Särkänniemi dolphins shun new pool

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The dolphins at the Särkänniemi amusement park in Tampere have so far refused to enter a new pool that has been built for them.
      One of the dolphins, Näsi, has advanced a few centimetres up the passage toward the new enclosure, but Veera, the dominant animal, refuses to even look in the direction of the more spacious accommodation.
      They feel quite at home in the performance pool, even though the dolphinarium at Särkänniemi has been closed to the public for two summers.
      "Dolphins are known to have behaved in the same way in other aquariums when construction has caused noise", says Kai Mattson, head trainer of the dolphin exhibit.
     
Särkänniemi has spent EUR 6 million on a refurbishment project to the dolphinarium, which was originally built in 1980.
      The pool space for the dolphins has doubled, and the number of spectator seats has also been increased to 1,000.
      The glass barrier between the pool and the audience is lower than before. The splash zone - the first three rows where people can expect to get wetter than in other places, are painted blue.
     
With the dolphin exhibit out of commission, Särkänniemi has attracted about 640,000 visitors each summer season.
      Now, with the dolphins, the aquarium, the planetarium, and the 33 rides available, the park expects more people.
      However, there has been a decline in bookings for school field trips. On the other hand, there have been more cases in which entire school classes have shown up at the ticket booths without advance notification.
     
There have been attempts to get the dolphins to explore their more spacious pool ever since the autumn, when the work was completed.
      "Veera is the leader, and one reason might be that her pregnancy test was positive", says head trainer Kai Mattson. A new dolphin is expected in the autumn.
      Dolphins Veera, Näsi, and Delfi came to the dolphinarium in 1986. Leevi and Evertti were born in Tampere.
      Under EU norms the pools would have capacity for triplets, if necessary.


Links:
  Särkänniemi Dolphinarium

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