I found this editorial on CNN.com about dolphins and why their smiles aren’t really smiles to be fascinating, heartbreaking, and an opinion that should be shared,

… the smiles you see on these animals are not true reflections of happiness. In actuality, they hate to be enclosed in their holding tanks and are often not fed until it is time to perform their daily routines. During his time as a trainer, [Ric] O’Barry learned dolphins had true feelings — they would get depressed, stressed out, even suicidal. In some parks, the trainers have to give the animals Maalox and Tagamet to treat the ulcers that develop from their stress.

Sad. I feel some guilt that I’ve been one of millions of people who’ve gone to these sea shows to watch dolphins and other sea creatures perform.