Introduction: Connection with nature and the beneficial role of wildlife in contributing to human wellbeing has been discussed and researched. The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of interaction between people and wild dolphins, to examine how such interactions contribute to human wellbeing.
Methodology: Narratives from eight people (5 female, 3 male; 17 to 73 years old) who have experienced intense close encounters with dolphins were collected through semi-structured interviews (June 2015 to April 2016). The audio recordings ran from 22 to 69 minutes. An interview guide framed the participants’ interviews, as they described and reflected upon their encounters with wild dolphins. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis provided idiographic, inductive and interrogative interpretation of these experiences. The interviews were transcribed into NVivo 11, coded (cumulative coding and integrative coding) to develop concept clusters, subthemes, and themes, and were cross checked by two other researchers.
Main Results: The theme of ‘Relationships and Connectedness’ emerged as the dominant concept theme. The narratives describe strong emotional connections, articulated through contact with dolphins, which translate into positive senses of emotion and wellbeing. The human-dolphin experience fulfills aspects of the human need for connection and relationships; such experiences promote human wellbeing and conservation behaviour. The emotional and experiential conditions are contextualised through (i) ongoing relationships with nature, and (ii) a valuing of the importance of lifelong connection with wildlife, to ensure that people see themselves as part of the natural world.
Principal Conclusions and implications This research demonstrates that: (i) people can develop strong and ongoing connections with nature and wildlife; and (ii) that such contact can fulfill aspects of the human need for connection and relationship, in turn promoting wellbeing. The dolphin encounters are signifiers of wider social relationships, both with nature and with people. Such connection may encourage people to incorporate nature and wildlife into their lives by positive and sustained nature contact. Such action may, in turn, encourage human responsibility for care of nature and wildlife.