People snorkel with dolphins in the Red Sea at Dolphin Reef in the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov 21, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

Even during wintertime, Israel's southernmost Red Sea city of Eilat still enjoys warm and sunny weather and pleasant sea view.

Three lovely dolphins leap out of the shimmering sea from time to time, and then quietly swim up to a familiar person to offer a gentle kiss before swimming away.

No feeding, no domestication, no performance. Dolphin Reef, an open water area in Eilat, allows people to get close to the dolphins while maintaining a moderate distance with minimized human intervention.

During a visit, Xinhua caught up with many tourists from different countries, who were either standing on a platform slightly above the shore to observe the dolphins, or wearing snorkeling equipment to swim freely and share the sea with the dolphins.

The three dolphins, namely Nana, Luna and Nikita, were all born in the nearby waters and live in the area, Dolphin Reef staff Advat Gal told Xinhua.

Their parents came from the Black Sea and were brought here for scientific research reasons in the early 1990s, and have been thriving in the Red Sea ever since, Gal added.

"The idea of Dolphin Reef was to let them live freely and do whatever they want with minimized interference," told Gal.

The three dolphins have made the area their home, even after their parents passed away. Over the past years, they have also developed strong and close ties with humans, according to Gal.

The staff does not intervene with feeding and domestication activities, but only observes the dolphins' daily activities or interacts with them in the sea, providing assistance when they are injured or sick, Gal stressed.

As time goes by, Gal and her partners have forged "a strong relationship" with the dolphins, who often go to the deep water but would come back anyway because of the ties between the marine mammals and human beings, said Gal.

Advat Gal, a staff member of Dolphin Reef, interacts with a dolphin on the shores of the Red Sea in the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov 21, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

Advat Gal, a staff member of Dolphin Reef, interacts with a dolphin on the shores of the Red Sea in the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov 21, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

A staff member of Dolphin Reef interacts with a dolphin on the shores of the Red Sea in the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov 21, 2022. Photo:Xinhua