As I said earlier is here an updated version about dolphins in Zoo Antwerp(en). The most important point that missed in my original post were the breeding results, this due to a lack of information.
To begin, some additional information about the Dolphinarium:
The dolphinarium was designed in 1967 by architect René Grosemans and when it opened it was one of the most modern of its kind.
As mentioned in detail in my original post, the dolphins, coming from Florida, arrived by plane in Brussels, after which they were transported by truck to their new home in Antwerp.
However, in my original post it was mentioned that the dolphins arrived in 1969, this turns out to be incorrect. In fact, the dolphins arrived on December 19, 1968 (other sources mention December 20, although this is probably incorrect), making Zoo Antwerp(en) the 2nd Belgian park with dolphins. However, when the dolphinarium opened is unclear. Among other sources, the zoo guide lists December 17, 1969, as the as the inauguration date of the Jubilee Complex (Jubileumcomplex), the giant building for predatory and nocturnal animals of which the dolphinarium is a part. The book "the Garden Of Life" gives April 30, 1970 as the opening date of 2nd floor of the Jubilee complex, including the dolphinarium, not of the rest of the building. However, Walter Van den Bergh, director of the Antwerp Zoo at the time of the opening of the dolphinarium, gives December 20, 1968 as the opening date of the Antwerp dolphinarium, this seems somewhat more reliable to me as a primary source.
The dolphinarium received many important visitors, for example, Minister Bertrand visited on 2 February 1969, and on 17 December 1969 the Belgian Prince, and later King, Albert inaugurated the Jubilee Complex.
I already went into detail about the arrival of the first dolphins in my original post. Here, however, some additional information regarding the arrival of the first dolphins:
The purchase of the dolphins was entrusted to Jerry Mitchell of the Brighton Aquarium & Dolphinarium.
Jerry Mitchell came together with the dolphins to Antwerp, where ge gave the caretakers in Antwerp several weeks of training on how to train a dolphin.
To go a little further on the dolphin enclosure:
Besides 3 pools, there was also a grandstand, which faced the show pool (which alone accounted for a volume of 600m3) where the hugely popular dolphin shows were performed. One level down, visitors could see the dolphins in this same pool through 10 glass windows, here however underwater, this space was called the 'auditorium'.
Not unimportant is what was behind the scenes. Besides 2 training pools, there was also a quarantine (basin), filter chambers for water purification and a laboratory for measurements, because heated (18-20°C, or 64-68° F) salt water demands constant care. The total amount of water to be filtered was 850 m3. The filtration is located under the basins. There was also a separate chamber for filtering of the quarantine pool, so that this pool could be isolated in every possible way. This quarantine pool (not visible to the public) had a moveable floor, so it was easier to treat the animals or to take them out of the water.
Going even further into the Dolphinarium's appearance and functions would demand a separate post, so here is a link to an English article written by Walter Van den Bergh in 1970 about the Antwerp Dolphinarium.
The full text can be downloaded here (the readable text is only most of it):
The Delphinarium at Antwerp Zoo | WALTER VAN DEN BERGH | download
Most of the article can be read here:
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1970.tb01269.x
I already went into great detail about how the arrival of the first 6 dolphins went, but not about the dolphins themselves, therefore some more information about each dolphin as in order of my original post:
- Bert (1.0) was born in the wild in 1968 so was still a young animal on arrival.
- Gibi (0.1) was born in the wild in 1964, meaning she was 4 years old on arrival in Belgium.
- Sonny (0.1) was born in the wild in 1962. Sonny was 6 years old on arrival.
- Scooter (1.0) was born wild in 1964, meaning she was 4 years old on arrival.
- Monique (0.1) was born in the wild in 1960, and was 8 years old on arrival.
- Julie (0.1) was born in the wild in 1968, making her also only a young animal on arrival.
My original post mentioned that a 7th dolphin died on the way to Antwerp of pneumonia, however, this does not seem to be entirely accurate. I could in fact find information about a dolphin named Chris, who died on 6 January 1969, I cannot find any other explanation. Indeed, it would also be rather strange for the animal to die during the flight from pneumonia it contracted that very same flight. Chris was born in 1965, making him 3 or 4 years old.
Also in my original post, I mentioned that Zoo Antwerp kept not 1 but 2 dolphin species. Therefore, I give each dolphin species a separate section, starting with the main and most well-known species: the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. I typed here all the information I could find anywhere and I never worked more intensively on a post than this one, therefore I am happy to present you a chronological spillover of events related to bottlenose dolphins at the Antwerp Zoo after the arrival of the first dolphins in 1968. However, I cannot assure you that all this information is completely correct, I'm therefore considering to consult Zoo Antwerpen itself, until then this post will surely suffice. If you find an error or doubt the correctness of something, please report it, all information is very appreciated:
On 10, 12 or 13 February (13 February seems just a bit more reliable) 1972, extra dolphins arrived. After their arrival at the airport of Deurne, the dolphins were taken to Antwerp, where they were placed in a stretcher and they were examined for injuries before being placed in their basin. The dolphins were all born in the wild, below an overview of the dolphins:
-Zolly was born in the wild in 1970. Zolly died as early as 26 February of the same year.
- Ziska (probably 0.1) was born in the wild in 1967.
- Zarin (probably 0.1) was wildborn in 1964.
- Pat (probably 0.1) was wildborn in 1968.
On 26 February 1972, as many as 2 dolphins died. As mentioned above, Zolly dies as well as Bert, 1 of the dolphins arrived in 1968.
On an unknown date in 1972, a dolphin born in 1972 named Karin arrived and died on 23 July 1972 of the same year. Whether this dolphin also arrived in February 1972 is unclear. Indeed, another date in the same year is also possible, as another dolphin also arrived in October 1972. The strange thing about Karin, however, is that it is unclear where she was born, and certainly that she was born in the same year, but if she was born in Antwerp, I cannot find anything about this.
On 12 April 1972, dolphin cow Julie died. She was among the first dolphins at the zoo and arrived by plane from Florida only 3 years earlier.
As mentioned earlier, dolphin Dolly, born in the wild in 1968, arrived on 19 October 1972. Dolly, judging from the 1973 animal stock, was probably a female.
On 13 April 1973, female dolphin Sonny died. Sonny was 1 of the dolphins that arrived in 1968. Sonny lived to be about 11 years old, of which she spent about 5 in Zoo Antwerp.
On 30 April 1973, the first stillbirth took place among the Antwerp dolphins.
On 16 December 1973, Gibi, 1 of the female dolphins dies. Gibi lived at Antwerp Zoo for 5 years and was at the time of her death about 8 years old and 2.39 metres long. Gibi was found to have 3 broken teeth and 4 broken ribs (oddly not something very abnormal in dolphins). Her skeleton went to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
On 24 January 1974, Scooter, the last remaining male dolphin that arrived in 1968, died.
On 24 or 25 April (probably 24 April) 1974, 4 dolphins arrived from the now-closed Marseille Zoo. Which dolphins were involved is nowhere mentioned, strange as 1 of the sources relies on press reports, among others. Arriving at the airport of Deurne, they were carried off the plane with a forklift truck. Eventually, the 4 dolphins were reunited in Antwerp.
On 25 April 1974, no less than 3 dolphins were born at Antwerp Zoo, the 1st time a non-stillbirth took place among the dolphins, although what happened to these dolphins is not much better. Indeed, the dolphins died after only a few days. Below are the 3 dolphins born on that day by chronological date of death:
- Bobby died as early as 27 April 1974.
- Ben and Brabo (both males) were possibly twins, as they are mentioned together. Both died on 28 April 1974.
In April 1974, a 4th dolphin was born named Bill. On which date, however, is unclear. That this one was also born on 25 April would be a very big coincidence, but that 3 were born on 1 day is already a big coincidence. Bill's fate will prove to be a lot better, as the animal stayed alive for 20 years. Strangely, however, the animal was not mentioned in a newspaper article from 1988.
On 14 September 1975, dolphin Ziska, one of the dolphins that arrived in 1972, died. Ziska lived to be about 8 years old.
On 28 January 1976, Danny was born. Danny too was not granted a long life, as he already died on 27 February 1976.
For a study publiced in 1977, 4 dolphin skeletons from the Dolphinarium of Zoo Antwerp(en) were used. However, I can find no further information about one of these dolphins, named Siska. It only raises the question of how many dolphins lived at Antwerp Zoo besides the ones mentioned in this post (for which I have scoured pretty much the entire internet). I cannot find any information about when the animal supposedly arrived, but this makes me suspect that she arrived in 1974, as I cannot find any information about the 4 dolphins that arrived that year. Siska had 3 broken ribs on the right side of her body.
The same study featured an immature dolphin that had lived in the zoo for 1.5 years. Nothing can be found about this dolphin either, so my suspicion is that this animal too was among the 4 dolphins that arrived in 1974. At the time of death, the immature dolphin was 2.65 metres long. Several teeth were missing and 1 tooth was partially broken off, things that, according to the study, had probably happened before the animal arrived at the Dolphinarium, implying that the dolphin was wildcaught. Like Siska, this animal's skeleton also went to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
On 7 May 1979, Monique, the last remaining dolphin that had arrived in 1968, died. Monique lived to be 19 years old, 10 of which she spent in Zoo Antwerp.
On 6 January 1980, Dick died. The dolphin lived to be 4 years old. It is unclear whether the animal was born at the Antwerp Zoo or elsewhere.
On 30 December 1980, dolphin Zarin, who arrived in Zoo Antwerp in 1972, died. Zarin lived to be 16 years old and spent half of her life in Zoo Antwerp.
In 1981, 4 (2.1.1) dolphins arrived, including Iris and Ivo, mother and son, who eventually became Zoo Antwerp's last 2 dolphins. The 4 dolphins were caught in the Gulf of Mexico in March 1981. It is certain that the 2 other dolphins, Ina and Ilias, arrived at the Antwerp Zoo on 3 March 1981, and thus probably Iris and Ivo as well. Below is an overview of the dolphins:
As mentioned earlier, mother and son Iris and Ivo arrived. Iris was 13 years old at the time, Ivo, however, was still young, at around 1 year old.
Ina was born in the wild in 1963, making her 18 years old. Ina gave birth to a calf barely 1 year after arriving.
A still fairly well-known dolphin that arrived back then was Ilias. In fact, Ilias was 1 of the last dolphins in Antwerp. Ilias was born in the wild in 1973.
As just mentioned, dolphin Ina gave birth to a son named Jantje on 30 January 1982. Jantje would sadly die not much later, on 9 February 1982 to be precise, from muscular dystrophy.
On 20 or 21 May (probably 21 May) 1986, yet another living dolphin was born, namely Nicky, son of Ilias (1.0) and Iris (0.1). Nicky would eventually turn out to be 1 of the few dolphins born in Antwerp Zoo that stayed alive, as the chance of a successful dolphin calf in Zoo Antwerp(en) turned out to be only 25%, or 1 in 4. On 31 May 1986, Napo was born. Napo will not have an equally long life as Nicky, as he died on June 3, 1986.
In 1987, 2 dolphins were born at the Antwerp Zoo for the 2nd time in a row. In the summer of 1987, Orfee (0.1) and Odin (1.0) were born. Only shortly afterwards, both dolphins died. Orfee died on 9 August 1987 from a perforation of the septum, or the partition between the 2 ventricles. Odin died 1 day later.
8 September 1988 came with the birth of Princess. Princess remained alive for only 9 days and thus died on September 17 of the same year.
On 19 September 1989, female dolphin Pat died, a dolphin that had been living at the zoo since 1972. Pat lived to be about 21 years old, 17 years of which she spent in Antwerp.
Pat's loss was soon filled with yet another birth. When pregnancy was suspected, the dolphin in question was always subjected to ultrasounds. Following these ultrasounds, Querida, daughter of mother Iris and in all likelihood father Ilias, was born on 8 October 1989. Querida lived for 2.4 months and thus died on 20 December 1989.
On 4 December 1990, Nicky died. Nicky was born in Zoo Antwerp(en) 4.5 years earlier and tragically his parents survived him. In 1990, a dolphin at Zoo Antwerp died of erysipales septicaemia, a bacterial infection. The year of death makes it likely that this dolphin was Nicky.
On 1 May 1994, Bill died, born in Zoo Antwerp(en) just like Nicky. Unlike Nicky however, Bill did reach adulthood, as he lived to be 20 years old, the maximum lifespan of a dolphin in the wild.
In 1995 or 1996 (1997 is also a possibility, although I consider it unlikely), Ilias, Zoo Antwerp's dolphin breeding bull, died. Ilias was born in the wild in 1973 and came to Antwerp in 1981. However, due to his unknown death date, it is not obvious how old the dolphin got or how long he spent in the Antwerp Zoo, although it did cover most of his life.
In early 1997, female dolphin Dolly, one of the last dolphin of the Antwerp Zoo, died. Dolly was the same age as Iris (29 years), but she spent a considerably longer time in Antwerp, no less than 25 years!
In 1998 or 1999, the last dolphin was born, which died after only a few days, which is not really surprising since the parents were Iris and Ivo, mother and son.
In 1998, it was announced that the Antwerp Zoo would permanently stop keeping dolphins. This was a difficult decision, however, as the dolphin shows had for years been perhaps the biggest crowd pleaser of the Antwerp Zoo. It therefore received a lot of attention in the media. Scientific research showed that the basin was unsuitable and too shallow to keep dolphins any longer. In fact, the basin was only 3 metres deep, whereas it was recently required to be 5 metres. The enclosure was also found to be too small in terms of volume. This led to increasing criticism from home and abroad, further forcing the Antwerp Zoo to close or modify the Dolfinarium. However, expansion was not possible (the Dolfinarium was only a few metres from the Central Station) and renewal, like expansion, would be budgetary impossible. It was therefore decided to transfer the last 2 dolphins, Iris and Ivo. EAZA decided to send the dolphins to Zoo Duisburg. On 30 March 1999, Iris and Ivo, mother and son, left for Duisburg (Germany), where they were placed in a large group of dolphins. Especially for Ivo, this new location had advantages, as he was extremely suitable for the breeding programme and Duisburg had lost its breeding bull in 2000. Ivo therefore became the breeding bull shortly after arrival. Iris died there on 27 March 2003, at the age of 35. Ivo is still alive and can be recognised by his large size, dark colour and pink belly and throat.
At Zoo Antwerp itself, the Dolphinarium was renovated for Californian sea lions and renamed 'Aquaforum'. More information can be found in an additional post on my main post about dolphins in this thread.
To conclude, a section on the 2nd dolphin species kept in Antwerp: the Guiana tucuxi or Guiana dolphin, besides a sea turtle the only co-inhabitants of the bottlenose dolphins.
In contrast to the huge number of bottlenose dolphins, only a few Guiana tucuxis were kept, which, unlike many other bottlenose dolphins, remained alive and were in fact much more suitable for the basin due to their smaller size. Below is a chronological list of events related to Guiana tuxucis at Antwerp Zoo:
Zootierliste mentions a tucuxi in Antwerp that arrived in 1968 and went to Tiergarten Nürnberg in 1977. Which dolphin this is about is unclear, although there was a dolphin in 1968 named 'Dolly'. That this is indeed the tucuxi is unclear, but it would be rather odd to name a new dolphin 'Dolly' in 1972 when they already had a dolphin (of a different species) with that name.
On 8 August 1977, not 1 but 2 (1.1) tuxucis arrived in Antwerp. Here some information about the 2 dolphins:
- Evita (0.1) was born in the wild in Cispatá Bay (Colombia) and arrived at the Antwerp Zoo on 8 August 1977. 11 years later, on 7 December 1988, Evita left for Tiergarten Nuremberg.
- Juan (1.0), also called Eros, was also born in the wild, specifically in Cispatá Bay (Colombia). On 7 December 1988, he and female Evita left for Tiergarten Nürnberg.
A 1985 study on the swimming pattern of dolphins examined two dolphins from the Antwerp Zoo: bottlenose dolphin Dolly and a Guiana tucuxi called Eddie. This can be read about Eddie in the study:
Eddie was a male tucuxi measuring 1.90 metres (6.23 feet) long (average length for a male Guiana tucuxi) and weighing 85 kg (187lb).
I cannot immediately find more information about Eddie and it makes me wonder how many more tucuxis were kept in Zoo Antwerp(en).
Last time I wrote that I would try to post my posts faster, however, this has not worked out so well. However, I'm glad that I was able to provide so much additional information, however it was challenging sometimes. In order to keep this thread active (for example, there is now no less than a little over a month between 2 of my posts), I also encourage others to post and contribute something in this thread, although I recommend posting more than 1 sentence, as it doesn't really contribute much information. I myself can collect a lot of additional necessary information this way.
As mentioned before, additions and or corrections are much appreciated.
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I had to make all the time. I will now try to handle my posts a bit more calmly (though a bit faster than this one) and skilfully, in order to post as accurate information as possible. Because I actually strayed from the essence of the thread, I will not write about animals in unrequested posts, but rather 'a story', such as I made of how e.g. white rhinos, okapis and recently hippos came for the first time in Antwerp Zoo, which are more correct than the posts about animals and the Egyptian Temple.
. Thanks, I'll see if I can add it somehow, as I can no longer edit my original post. I will also see if I can now post about the other giraffe species, as I now have a huge information source.