The Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris: Effects of tourism.

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behavior. Constantine (1995) also found that responses to different tour boat approach
strategies varied by species.
Aggressive and sexual behaviors performed by dolphins and directed towards
swimmers have been documented in both captive (Samuels and Spradlin 1994, Frohoff
and Packard 1995) and wild dolphins (Lockyer 1990, Bloom 1991, Shane 1993,
Dudzinski et al. 1995, Santos 1995, Seideman 1997). Defecation, the creation of
bubble trains, jaw clapping, and head wagging in proximity of swimmers have all been
interpreted as aggressive displays made by captive marine mammals. Interpretation of
"annoyance" which leads to direct aggression, is difficult to measure, with differences
occurring even among researchers with vast experience (Heimlich-Boran and Heimlich-
Boran 1995). This point is exemplified by interpretations of a video tape of a
Hawai’ian pilot whale interacting with a swimmer, where aggressive playfulness and
sexual intentions were interpreted by different viewers as the intent of the male whale
as it dragged the female human underwater (Shane 1995).
In a study of captive "swim with the dolphin" programs in the United States,
Samuels and Spradlin (1994) found that high risk activities (such as aggressive or
sexual behaviors performed by dolphins and directed towards swimmers) comprised as
much as 61% of dolphin-swimmer social time during non-controlled swims.
Submissive behavior displayed by dolphins during dolphin-swimmer social time was
also considered to be a high risk activity because in the wild, this type of behavior is
commonly elicited by aggression, and therefore, a part of agonistic interactions
(Samuels and Spradlin 1994). Aggressive behaviors of captive marine mammals have
resulted in injury and, in one instance, death when a trainer was pinned to the bottom by