For many people, swimming with dolphins is a dream holiday activity – and a perfect photo opportunity to boot.
However, visitors to the US island state of Hawaii might soon be banned from doing just that over concerns human contact is making the animals tired and stressed.
The breed found in Hawaiian waters, the spinner dolphin, naturally lives a nocturnal lifestyle – hunting by night and resting during the day.
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However, the National Marine Fisheries Service fears the mammals' bodyclocks are being disrupted by the large amounts of companies taking tourists out to swim with them and that their natural playfulness – the very quality that makes them so attractive – is being replaced by a "chronic level of stress".
National Marine Fisheries Service official Ann Garrett said the repeated disturbance of tourist boats approaching dolphin pods has led to the creatures burning calories at a higher rate.
"All of these things can contribute to a reduction of fitness over time - this kind of chronic level of stress, that's what we're concerned about," she said.
Scientists says these stress levels might ultimately affect the population's ability to breed.
The proposed ban would extend for two nautical miles from the coast, covering around 98 per cent of the spinner dolphin population, Fox News reports. Swimmers would be required to stay 50 yards away from the animals at all times.
The move would be a significant blow to Hawaii's tourism industry as swimming with dolphins is one of its most popular attractions.
"While many people love the idea of swimming with wild dolphins, it is very difficult to ensure that it is not an intrusive or stressful experience for the dolphins involved," says the charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
"Disruption to feeding, resting, nursing and other behaviour may have a long-term impact on the health and well-being of individual dolphins and populations."
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