Third orca death in 18 months at theme park
Loro Parque tourist attraction in Tenerife, Spain has announced the death of Kohana, a 20-year-old orca transferred to the facility from SeaWorld in the US in 2006. Kohana is the third orca who has died at the facility within 18 months after Skyla (17 years old) died in March 2021, and Ula (three years old),…
Read MoreBeluga move plans postponed after service boat sinks
Plans to return beluga whales, Little White and Little Grey to their sea sanctuary in Iceland have now had to be postponed due to an unprecedented incident, which happened in the bay last week. The main support and diving contractor’s boat sank in Klettsvik Bay just hours before the whales were due to move, resulting…
Read MoreHigh mercury levels found in Japanese dolphin meat
According to reports from Japan, police there are investigating the sale of whale and dolphin meat containing potentially illegal levels of dangerous toxins. Action for Dolphins group say tests on samples of meat sold in the coastal town of Taiji reveal mercury levels up to 25 times higher that safe limits set by the government.…
Read MoreSweden’s last dolphin shows to end
Sweden will become dolphinaria-free following the announcement by Kolmården Zoo in Stockholm that it will be closing its dolphin facility, which currently holds twelve bottlenose dolphins. The Zoo says it wants to focus on the conservation of endangered species and end its 50-year-old era of keeping dolphins. The dolphinarium will remain in operation until the…
Read MoreA happy ending for Tokitae (Lolita)? New Seaquarium owners commit to her retirement.
Tokitae, also called Lolita and named Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut by Washington State’s Lummi Nation, will no longer perform shows at the Miami Seaquarium, where she has been held since she was taken from her home waters in 1970. As a condition of the permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), new operators of the Florida facility…
Read MoreAlarming report raises worries for marine mammals held at the Miami Seaquarium
Leonardo Da Silva/Flickr A disturbing report on the conditions at the Miami Seaquarium from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), released along with an extensive interview from one of the facility’s former veterinarians, highlights the horrendous and dangerous treatment of marine mammals, including the endangered Southern Resident orca Tokitae (also called Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, or Lolita).…
Read MoreAnother orca dies in captivity
SeaWorld San Diego has announced the death of yet another orca held in captivity. According to reports Amaya, a six year old female orca died suddenly after showing signs of illness just a day earlier. She was the youngest orca at SeaWorld, and her mother, Kalia and her father, Ulises are also held at SeaWorld…
Read MoreCaptive beluga dies shortly after transfer into US
Sadly, a beluga known as Havoc, one of five whales recently moved from MarineLand in Canada to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, has died after just a few months in the facility. He was approximately six years old. According to Mystic Aquarium, Havoc suffered from a pre-existing gastrointestinal issue, but it has yet to be determined…
Read MoreBelugas arrive in US despite objections from WDC and others
Photo courtesy of Mystic Aquarium In late 2019, WDC and our partners learned of a request from Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium to import five belugas from Marineland, one of two facilities in Canada that still hold captive whales and dolphins, to be part of a research program at Mystic’s facility. While conditions at Marineland are notoriously…
Read MoreNorway urged to abandon plans to experiment on captured whales
WDC has teamed up with the Animal Welfare Institute and NOAH (Norway’s largest NGO for animals) to urge the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) to revoke its approval of a potentially cruel and dangerous experiment on wild minke whales. The research aims to capture whales off Vestvågøy in the Lofoten area of northern Norway to…
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