Dolfinarium Harderwijk, better known as the Dolfinarium, is a

marine mammal park A marine mammal park (also known as marine animal park and sometimes oceanarium) is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the publ ...

Harderwijk Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands. It is served by the Harderwijk railway station. Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden. Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The south ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is the largest

in Europe. Visitor numbers were steady from 2005 to 2011, numbering between 700,000 and 800,000, with only the opening of new attractions responsible for a surge in numbers. In 2012 the Dolfinarium made €12 million in sales, which was around €2,4 million lower than the year before. This was mainly due to a decline in visitor numbers because of orca Morgan leaving the park, and the park temporarily closing down due to the start of construction at the end of the year.

History

In 1955 businessman Frits den Herder together with his brother Coen, the owner of a local shipping company and playground, started collecting sea mammals. They started by building a

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins pe ...

(in Dutch: dolfinarium). In 1965 the park was opened to the general public. The goal of the park according to Frits was to "make the Dutch population show respect for these most special and mythical sea mammals". In 1969 the characteristic dome was built, and in the year after opening the Dolfinarium welcomed one million visitors. In the seventies the Dolfinarium expanded its collection of animals and built more enclosures. In 1976 the Icelandic orca Gudrun was added to the collection. At the end of the decade the Dolfinarium started setting up dependencies abroad. As these dependencies did not have financial success, the Dolfinarium went bankrupt in 1982. At the insistence of the mayor of Harderwijk a new foundation was set up to continue the Dolfinarium and in 1984 the shares of the company were sold to a new owner. In 1987 Gudrun was sent to

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Or ...

. In 1989 the Dolfinarium once again changed hands and the new owner invested money in the building of new attractions. The largest of the constructions was the building of a lagoon in 1997, which cost around 12 million euro. In 2001 the Dolfinarium was bought by

Compagnie des Alpes Compagnie des Alpes () is a French company created in 1989 to operate many ski resorts in Europe. Compagnie des Alpes is a part of Caisse des dépôts et consignations. History Compagnie des Alpes was first established in 1989 as a ski resort ...

, which owns another amusement park in the Netherlands, Walibi Holland, and formerly owned . In 2005 the park underwent major renovation for the fiftieth anniversary of the park. During the boreal winter of 2012–2013, further renovations, including refurbishment of the old dome, were made. On 17 December 2014 the director of the Dolfinarium said that the ownership of the Dolfinarium would likely pass from Compagnie des Alpes to

Aspro Parks Aspro Parks (''Aspro Ocio Group'') is a Spanish leisure corporation that operates many water parks, amusement parks, aquariums as well as zoos, botanicals and dolphinariums across Europe. The company was founded in October 1991 in Spain, and is h ...

, with negotiations being in the final stages. In 2016 the Dolfinarium announced to decrease the number of dolphins at the park, citing that the population had gotten too large. It also announced a new playground for children. The number of visitors decreased to 586,300 in 2016. In 2018 the Dolfinarium opened a new attraction and turned a profit for the first time in five years.

Areas

The park is open each year from spring to autumn, with winter being reserved for maintenance. The park is divided into several areas for different

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

or wider groups of animals. The animals in some areas perform in shows. * Bruinvisbaai:

Harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

* DolfijndoMijn: Main show area for

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captiv ...

s. Set in the blue dome, which has a capacity of 2000 people. * Dolfijnendelta: Formerly known as the lagoon, this is the living area for common bottlenose dolphins, most dolphins live in this area, including the newborns. The area can also be observed from underwater (at the Onderwater Odiezee), which provides a 60 meter long glass wall, with the dolphins often coming close due to their curious nature. The aquarium holds 15 million liters of water. * Krabbenkust: Crabs, lobsters, sea anemone, fish. * Roggenrif:

Rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

s, European seabass, Thicklip grey mullet, other fish, crabs, lobsters, oysters, lugworms and sea anemone. * Stoere Stellerstek: Steller sea lion * Walrussenwal:

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...

, Walrus Igor lived here until he died in 2013. * Zeeleeuwenzee:

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...

* Zeehondenzand:

Harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...

and

Grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

* Zotte Zeeleeuwentheather: Show area for California sea lions. The park has numerous restaurants, shops and playgrounds and a beach located on lake Wolderwijd. An in-park hotel is planned.

Additional experiences

In cooperation with a foundation, the Dolfinarium offers therapeutic sessions with dolphins for children with autism or

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. Commercially it offers a program called "Sleeping with dolphins" for children aged 8–12.

SOS Dolfijn

SOS Dolfijn is an independent foundation based in the Dolfinarium dedicated to the saving of stranded porpoises, dolphins and whales. Porpoises (85%) are the most common patients at the recovery facilities in the Dolfinarium. The goal of saved animals is to let them recover and then release them into the wild again. If porpoises are deemed unfit to be released into the wild, they are sent to the Bruinvisbaai or to facilities at Ecomare on the island of

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

. In 2016 the cooperation between SOS Dolfijn and the Dolfinarium stopped, with SOS Dolfijn announcing it was looking for a new location.

Morgan

In 2010 the Dolfinarium attracted worldwide attention when young

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

Morgan was found exhausted and emaciated in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. She was rescued and sent for recovery at the Dolfinarium. After her recuperation opinions were split between those who wanted to return her to nature, and those who saw no chance of Morgan surviving in nature and thus wished her to go

Loro Parque Loro Parque (Spanish for "parrot park") or 'Loro Park' is a 135,000 m² (13.5 ha) zoo on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species. The park was conceived a ...

, Tenerife, Spain, where she could be better taken care of. The Dolfinarium wished to see Morgan go to the Loro Parque as well. Those who wished to see Morgan return to nature united in the Orca Coalition. Sentiments ran high and in the end a Dutch judge decided that Morgan should be transported to Loro Parque. Morgan was moved to Loro Parque on 29 November 2011. The Dutch police provided an escort from the Dolfinarium to

Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...

. The date of the transport had been kept secret as the city of Harderwijk feared confrontations between opposers of the transport and police. The city had issued an emergency ban on 'Free Morgan' protests. The costs to the Dolfinarium of the rescue, upkeep, and transport of Morgan to Spain were over €1 million.

Television

Dutch broadcaster

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

aired a show intended for children called Spetter! during 2006. The show was based around the dolphin called Spetter in the Dolfinarium. Spetter was the first dolphin born by artificial insemination in the Dolfinarium. While shooting the series, a plastic model of the dolphin was at times used so as to not exhaust the animal. A subsequent season called Spetter and the Romanov Mystery was aired by Jetix in 2007.

Tess Gaerthé Tess Gaerthé (born 21 August 1991), better known as simply Tess, is a Dutch singer and former child star. Gaerthé rose to fame as the Dutch representative at the third Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2005. Singing " Stupid", she finished in 7t ...

, Dutch contestant to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005, provided the titlesong for the second season. Re-runs of the Spetter series have been shown by different RTL channels. The airing of the Spetter series led to a higher number of visitors for the Dolfinarium.

References

External links

Website of the Dolfinarium
{{Zoos of the Netherlands Articles containing video clips