Dolphin Encountours Research Center

Structured wild dolphin swim programs were initiated in PDO by Dolphin Encountours during the mid 90‘s after regular visits by founder Angie Gullan confirmed the residency of bottlenose dolphins in the four lower bays of Mozambique.

Following her love for the dolphins, the global trend of ‘swimming with dolphins’ & SA’s ban of the activity, PDO was earmarked as a prime location to establish relations with this particular species, offering a sheltered, quite bay where dolphins were regularly observed. During 1999 Angie met Bo, a young female who took in-water encounters to the next level. So saw the birth of circle swimming and conscious interaction between dolphin and man in Ponta, with interactions sometimes lasting as long as an hour.

High ethical practice together with scientifically beneficial baseline data collection was set as standard operating procedure as a means of creating a sustainable & educational program that contributed to research & conservation while facilitating in-water encounters. The project was supervised by Africa's leading whale & dolphins experts and created a consistent platform for data collection which resulted in the creation of the DolphinCare Data bank and Code of Conduct.

The project has meticulously collected and stored data, imagery and in-water observations of the dolphins and other marine megafauna that frequent the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve with the aim of assessing population numbers, calf mortality rates, tourism impacts, conscious and inter-species interaction.

In 2010 the project suffered a major loss with a fire that destroyed the Dolphin Center and Base Camp. Dolphin has however continued to operate against all odds - For the Love of Dolphins!

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Diana Kumst +27 82 300-8117