Word: manati
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...Manati Park in the Dominican Republic, one of the world's most controversial facilities, techno music blares from two large speakers as five dolphins bounce balls and beach themselves on concrete for $7 photo ops. Then the contact sport begins. To the strains of a Celine Dion ballad, a girl douses her hands and feet in disinfectant and grabs hold of dolphin Vicki's pectoral fins. Vicki pulls her passenger along the length of the 10-yd. by 17-yd. pool and returns to the trainer for a reward--two pieces of fish. Vicki then swims up to a group...
These meet-and-greets present risks to all parties involved. Dr. Santiago Gallo, a gastroenterologist who has treated dolphins in Mexico, reports cases in which dolphins have swallowed keys, a swimming cap and even a disposable diaper. Worse, critics charge that several dolphins have died prematurely at Manati because of toxic waters. Responds Javier Moreno, the owner of Manati: "If there are deaths, this is not a surprise. These are animals. There is a cycle of life. They die. They are born." He plans to expand the facility and add five dolphins to the roster next year...
...come by, since swim programs are not required to report human injuries. But a 1995 study in the U.S. found that dolphins, particularly those in unstructured swim-with programs, occasionally acted aggressively toward humans. The British-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society claims it has witnessed three encounters at Manati that endangered humans...
Still, in the past five or 10 years researchers have managed to uncover a number of key sites, including the monument-strewn ruins of Teopantecuanitlan in the Mexican state of Guerrero, and the sacred shrine at El Manati, whose murky springs yielded the first examples of wooden Olmec statuary and the earliest known evidence of child sacrifice in Mesoamerica. Heat and hardship notwithstanding, the prospect of understanding the still shrouded origins of Mesoamerican civilization--and the haunting beauty of the items on display at the National Gallery--makes it all seem worthwhile...
...largest producer, was reorganized last February as Cuban Atlantic. Francisco Sugar's 7½ bonds (in default) have jumped from 23? on the dollar to 44? since the year end. Certificates of deposit for Camaguey's 7% bonds soared from 2½? on the dollar to 12?. Manati's preferred stock climbed from $4 per share to $10. Cuban-American, one of the island's big companies still solvent, has watched its preferred double in value...