Research about them. How are the dolphins kept? Is it inside or outside? How long has the facility been open? How many dolphins have died vs how many are still alive? Where do the dolphins come from? Is there a movement to bring awareness to them? What can you do to help those dolphins?

You don’t have to be an expert or someone with plenty of dolphin knowledge to get something started. I was 23 years old with no marine biology background when I began getting things going for Mojave Dolphins. All you need is passion and dedication for seeing cetaceans being treated fairly and given the freedom they deserve. You learn as you go, and you meet a lot of beautiful like-minded people along the way. One person can make a difference. Don’t be afraid to be a voice for the voiceless. Lets make Ric O’Barry proud by supporting the movements to save the dolphins globally. Your involvement is needed now more than ever.