Hello, according to the book: Hoyt,E.(1995):"Alle Wale der Welt",Stein, Conrad Verlag, there were both Indus Dolphin (Platanista minor) and the Amazon Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) at least photographed there back in the days. Does anyone have further informations, pictures or whatever? Thanks and best wishes
CAS Mammalogy Collection Database | Academy Research CAS Mammalogy Collection Database | Academy Research Deceased Dolphins: Steinhart Aquarium - California, U.S. CAS Mammalogy Collection Database | Academy Research CAS Mammalogy Collection Database | Academy Research CAS Mammalogy Collection Database | Academy Research They are in the specimen collection but there are no notes on being held as live individuals for the Asian dolphins.
Thank you very much! Hmm,...that book names a P.minor, but those notes refer to P.gangetica. unfortunately the living (!) specimen is pictured ventral, so the jaws aren't easy to see. Maybe we'll get some further information right here.
Some additional information. Too bad I wasn't even born yet when they had those dolphins, that would have been cool to see. Field and Aquarium Study of the Blind River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica). (2005) * Herald, Earl S. Abstract Specimens of the blind river dolphin (Susu or Buhlaan; Platanista gangetica), taken from the Indus River, West Pakistan, were investigated. Three female samples, weighing 43, 49, and 59 pounds, were flown from Sukkur, West Pakistan, to the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco. The Susu proved to be sideswimmers, the first cetaceans known to use this method of swimming. Sonar effectiveness of the animal is believed to be great, since healthy blind dolphins have never been observed to hit a wall or obstacle. Autopsies on the specimens, following two deaths attributable to pneumonic infection and one to injury during capture, revealed that the animals' eyes, although rudimentary, presumably act at least as light sensors. (Author) California Wild Spring 2003 - Earl Herald Herald was also intrigued by freshwater dolphins. He eventually obtained an Amazon boutu (Inia geoffrensis) from Iquitos, Peru, a gift from the San Francisco Aquarium Society. Named “Whiskers,” it was displayed in the southeast corner tank along with immense alligator garfish (Lepisosteus spatula). The pink-skinned dolphin soon became the center of an institutional controversy. George Lindsay, the Academy’s strong-willed Director and also Director of the Steinhart, wanted to move the alligator garfish and replace them with a mate for Whiskers. Herald wanted the garfish left where they were. This minor disagreement over display philosophy came down to a battle of wills between the two men. Herald vented his frustration in an article co-written with Aquarium Curator Robert Dempster for Aquarium Journal: Of course it is difficult to maintain a sane viewpoint on this animal when the Academy Director, Dr. George Lindsay, casually suggests that we discard the leviathan alligator gar who share the dolphin tank in order to make more room for Whiskers and a proposed mate. Needless to say, Whiskers’ future should prove interesting. Whiskers got a new tankmate in 1966, when he was joined by another boutu named “Buddy.” Herald won that round, as the alligator garfish stayed where they were. Pleased with the public’s interest in freshwater dolphins, Herald attempted to achieve another Steinhart first with the capture and display of a blind river dolphin (Platanista gangetica), or susu, of the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra river systems of Asia. In 72 ad, Pliny the Elder wrote about their curious anatomy and the muddy rivers that they inhabit. Herald and his associates obtained three susu while on expedition to Sukkar, west Pakistan, and were faced with the formidable task of transporting them halfway around the world. Returning via Karachi, they made a brief rest stop and left the dolphins in a clearwater swimming pool. There, they were apparently the first to discover that these dolphins swim on their sides, a unique and curious adaptation. Sadly, the rigors of capture and transport were such that none of them survived for long. However, the results of Herald’s research on susu anatomy, swimming behavior, and echolocation were published in 1969 as a cover story in the prestigious journal Science. The remaining dolphins were favorites for decades, but a manatee named Butterball was probably the most memorable mammal in the Aquarium’s history. Herald’s friend, Academy trustee Wilson Meyer, happened upon an ailing Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) for sale at a Colombian fish market in 1967. He and Maurice Rakowicz, a former Steinhart employee, ransomed the rotund beast and were able to get it to San Francisco. There, veterinarian Frederic Frye treated the bone and tissue infections in the manateee’s harpoon wound. Butterball survived to became one of very few Amazonian sea cows in captivity, as well as the longest-lived. He became the subject of two masters theses and two doctoral dissertations, as well as six research publications on manatee blood, chromosomes, and vocalizations. Over the next 17 years, he was seen by more than 25 million visitors.
Thank you! Very interesting! Thank you. Now we all wonder what the exhibits were looking like. Maybe there are some pics to find.
I remember seeing the Amazon river dolphin and the manatee in the late 60s/early 70s. They were in very tiny tanks, with minimal "decoration.": i would guess no more than 8 feet deep and at the most 25 feet long and 12 feet wide. There is no way people today would tolerate an aquarium housing such large mammals in such tiny, barren tanks. They were amazing to see, however. And the manatee ("Butterball") lived there for quite a long time
