When COVID Ended Basketball, Swarthmore Player Turned to Dolphins

By

Julian Levin works with a dolphin at the National Aquarium in Baltimore
Image via Charles Fox, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Julian Levin works with one of the dolphins at the National Aquarium.

When the pandemic took away Swarthmore College basketball for the season, player Julian Levin decided to go swimming, writes Mike Jensen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

With dolphins, actually.

With his newfound free time, Levin, a bio major, decided to apply for an internship at the National Aquarium in Baltimore or the National Zoo.

Next thing he knew, Levin was meeting some dolphins.

Levin spent a three month internship at the Dolphin Discovery area at the aquarium.

Chesapeake was his partner, oldest of six dolphins there among four females and two males.

He was surprised how involved the training became.

 “The dolphins have learned well over 60 behaviors,” he said.

“There’s a ton that goes on behind the scenes,” Levin said. “We’re in charge of their entire well-being.”

 “It’s a maternal society,” Levin said. “The females sort of run the structure.”

Trainers have to build trust at first, and the dolphins will test you.

“They’re incredibly smart. You’re having a conversation with the dolphins, in-depth. No words uttered. You can tell from their looks — it’s truly a conversation back and forth. Getting to see it behind the scenes is truly mind-blowing.”

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about Levin’s dolphin experience.

This National Aquarium video talks about the relationships with the dolphins and efforts to find them a sanctuary.

Join Our Community

Never miss a Delaware County story!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
DT Yes
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement