Seaworld rakes in over 1.4 billion from all their marine mammal parks, Florida politicians get over a half million from Disney alone.
Many cities have large investments in aquariums such as Baltimore where the National Aquarium is the center piece of their urban renewal of the inner harbor area, it has an annual attendance of 1.6 million .
The Georgia Aquarium cost around 300 million to build, between 2006 and 2009 they had over ten million visitors, at $26 per adult, $21.50 for Seniors, and $19.50 for Children .
Killer whales in the wild can live on the average live 50 to 60 years and can live up to 90 years.
By far, the largest holder of killer whales is Sea World, Inc.
NOAA report from a couple of years ago shows 62 killer whales in Sea World's inventory, of which 29 have died.
Since many of Sea World's whales were taken from the wild, information about birth dates is sketchy.
But of the four dead animals that show an actual or estimated birth date, one lived a month, one lived 2 years, one lived 11 years and one, a female, lived 23 years, or about half of her estimated life expectancy in the wild.
Another 12 whales show only a captivity date and a death date, with life spans in captivity that range from 1 year to 19.
The average for these 12 whales was about 9 years.
Causes of death are interesting, as well.
Here's a sampling: severe trauma, intestinal gangrene, acute hemorrhagic pneumonia, pulmonary abscession, chronic kidney disease, chronic cardiovascular failure, septicemia, influenza, necrosis of cerebrum. And so on.
Only one is said to have died of "old age," though this attribution is dubious, since his birth date is unknown.
All in all, the Marine Mammal Inventory Report is a gruesome chronicle of killer whales' short lives and their deaths by exotic diseases.
And the story is about the same for bottlenose dolphins, as well.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What can we do?
I recently receive an emailed after someone that viewed the info at my blog and he had this to say“would like to ignore this, I can't”
Myself and many others have felt this way, after what we have learned about dolphins and whales, how could we turn our backs on these creatures that are so much like us but at the same time different.
I guess you could say many have had an epiphany of sorts.
Many have been asking the same question ”what can we do” at discussion boards such as this one http://www.facebook.com/TheCove#!/board.php?uid=120001599615
I have search many of the major nonprofit websites that deal with animals and wildlife, it seems that their only answer is to write your congressman and send us a donation.
While this is good and well intentioned I think many of us want to get personally involved, it seems sending in a check and receiving a newsletter stating all the good things that they have done is not very fulfilling.
I also do question these groups and their actions or should I say lack of actions.As Ric O'Barry pointed out during the movie (The Cove) these groups that collect millions and millions of dollars were silent on what was going on in Taiji, Japan.
My belief is that they collect donations from people on both sides of the fence in the captive dolphin issue and don't want to offend either group so they lay low on the issue.
I guess because they are involved with so many other wildlife issues that they are willing to sacrafice the dolphins and whales held in captivity for what they consider the greater good.
Ric O'barry also pointed out that many are connected with Seaworld, this may explain while some may say captivity is not such a good idea at their websites they do nothing actively to oppose captivity of dolphins and whales.http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/partners.htm
Several weeks ago at one of the forums I mentioned about going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and handout information leaflets.
We have to spread awareness to those that go to these dolphin and whale shows(circus).So far I have only received one offer from someone willing to participate.
I also mentioned that we must have a grassroots movement that is organized to go up against this muti billion dollar industry.Seaworld who owns many of these parks throughout the world rakes in over 1.4 billion alone.
These people that build these very expensive aquariums to hold dolphins and whales such as the one in Georgia which costed over $250 million to build will not give up that easy.
BTW I do know a dedicated group down in Georgia that is in need of contributions and actual volunteers. http://www.thedolphinproject.org/home.html
I would like to see a grassroots organization started coast to coast that deals with the issues concerning Dolphins and whale captivity, educating the people throughout the country and stopping the money flow that keep these places in business.If anyone is interested drop me an email. ted08721@gmail.com
Myself and many others have felt this way, after what we have learned about dolphins and whales, how could we turn our backs on these creatures that are so much like us but at the same time different.
I guess you could say many have had an epiphany of sorts.
Many have been asking the same question ”what can we do” at discussion boards such as this one http://www.facebook.com/TheCove#!/board.php?uid=120001599615
I have search many of the major nonprofit websites that deal with animals and wildlife, it seems that their only answer is to write your congressman and send us a donation.
While this is good and well intentioned I think many of us want to get personally involved, it seems sending in a check and receiving a newsletter stating all the good things that they have done is not very fulfilling.
I also do question these groups and their actions or should I say lack of actions.As Ric O'Barry pointed out during the movie (The Cove) these groups that collect millions and millions of dollars were silent on what was going on in Taiji, Japan.
My belief is that they collect donations from people on both sides of the fence in the captive dolphin issue and don't want to offend either group so they lay low on the issue.
I guess because they are involved with so many other wildlife issues that they are willing to sacrafice the dolphins and whales held in captivity for what they consider the greater good.
Ric O'barry also pointed out that many are connected with Seaworld, this may explain while some may say captivity is not such a good idea at their websites they do nothing actively to oppose captivity of dolphins and whales.http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/partners.htm
Several weeks ago at one of the forums I mentioned about going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and handout information leaflets.
We have to spread awareness to those that go to these dolphin and whale shows(circus).So far I have only received one offer from someone willing to participate.
I also mentioned that we must have a grassroots movement that is organized to go up against this muti billion dollar industry.Seaworld who owns many of these parks throughout the world rakes in over 1.4 billion alone.
These people that build these very expensive aquariums to hold dolphins and whales such as the one in Georgia which costed over $250 million to build will not give up that easy.
BTW I do know a dedicated group down in Georgia that is in need of contributions and actual volunteers. http://www.thedolphinproject.org/home.html
I would like to see a grassroots organization started coast to coast that deals with the issues concerning Dolphins and whale captivity, educating the people throughout the country and stopping the money flow that keep these places in business.If anyone is interested drop me an email. ted08721@gmail.com
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Big Lie
All these parks and aquariums are touting themselves as institutions of learning about marine life, and many school systems have bought into that lie and are part of programs sponsored by these parks and aquariums .
What can a person possibly learn from watching these creatures doing circus animal tricks for dead fish?
What can we learn about how these creatures act in their natural habitat when they are imprisoned in cement fish tanks? It would be like doing a study on the human population at large by going to a prison and studying a person in consolatory confinement.
Emory University Neuroscientist and Behavioral Biologist Lori Marino says there is no evidence that zoos help promote conservation through education. For example, Japan has more marine parks than any other country in the world, but slaughters dolphins at an alarming rate.
http://bigthink.com/ideas/18660
What can a person possibly learn from watching these creatures doing circus animal tricks for dead fish?
What can we learn about how these creatures act in their natural habitat when they are imprisoned in cement fish tanks? It would be like doing a study on the human population at large by going to a prison and studying a person in consolatory confinement.
Emory University Neuroscientist and Behavioral Biologist Lori Marino says there is no evidence that zoos help promote conservation through education. For example, Japan has more marine parks than any other country in the world, but slaughters dolphins at an alarming rate.
http://bigthink.com/ideas/18660
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Captivity : It is so wrong
First I would like to mention to anyone following this blog that I did add on to the end of my first post.
Whales and dolphins can travel many miles each day, some up to ninety miles, much of that is in a straight line, in captivity they can only swim in a small circle.
Imagine living your entire life in a bath tub that is what it is like for our friends that are confined to live in a small cement fish tank.
Whales are kept in tanks not much larger than themselves.
They are gentle creatures who use echolocation to communicate and source food.
But in captivity their sound waves now bounce off the concrete walls. It is enough to drive such gentle animals insane. Hugo, a killer whale (Orca) captured from the wild and held at the Miami Seaquarium, died of a brain aneurism after repea...tedly ramming his head into the windows and walls of his extremely small tank.
Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life - their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.
You can go here http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/03/the-cove-star-ric-obarry-on-seaworld-gary-smith/ to hear what Ric O'Barry has to say, he was the person who trainned Flipper.
For more info on captivity you can go to these sites
http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=63
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/dolphincaptivity.php
http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/2220_dolphins_in_captivity_faqs.cfm
Whales and dolphins can travel many miles each day, some up to ninety miles, much of that is in a straight line, in captivity they can only swim in a small circle.
Imagine living your entire life in a bath tub that is what it is like for our friends that are confined to live in a small cement fish tank.
Whales are kept in tanks not much larger than themselves.
They are gentle creatures who use echolocation to communicate and source food.
But in captivity their sound waves now bounce off the concrete walls. It is enough to drive such gentle animals insane. Hugo, a killer whale (Orca) captured from the wild and held at the Miami Seaquarium, died of a brain aneurism after repea...tedly ramming his head into the windows and walls of his extremely small tank.
Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life - their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.
You can go here http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/03/the-cove-star-ric-obarry-on-seaworld-gary-smith/ to hear what Ric O'Barry has to say, he was the person who trainned Flipper.
For more info on captivity you can go to these sites
http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=63
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/dolphincaptivity.php
http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/2220_dolphins_in_captivity_faqs.cfm
Saturday, July 17, 2010
We must change
Dolphins have been known to save human lives, while humans are known for destroying their lives.
We poison their environment, they do not harm ours.
We capture them and put them in cement fish tanks for display, while they are more than willing to swim with us in the open sea.
They say that humans and the dolphins are two of the most intelligent creatures on this planet.
The brain of an adult bottlenose dolphin measures over 1,600 cc, versus the average adult human brain of about 1,450 cc, much like us dolphins have self awareness.
They have complex languages, social structures and exhibit evidence of a highly developed emotional sense.
DOLPHINS may be closer to humans than previously realized, with new research showing they communicate by whistling out their own “names”.
The evidence suggests dolphins share the human ability to recognize themselves and other members of the same species as individuals with separate identities.
The research, on wild bottlenose dolphins, will lead to a reassessment of their intelligence and social complexity, raising moral questions over how they should be treated.
I like to add that you can go to http://forum-network.org/lecture/defense-dolphins to listen/watch his lecture on his book In Defense of Dolphins, you can also go to
http://www.indefenseofdolphins.com/book/overview.html to learn more about his book. I must warn you that the lecture runs 55 minutes, but you will be amazed about what he has to say.
We poison their environment, they do not harm ours.
We capture them and put them in cement fish tanks for display, while they are more than willing to swim with us in the open sea.
They say that humans and the dolphins are two of the most intelligent creatures on this planet.
The brain of an adult bottlenose dolphin measures over 1,600 cc, versus the average adult human brain of about 1,450 cc, much like us dolphins have self awareness.
They have complex languages, social structures and exhibit evidence of a highly developed emotional sense.
DOLPHINS may be closer to humans than previously realized, with new research showing they communicate by whistling out their own “names”.
The evidence suggests dolphins share the human ability to recognize themselves and other members of the same species as individuals with separate identities.
The research, on wild bottlenose dolphins, will lead to a reassessment of their intelligence and social complexity, raising moral questions over how they should be treated.
I like to add that you can go to http://forum-network.org/lecture/defense-dolphins to listen/watch his lecture on his book In Defense of Dolphins, you can also go to
http://www.indefenseofdolphins.com/book/overview.html to learn more about his book. I must warn you that the lecture runs 55 minutes, but you will be amazed about what he has to say.
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