An Interview With A Dolphin Trainer (SCAMPER)

Tommy Lai has one of the best jobs in the world---or at least he thinks so! He's a dolphin trainer at Ocean Park. Find out more about Tommy and his fascinating job in the interview below.

I (I = Interviewer): How did you become a dolphin trainer?
T(T= Tommy Lai): I saw an advertisement which is in South China Morning Post, x th May, 2003, Page C4. I thought it sounded like an unusual job so I applied. That was nearly five years ago.

I: What qualifications do you need to become a dolphin trainer?
T: (eliminate something) In the past, most of the trainers studied overseas. However, these days there are more graduates from local universities. I myself studied at the Chinese University. Also I think I am too handsome so I need to become a dolphin trainer for people to see me easily.

I: What does a dolphin trainer actually do?
T: Well, one obvious answer is train dolphins. However, we spend less time doing this than people think. Our main responsibility is to look after the dolphins--to make sure that they are happy and healthy. For example, the first thing I do every morning is to check their temperature and see that they are well enough. I also spend a lot of time feeding the dolphins, playing with them and cleaning the tanks. Dolphins are too playful. Also they are beautiful. This is a picture of me stroking and playing with my favorite dolphin, Carrie (substitute Toto). Carrie is very beautiful but it is different from others because it has legs. It can even walk and run (modify the dolphins that can just swim) in the ground like human.

I: How do you train a dolphin?
T: One of first tricks we teach the dolphins is to touch a stick with their mouth. That is the training stick over there. It's about half a metre long. You can see one in this photo too. They also learn other simple tricks such as shaking hands, touching the trainer's hands, singing and dancing. It takes time to learn tricks so the younger dolphins generally know fewer tricks than the older ones. One thing that is interesting. Although Dolphin Carrie is young, it has already knew all the tricks. That makes me surprised.

I: Would you recommend this job to other people
T: Yes, definitely. It's hard work but very rewarding.

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