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“Visitors are missed by us and the animals,” says Olga Žalienė, director of the Lithuanian Maritime Museum. “The quarantine did not stop the museum and the dolphinarium, only without spectators, so we decided to show the spectators at least a part of what is happening in the dolphinarium.
Every Thursday, 2:30 pm The social network Facebook of the Lithuanian Maritime Museum will host live broadcasts from the “Virtual, but real” dolphinarium, during which you will not only see how dolphins live and what works during quarantine, but also you will also ask the animal trainer questions.
The dolphinarium is now home to 16 dolphins: Black Sea dolphins and five California sea lions. They are cared for by 15 trainers and two veterinarians.
Dolphin trainers who spend all day with these animals say that they are truly exceptional. Dolphins have no sense of smell, but just like humans, they feel different flavors: salinity, bitterness, sweetness, and acidity. Dolphins can be recognized in the mirror. Each dolphin in a swarm has a “name” and others call it that.
Sometimes scientists even joke that dolphins are like aliens living with us on the same planet: their echolocation system works so perfectly that it can determine in a water at a distance of 30 m if an object is metal, plastic or wood. We do not breathe reflexively as we do, but consciously. As a result, only half of their brains rest during sleep at a time.
Photo of the Maritime Museum / Dolphin Show
The Smiltyne dolphinarium was built shortly after the restoration of the independence of the Lithuanian state in 1993. The first five dolphins, Black Sea dolphins, were brought to Smiltyne from Sevastopol.
The reconstruction of the dolphinarium was carried out six years ago with the support of the European Union. The reconstructed dolphinarium spaces have been significantly expanded: not only a state-of-the-art Dolphin Therapy Center has been created, but also an outdoor pool with covered tiered spectators called Sun Bay, and the living space for the animals. increased several times. The water supplied to the dolphinarium basins from the Baltic Sea is constantly treated with mechanical, biological and ozone filters. Its quality is almost equal to that of drinking water, maintaining a temperature of 18 degrees throughout the day.
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