A Day with Navy Dolphins in San Diego

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First stop before I leave for Korea is San Diego, California to visit my buddy Jack from college and to see my buddy Justin who is living and working in Los Angeles right now. Jack is currently working for a program that trains dolphins and sea lions for the Navy. One of his friends out in San Diego is allowed to have friends and family come out to the Navy Base to actually see and play with the dolphins up close. This isn't a Hawaiian dolphin tour where you can suit up and swim with docile dolphins in a small clear blue estuary. This is a private tour to see how smart and useful dolphins can be when they receive US Military Training.

The pier isn't crowded when we arrive so Jack's friend actually lets Jack give the commands to the dolphin since Jack trains other dolphins with the same commands. You may be impressed when you go to your friend's house and he gets Rover to shake and roll over. But you haven't seen anything until you go to your friend's house and he makes a dolphin shake, roll over, do jumps out of the water, speak, and stand out of the water pushing its snout into your extended hand. Oh yeah, and you haven't played fetch until you've played it with a dolphin and a lid to a bucket. That thing swam right to it, positioned it in front of its nose, pushed it under water to get a good angle to swim all the way back up to the surface in front of me to lift the bucket lid out of the water into my hands. Unbelievable!

Justin and I had an awesome time with Jack and a couple of his friends playing with these dolphins up close. They were even nice enough to allow Justin and I give the dolphin some commands. I'll tell you what - I am a natural dolphin trainer.

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Photos

Trainer Jack
Jack was teaching us about how to tell that it was a female.

Nose in Hand
Look at the expression of disbelief on Justin's face in the background.

Playing Fetch with Dolphin
Look at the concentration of the dolphin watching me throw the bucket lid.

Jumping Dolphin
It's as simple as a giving a hand command to make this happen.

Jumping Dolphin Upside Down
This one is not quite as simple as a hand command. This dolphin was an amazing jumper!

Jumping Dolphin Upside Down2
He was able to do spins and flips in the air when he jumped out of the water. It was unbelievable!