- Bottlenose dolphin
Dolphins are very popular animals – they (werden für … gehalten) are considered to be intelligent and friendly and they seem to play and smile all the time. There are almost 40 species of dolphins and watching them in their (natürliche Umgebung) natural environment is an (unvergessliche Erfahrung) unforgettable experience. However, the future of these (Meeressäuger) marine mammals is in danger. Amongst the many (Gefahren für) threats to dolphins are (Umweltverschmutzung) environmental pollution, (Lärmbelastung) noise pollution, (Zerstörung des Lebensraumes) habitat destruction and (industrielle Fischerei) industrial fishing: many dolphins die as (Beifang) bycatch in fishing nets or cannot find enough food (aufgrund von) due to (Überfischung) overfishing.
To protect dolphins from (Aussterben) extinction, the United Nations have (erklären zu) declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin. With this campaign, the United Nations want to (Menschen auf ... aufmerksam machen) make people aware of the many threats (hier: denen Delfine ausgesetzt sind) dolphins face. (Schirmherr) Patron of the Year of the Dolphin is Prince Albert II of Monaco. He says, “The Year of the Dolphin gives me the opportunity to renew my firm (Engagement, Verpflichtung) commitment towards protecting marine (Artenvielfalt) biodiversity. With this strong initiative we can (etwas verändern können) make a difference to save these fascinating marine mammals from the brink of extinction.”
Throughout the year, there will be lots of projects and initiatives. You will surely find information on the official pages or on the pages of some of the partners of the Year of the Dolphin, e.g. the WDCS or TUI. But also smaller organisations (sich widmen) are committed to the protection of whales and dolphins, for example the Swiss foundation firmm. In Tarifa, Spain, firmm offers courses for everyone who wants to learn about dolphins and watch them in their natural environment. In Morocco, the foundation is building a Dolphin Resort where stranded marine mammals will (gepflegt werden) be cared for and where (gefangene Delfine) captive dolphins from zoos and dolphin centres can spend their (Lebensabend) old age in a (natürliche Umgebung) natural habitat.