Dolphinaris Opening in Scottsdale October 15th

(Featured Photo: Facebook — Dolphinaris Arizona)

(Scottsdale, AZ) – Dolphinaris, one of the world’s leading providers of dolphin experiences, will open a world-class facility in Scottsdale, Arizona October 15, 2016. With more than 900,000 gallons of purified salt water in a huge lagoon, Dolphinaris Arizona is a “next generation” facility, offering an opportunity for visitors to engage with dolphins, learn about this amazing species, and be part of ocean conservation efforts.

Dolphinaris Arizona is located in the OdySea In The Desert Complex adjacent to the OdySea Aquarium on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community at Via de Ventura and the 101 in Scottsdale.

“All of us at Dolphinaris are excited to bring this state-of-the-art facility and extraordinary experience to Greater Phoenix,” says Dr. Grey Stafford, Dolphinaris Arizona General Manager.

Guests of all ages will have an opportunity to interact with bottlenose dolphins while learning more about marine mammals at the facility. Reservations can now be made online or by phone for three different types of experiences, ranging from 30 minutes to one hour. The Land Experience offers an opportunity to meet and interact with dolphins while remaining dry in a portion of the habitat featuring under water viewing panels and shallows that are uniquely suited for school groups. The Dolphin Swim Experience allows participants to get acquainted with dolphins in waist deep water. More adventurous guests can swim with the dolphins in deeper water with the Deluxe Dolphin Swim Experience. Prices range from $59 for a Land Experience, $149 for the Dolphin Swim Experience to $219 for the Deluxe Experience.

In the coming months, Dolphinaris Arizona will also provide a half-day Dolphin Trainer Experience, which provides those age 12 and up a more in-depth look into dolphin care, feeding, intelligence, and behavior alongside a Dolphinaris trainer.

As a federally licensed facility, Dolphinaris adheres to the highest national and international standards of dolphin care, and endeavors to not just meet but exceed standards set and enforced by the USDA. All the dolphins at Dolphinaris Arizona were born in U.S. licensed facilities and raised under human care. Trainers only use positive rewards such as toys and other forms of environmental enrichment to teach animals husbandry and other cooperative behaviors. Dolphinaris maintains a full time veterinarian on staff specifically trained in marine mammal medicine.

The company has gone to great lengths to ensure its dolphins are thriving in the Sonoran Desert. The water in the lagoon is cooled in the summer and warmed in the winter, keeping the dolphins and visitors a comfortable 75-80 degrees all year long. High-tech filtration ensures that the every one of the 900,000 gallons of water passes through filters about 16 times a day. The entire habitat was designed to provide animals with variety such as access to sun or shade, indoor or outdoor pools, and different social companions, for example.

Dolphinaris is currently home to 2 male and 3 female bottlenose dolphins. Experienced Dolphinaris trainers have been developing relationships with these dolphins for several months prior to coming to Arizona. “The dolphins have settled in well, they are eating fish, jumping, exploring the lagoon and exhibiting normal behaviors,” added Stafford.

The mission of Dolphinaris Arizona is to amaze, inspire and empower guests, encouraging them to become stewards of the oceans and its inhabitants, like the world’s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita. The vaquita or desert porpoise numbers fewer than 60 animals left, lives at the northern Gulf of California barely 50 miles from the Arizona border, and yet few people have ever heard of it. The company aspires to deepen respect for dolphins and the natural world, and encourage visitors to take actions, large and small, that can make a difference to species like the vaquita.
Dolphinaris operates a foundation, which works in partnership with several universities, providing an opportunity for students to study dolphin biology, physiology, behavior, medicine and conservation issues for marine life. The company also sponsors a conservation study that monitors the ecosystem of dolphin habitats in the wild and how changes in the environment affect the dolphins and other wildlife. A portion of sales at Dolphinaris Arizona will be donated to ocean and marine life conservation.

Dolphinaris Arizona looks forward to working with school groups, higher education facilities and community groups. The company is developing its role as a sponsor of the Make A Wish Foundation. Learn more and make a reservation atwww.DolphinarisAZ.com or by calling 480-407-5161.