Monkey Mia
Close encounters with Dolphins
AUSTRALIA
As we continue our journey from Darwin to Perth, we have been completely blown away by the beautiful landscapes, the pristine beaches and the abundance of wildlife. Every turn seems to be something new to explore. We heard about Monkey Mia and its visitor center and weren't sure what to expect as we headed there early in the morning.
The location said that they do dolphin feeding and participants would be selected from the crowd. We arrived just after 7:30 am as the first feeding was listed to be around 8 am. There is a entrance fee of $15 per adult. After our morning experience, I can confidently say that you do not want to miss this unique dolphin experience.
One of the dolphins had a calf with them. After the feeding they hung out for a few more minutes and we were able to get some pictures as they stayed near the beach.
Before our trip to Western Australia, Monkey Mia was completely unknown to us. Now, we're eager to return and explore more of the surrounding area. Happy exploring!
We were excited as 4 adult dolphins appeared just off the beach. The park personnel had buckets with 3 fish each and so we had a potential of 12 chances to be selected to help feed the dolphins. The first and second round we weren't picked and then on the last and final round Janet was pointed to, and was very enthusiastic to be selected to help feed the dolphin. The staff have you wade into the water up to about knee deep and present the fish to the dolphin just slightly in the water. After feeding her dolphin, it stuck around to get a good look at Janet and posed for a photo.
Promptly at 8 am, a park ranger showed up at the beach with a bucket of fish and began the presentation. The wild Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins have been visiting Monkey Mia since the 1960s. The close interactions with these wild dolphins have been crucial in providing researchers with valuable insights into their ecology, genetics, and social structures.
When we were there, one of the dolphins had a fin injury from a run in with a shark. Included in the fish being fed to that dolphin were some antibiotics to assist with healing. Each dolphin had a name and was known by the biologists and staff. During the presentation we were told that the amount of fish fed to each of the dolphins was specific to each dolphin to ensure that it was less than 10% of their diet. This was to make sure that they continue to forage naturally and not become dependent on the feeding.
