Dolphin City: Chennai’s dolphinarium that shaped national debate on marine mammal captivity over 25 years ago

In the late 1990s, Chennai briefly hosted what was projected as a futuristic entertainment experiment — a dolphinarium on the East Coast Road near Mamallapuram. Named Dolphin City, the facility promised an experience modelled on American marine theme parks such as SeaWorld, by introducing captive dolphin shows to Indian audiences for the first time.

Within months, the spectacle turned into controversy as all the three dolphins died, setting off one of the country’s earliest debates on the ethics of marine mammal captivity.