Thursday, July 9, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Eden meets baby dolphin she named By STAFF WRITER ~ Nassau Guardian: Eden Cox, a student at Xavier's Lower School student, got the opportunity to meet Clifton, the baby dolphin she named, at Dolphin Encounters on Blue Lagoon Island. Meeting face-to-face, Eden enjoyed petting, feeding, dancing and learning about Clifton and his marine mammal family. "It was really exciting meeting Clifton, he is so cute," said Eden. "He is very smart and I think that his name suits him. I am happy that I chose it." Before her entire school last month, the nine year-old learned that she was the winner of the Dolphin Encounters Baby Naming contest, and that her name was selected from more than 1,000 entries by students throughout the country. Eden's winning submission "Clifton," in honor of the Clifton Heritage, was chosen as the name of the youngest member of the Dolphin Encounters dolphin family. As part of her prize, Eden and her fourth grade class also received a visit to Dolphin Encounters where they participated in an educational Dolphin adventure program and enjoyed learning about marine mammals and the environment in which they live. Eden and her class met and interacted with a few of Clifton's older relatives in a close encounter program. The students also visited the sea lion family, participated in educational activities and enjoyed the lagoon beach. The highlight, however, was meeting the dolphins. "Our class had a wonderful time together with the dolphins," said Eden. "We also learned a lot about what they eat and what they can do." "I learned that dolphins can jump very high, up to 25 feet," said Mechelle Moss, a fourth grade classmate of Eden. Another classmate, Keishana Knowles added, "Dolphins have bones in their pectoral fins that look like the bones in our hands — I never knew that. We had a great time and we are all very happy for Eden and are glad that we also got to come with her to meet Clifton and his family." "It was our pleasure having Eden and her class visit Dolphin Encounters," said Robert Meister, managing director at Dolphin Encounters. "So many great names were sent from students on many islands. Clifton has received a wonderful name and we are happy that Eden and her class got to meet him." Since 1989, Dolphin Encounters, located on idyllic Blue Lagoon Island just three miles off Nassau, Bahamas, has offered visitors a unique opportunity to interact with friendly Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, including the internationally famous "Flipper." Home to dolphins, ranging in age from eight months to 42 years-old and six California sea lions, including Milo — the first baby sea lion born in The Bahamas — Blue Lagoon is a private island with an all natural ocean habitat for the animals. A non-profit element of the marine park, Dolphin Encounters - Project B.E.A.C.H. (Bahamas Education Association for Cetacean Health) was developed in close consultation with the Bahamas Department of Education, the National Science Teachers Association and BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation). To date, thousands of local students and teachers have benefited from its innovative, on-site and classroom programs. For more information about Dolphin Encounters and its native dolphin family and sea lions, visit www.dolphinencounters.com or call 242-363-3250 (general inquiries) or 242-363-1003 (reservations). Or become a fan of Dolphin Encounters on Facebook.com. Monday, June 15,2009