Cindy (dolphin)

Cinderella (c.1975–June 18, 2006), though more commonly just called Cindy, was a male bottle-nosed dolphin that made international headlines for an unofficial marriage to a woman.

Marriage

Cindy was taken in 1990 from the Black Sea to the Dolphin Reef dolphinarium in Eilat, Israel, in the Gulf of Aqaba. There, he was seen by British woman Sharon Tendler during a show. Tendler continued visiting for 15 years before she requested permission for the "wedding" in 2005. Permission was granted and the ceremony was held on December 28 of that year. It began with the 41-year-old Tendler walking down the dock in a white silk dress and a pink tiara towards the water where 30-year-old Cindy was waiting. She kissed him and fed him fish, and at the end of the ceremony was thrown into the water. Tendler stated that "the peace and tranquility under water, and his love, would calm me down," and that she loved him.

Media portrayal

Though the media painted a more romantic picture of the event, Tendler herself admitted that the marriage had no legal standing and that the ceremony was, in her own words, "a bit of fun" after her friends joked about her being single at the age of 41.

The marriage was non-exclusive. Cindy was the father of all of the dolphins born in the area, and Tendler kept open the option of "marrying human", but was strictly a "one dolphin woman". As Cindy is normally a woman's name, it has been mistakenly stated that the marriage was a same-sex marriage. After three weeks of poor health, Cindy died on June 18, 2006, less than a year after the marriage. He was buried at sea.

References

• I Now Pronounce You Mammal and Wife, Daily Record, December 30, 2005
• MSNBC.com Video of the Ceremony