Bali hosts first centre to return captive dolphins to the wild

Bottlenose dolphins Rocky and Rambo are seen as Femke Den Haas cleans a net, after they were relocated at the Bali Dolphin Sanctuary rehabilitation centre in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia December 10, 2019. Picture taken December 10, 2019. Courtesy of Tim Calver/Ric O'Barry's DolphinProject.net/Handout via REUTERS

Just a year ago, Rambo was confined to a shallow, chlorinated pool in an Indonesian hotel on the island of Bali entertaining visitors from around the world by jumping through hoops.

Now, the bottlenose dolphin is swimming freely after being brought to what organisers say is the world's first permanent rehabilitation centre under a project initiated by Bali's government and animal rights groups.

People prepare a bottlenose dolphin Dewa to move to Bali Dolphin Sanctuary rehabilitation centre, a project initiated by Bali provincial government and operated by Ric O'Barry's dolphin project team, in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia October 8, 2019. Courtesy of Johannes P. Christo/Ric O'Barry's DolphinProject.net/Handout via REUTERS

"It's a model. It can be duplicated. And we're trying to do that in Europe as well, in Italy and in Crete," said Ric O'Barry, an animal activist and founder of the Dolphin Project, the charity that runs the centre.

With the help of Indonesian authorities, activists rescued four dolphins last year and brought them to the centre in a bay on the tropical island for treatment.

"It's more stressful for dolphins in captivity than any other animal we'll see at the zoo," said O'Barry, who was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" about the capture and slaughter of dolphins in Japan.

Bottlenose dolphins Johnny and Dewa are seen at the Bali Dolphin Sanctuary rehabilitation centre, a project initiated by Bali provincial government and operated by Ric O'Barry's dolphin project team, in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia October 8, 2019. Courtesy of Ric O'Barry's DolphinProject.net/Handout via REUTERS

More than 3,000 dolphins are in captivity around the world as part of an entertainment industry that generates up to $5.5 billion annually, a 2019 report by World Animal Protection says.

Returning dolphins to the wild depends on their health and ability to catch food and interact with other dolphins.

"Often they switch off the sonar when they are kept in captivity, so that's one of the main tasks of the team here to prepare them for their life in the wild," said Femke Den Haas, who runs the rehabilitation centre.

People prepare a bottlenose dolphin to move to Bali Dolphin Sanctuary rehabilitation centre, a project initiated by Bali provincial government and operated by Ric O'Barry's dolphin project team, in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia October 8, 2019. Courtesy of Ric O'Barry's DolphinProject.net/Handout via REUTERS

Dolphins use sonar to navigate in the ocean and also to communicate with each other.

For O'Barry, 80, who in the past trained dolphins used in the TV series "Flipper" before his change of heart, opening the Bali sanctuary is another step on a goal to end captivity. 

"There are hundreds of activists working on this issue now. When I started doing this 50 years ago, people thought I was crazy," said O'Barry, who was speaking from Denmark.

(Additional reporting by Sarah Mills in LONDON; Writing by Angie Teo and Ed Davies; Editing by Gareth Jones)