Khethiwe

Khethiwe is the youngest dolphin at uShaka Sea World. She was born on the 25^th of November 2008. She is learning very quickly and loves to play. Her favourite activity at the moment is to stick her tongue out at people who walk past and her favourite toy is a blue and white basket ball.

FACT: Baby dolphins are born with whiskers on either side of their rostrum (snout). These are used to aid them in swimming in their mother's slipstream while they learn to master their own swimming skills.

Discovering new sensations

Monday 15th March 2010 was a big day for young Khetiwe as she was introduced to “jelly” for the first time.

Gelatine is not only a lot of fun for the dolphins but forms a vital part of their medical training programme. If a dolphin is dehydrated for some reason, one of the best methods we can use to rehydrate them is to feed them gelatine. If they are accustomed to eating gelatine and look forward to playing with it in their mouths, then, when they need it, it's easy for us to administer.

To make Khetiwe feel comfortable, all the dolphins were given gelatine in three different fun colours. Eating gelatine is a totally different sensation to their usual fish and squid and, much like young children, dolphins like to play with it and squish it around in their mouths before swallowing. Little Khetiwe is now 16 months old and has firmly established herself as our little darling so we all gathered to watch her explore the sensation of jelly in her mouth for the first time. Khetiwe is an adventurous little dolphin and eagerly tries anything new. Sometimes she is successful and basks in the praise from the trainers and her mother Frodo, but when she doesn't get it right the first time she tries and tries again until she is sure she has it perfected.

However, she is still not brave enough to venture out into the main show pool and we will just have to wait a little longer until she is ready to meet guests to uShaka Sea World. It is hoped that by June 2010 you will be able to see this wonderful gift whose name means “The chosen one”.

Meeting new people.

Saturday 19th February 2011 was a big day for both little Khetiwe and Shannon Matcher. For Shannon under the banner of Reach for a Dream, meeting a dolphin was something she had hoped for and dreamt about. For little Khetiwe it was a big moment as she had never interacted with a member of public before and had just completed the necessary training in order to accept someone who was unfamiliar touching and feeding her.

I am not sure who enjoyed the session more, as Khetiwe participated enthusiastically and responded well to Shannon's signals and kisses. It was an honour for Khetiwe to be showered with Shannon's love and attention and I know that for young Shannon it was a special moment she well deserved and will cherish for years to come.

Khetiwe is a highly spirited young dolphin who is eager to learn new behaviours and was very pleased with herself and is now ready to meet special visitors to uShaka Sea World on a more regular basis.