Dolphin Reef is a horseshoe-shaped sea-pen where bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Eilat in the northern-eastern Red Sea near the city of Eilat in southern Israel swim in and out of. It is a major tourist attraction in this area.
The Dolphin Reef opened its doors in 1990. The site is home to Black Sea bottlenose dolphins that are not trained to perform and there are no dolphin shows, but they are able to interact freely with human visitors. The dolphins, known for their curiosity and friendliness, approach the observation posts and floating piers, and swim alongside the people who snorkel and dive there. [1]
The sea-pen covers an area of 10,000 sq.m. enclosed with buoyed nets. It is an average of 12 meters deep. [2] The eastern side has a steeply sloping wall profile, giving way to a sandy slope. Many species of fish can be found in the area. Angelfish, butterflyfish, cuttlefish, bluespotted and blackspotted stingrays are common.
The Dolphin Reef Dive Center offers individual and group diving tours, as well as special therapy sessions for the disabled and seminars on animal and dolphin behavior.
Eilat, or Umm Al-Rashrash sometimes in Arabic, is Israel's southernmost city with a population of 52,299, a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The city is considered a tourist destination for domestic and international tourists heading to Israel.
The Gulf of Aqaba or Gulf of Eilat is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and the Burrunan dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin tursio (dolphin) and truncatus for their characteristic truncated teeth.
The common dolphin is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media. However, the common dolphin is often depicted in Ancient Greek and Roman art and culture, most notably in a mural painted by the Greek Minoan civilization.
Sharm El Sheikh is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 73,000 as of 2015. Sharm El Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt's South Sinai Governorate, which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, St. Catherine and Mount Sinai. The city and holiday resort is a significant centre for tourism in Egypt, while also attracting many international conferences and diplomatic meetings.
The false killer whale is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus Pseudorca. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly frequents tropical regions. It was first described in 1846 as a species of porpoise based on a skull, which was revised when the first carcasses were observed in 1861. The name "false killer whale" comes from the similar skull characteristics to the killer whale.
The Atlantic spotted dolphin is a dolphin found in the Gulf Stream of the North Atlantic Ocean. Older members of the species have a very distinctive spotted coloration all over their bodies.
The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin is the most well-known species of the family Delphinidae.
A military marine mammal is a cetacean or pinniped that has been trained for military uses. Examples include bottlenose dolphins, seals, sea lions and belugas. The United States and Soviet militaries have trained and employed oceanic dolphins for various uses. Military dolphins have been trained to rescue lost naval swimmers or to swim head first into active deep sea mines.
Discovery Cove is a theme park owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and located in Orlando, Florida. It is the sister park of SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando. Visitors to the park can interact with a range of marine animals including bottlenose dolphins.
Sodwana Bay is a bay in South Africa on the KwaZulu Natal north coast, between St. Lucia and Lake Sibhayi. It is in the Sodwana Bay National Park, and the Maputaland Marine Reserve, and is a popular recreational diving destination. The term is commonly used to refer to both the marine reserve and the terrestrial park, as well as the geographical bay.
The Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center (IMMRAC) is an Israeli non-profit organization dedicated to the study and conservation of cetacean populations that inhabit the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat.
Yoseftal Medical Center is a hospital in Eilat, Israel.
Eilat's Coral World Underwater Observatory is a public aquarium, park and conservation center located in Eilat, Israel. It is the biggest public aquarium in Israel, and it hosts over 800 species. It was founded in 1974 and was the first of its kind. The park and aquarium is located to the south of Eilat's Coral Beach nature reserve.
Eilat's Coral Beach Nature Reserve and Conservation area is a nature reserve and national park in the Red Sea, near the city Eilat in Israel. It covers 1.2 kilometers of shore, and is the northernmost shallow water coral reef in the world. It is popular for diving and research, and was founded by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. At the southernmost point of the nature reserve there is the Coral World Underwater Observatory, the largest public aquarium in the Middle East. It was listed as one of the New York Times Places to Go in 2019.
Dolphin Reef is an American nature documentary film about dolphins directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey and narrated by Natalie Portman. It is the fourteenth nature documentary to be released under the Disneynature label. The film was released theatrically on March 28, 2018 in France under the title Blue with actress Cécile de France providing narration.
The Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area is an inshore marine protected area around the Cape Peninsula, in the vicinity of Cape Town, South Africa. It was proclaimed in Government Gazette No. 26431 of 4 June 2004 in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998.
The Goukamma Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region near Knysna in the territorial waters of South Africa
The Hluleka Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa
Coordinates: 29°30′55″N34°55′34″E / 29.51528°N 34.92611°E
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