Article about Dolphin breeding in captivity : Breeding dolphins a complicated undertaking for zoos, aquariums - Chicago Tribune
I agree on half of those facts. I don´t think that loudly music makes any good to the dolphins, considering that the few times I have seen dolphin shows, it was bothering even for me (and being a person who enjoys heavy metal concerts, I think I´m not suspicious about to have specially delicate ears). Also, I think very few dolphinariums really can fullfill all dolphins´ needs. Something curious I found on the internet: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins living together with Whale Sharks and other fish at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQcspimiVE
I don't see how loud music and screaming crowds WOULDN'T be stressful to them. They're very sound-sensitive mammals and in some wild populations, noise pollution is considered a major threat. Another matter is that since dolphins in aquariums live in tanks, sound could bounce off the walls and be even more stressful. On a related note, I've seen shows that use strobe lights and I've wondered if that could cause stress for the animals. That video is interesting. I wonder how that fares for the dolphins? I've never heard of whale sharks being kept with dolphins, and it's pretty uncommon in general for dolphins to be kept with other marine life. Speaking of which, I've been looking for more information on spotted dolphins (specifically, pantropical) in captivity. Anyone know where I can find some info?
Hakkeijima Seaparadise in Yokokhama,Japan, keeps whale sharks together with some cetaceans like beluga,bottle-nosed dolphins and white sided dolphins in their giant showpool during the shows, but I belive the whale shark are for their own in a side tank outside the shows.
thats right. Below are two clips from YouTube to prove his point the first is from 2011 and shows 2 whale sharks plus Dolphins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29tUjURFfkw the seccond clip is from 2014 and shows only 1 whale shark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NN0Gfj0Et8
This is probably old news to you but there is one Pantropical Spotted Dolphin held in the United States, Moonshine at Mote Marine Lab in Florida, he was sent to live there after he stranded and was declared non releasable due to his young age at the time and due to liver problems that require medication. All of the other Pantropical's I know about are in East Asia (China, Japan, etc.) and seem to have mostly been drive hunt obtained.
... They named a dolphin "Moonshine"? I love it. Yeah, they don't seem to be particularly common in captivity outside of Asia, and I was curious as to why that was. Do they do poorly or something, or were they just overlooked in favor of other species?
Finally I found some news about the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin that stranded last July. She has a name now, Summer, and has been declared non releasable. She will be going to the Dolphin Research Center sometime in the near future, which has been selected as their permanent home. The rationale is that the large number of animals there (24) will mean a large number of potential pairings for her. The DRC is located in the Florida Keys and all of the animals live in saltwater lagoons, also wild Dolphins visit on occasion. This is good news to me because it means there is a chance, however slight, that she will meet another of her species someday. She will be living with Bottlenose Dolphins, which is not ideal but its not like there are any other places with Atlantic Spotted Dolphins around for her. Rehabbing Animals | Clearwater Marine Aquarium Dolphin Research Center: Summer
That's nice. From what I've seen, the facility looks pretty good. Atlantic spotted dolphins are known to socialize with bottlenose dolphins in the wild, (it seems they've even been known to mate) so it's not too bad of a situation. (and like you say, this facility does provide a shot that she might meet others of her species)
Fraser's dolphin in captivity as of January 27th. In rehabilitation with the PMMSN in the Philippines. Same facility with the two female spinner dolphin.
Summer has arrived at the Dolphin Research Center. She arrived last Tuesday, and will be spending some time in the medical pool acclimating prior to beginning her introduction to the rest of the animals. This will be her permanent home. No word on what they have planned for her once she is integrated into the rest of the pod, I'm hoping they take advantage of the opportunity to preform some research on her because this is a unique opportunity. I sincerely hope she gets to live a long life, just the fact that she managed to be found and rehabilitated up to this point is amazing to me. Dolphin Research Center: Summer's Arrival! Keys marine mammal facility welcomes baby dolphin | Environment | KeysNet
This is a bit random, but does anyone know of any photographs of some captive belugas that were captured in Alaska? Apparently the Vancouver aquarium had a few.
Hope, a dolphin at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong, does anybody recognize which species this is ? : https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152994497106390
There's a rather nasty video going around of a dolphin trainer in Spain hitting and kicking dolphins. The group that posted the video claims that the trainer now works at the Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium claims the video is likely doctored. But it sounds like they're continuing to investigate.
Seems Hope the dolphin took a turn for the worse and had to be euthanized. She was in pretty nasty condition so I'm not surprised, but it's still a bit sad.
