Dreamer the Dolphin trends on social media – How to engage safely with marine mammals    

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, August 1, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos is trending on TikTok with millions of views pouring in, this time the buzz is thanks to vlogger Emma Burnze (@eburnze) and her adventures with local dolphin Dreamer.

Emma and her partner Kit live in the Turks and Caicos currently and have struck up a friendship with Dreamer which includes antics from calmly swimming to intense bouts of fetch.

She’s documented and shared quite a bit of their journey via the video based social media app TikTok and Dreamer now has quite a fan base.

It may be more accurate to say an extended fan base as Dreamer isn’t any old dolphin! Locals believe she’s the offspring of another famous TCI dolphin, Jojo, who was loved and remembered for his friendliness and eagerness to swim around humans. Like father, like child it seems.

In another heartwarming twist to the story, Kit is keeping it in the family as his mother used to swim with Jojo when she was younger! In her video Emma explains that Kit has been swimming with Dreamer for about 5 years and the gorgeous animal returns to swim with them often.

Surprisingly lots of commenters on the videos which racked up 2 million views in two days, seem to recognize not only Dreamer but Jojo!

“Is that JOJO THE DOLPHIN!!!???” One asked?

“This is Dreamer, a wild resident Dolphin of Turks & Caicos. He is playful and conditioned to people. Always use caution with wild dolphins,” another said.

“We met Dreamer when we were there too! She raced our boat!” another chimed in.

While the sight seems downright adorable, Magnetic Media encourages residents and visitors not to approach wild dolphins in the ocean.

We checked with the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources to find out exactly how residents and visitors should approach these smart marine animals.

They say swimming with them is fine but that comes with a lot of stipulations. The first bit of advice is absolutely no touching! PLEASE observe with your eyes not your hands for your safety and the animals.

They also say

• Just FLOAT! When you are near marine mammals the best is to just float. They will come near you if they want to. Show respect by just floating.
• Do not splash with your arms or legs excessively.
• Do not try to touch them, under any circumstances. Dolphins, in particular, are very loving and affectionate with each other but that doesn’t mean they want to be touched by a human, any human. No matter how much love you have for them, it is disrespectful to touch them.
• Do not free dive into their space: this is for your safety and theirs.
• Do not dive down towards a resting group of marine mammals. If you dive down towards them and they haven’t noticed you, while resting, they will wake up and get startled. They need to sleep to function right, please don’t dive down towards them.
• Do not feed them.
• Do not begin interaction or play games with dolphins. Wild dolphins like to play games with each other. Dolphins do not initiate this game with a human, it is the humans who start the interaction. Let’s be observers and be content with it.

With these safety rules and much more in place, we can not only enjoy the sight of breathtaking marine mammals but respect their space and safety as well leading to a beautiful fulfilling experience!

You can see Emma’s videos at @eburnze and find the DECR recommendations on their site https://www.gov.tc/decr/