By seeing marine animals live out their lives, we can develop a deeper understanding of them, inspiring continued support for conservation initiatives, and even nurturing a new generation of animals lovers.

Unfortunately, there are a number of unnatural ways to view marine animals including swimming with dolphins, yoga with belugas programs, and whale shows a la SeaWorld.

In these facilities, some natural behaviors might be present but mostly they are stifled. For example, dolphins typically swim up to 40 to 50 miles per day while orca whales can swim for up to 100 miles in a 24 hour period. However, in captivity, this type of exercise and stimulation is not possible. Instead, many of these highly intelligent creatures are confined to concrete boxes for the rest of their lives.

Captivity is not the way to experience marine animals. And unless you encounter a dolphin or whale while you’re on a boat or looking out at sea, it’s unlikely that you’ll see them in their natural habitat, living their lives as their meant to.

So instead of buying a ticket for a whale show or dolphin program, opt instead to go on a whale watching adventure, where you’ll see these animals being their wild, beautiful selves. Check out the video by VerBallenas below for a taste of this eye-opening experience.

Image source: lowjumpingfrog / Flickr