Pacific White-Sided Dolphins in North America (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)

MidwestFan said:
The belugas are failing to adapt to the "seapen" and have had to be moved back to the indoor exhibit a few times for their wellbeing. At what point do we call it a failed "experiment?"
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I do not believe that retirement sanctuaries for cetaceans are a total lost cause as a concept.
What I am worried about is the apparent rush mainly by animal rights activists to have them constructed. Time therefore is not given to consider aiding the animals to acclimating to new water conditions, new diet etc.
The rush to put Keiko into the wild was not entirely fruitless. I do believe that Keiko’s lifespan would’ve been greatly shorter if he stayed in Mexico. But all the same the whole thing did have an element of hastiness to it. Keiko did have socialisation with wild pods to a small degree, but never became integrated. I do see that with Tokitae there are differences - for one thing we actually know which pod to which Toki belongs, whereas with Keiko we may never know.
But even so, acknowledging that Toki cannot live at Miami for much longer should her longevity be at stake, much of the project remains up in the air for now. To what degree will Toki acclimate to more wild waters? Who knows. Keiko acclimated well to his, partially because between Mexico and Iceland he went through an acclimation process in Oregon. To what degree will Toki socialise with her original pod? Who knows. A study like this has never been done before on orca long-term memory to my knowledge. So should it be that Toki is sent to natural waters after all, there are bound to be some novel findings. Quite possibly not all of which for the best.
 
MidwestFan said:
The belugas are failing to adapt to the "seapen" and have had to be moved back to the indoor exhibit a few times for their wellbeing. At what point do we call it a failed "experiment?"
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Thanks. In what way have they failed to adapt?
 
dillotest0 said:
One thing that has always fascinated me about Tokitae...
That although she probably has the worst husbandry of any captive orca in America ... she has still lived a good while longer than quite a few of SeaWorld's animals.
Is this because in more social groupings like SeaWorld rates of disease or conflict are more common? Is it that the comparatively sterile environment of Miami's has allowed to merely keep Tokitae in suspension of life for so long? It has always fascinated - and confused me.
Though equally I do find it somewhat entertaining how campaigners will often point to sea-pens as being the alternative to cetacean captivity, although the only existing one to my knowledge, at current, in Iceland for belugas, isn't even fully functional.
I will not contest that Toki's conditions at Miami are pitiful. SeaWorld also has imperfections. But then, there are no reports of the husbandry benefits of sea-pens at all ... since up to this moment there has been nothing to report on.
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This comment aged horribly.... :oops:
 
dillotest0 said:
This comment aged horribly.... :oops:
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Eh, not really. She DID have a very long life… it was just bound to end sometime. I’ve actually noticed a lot of cases of animals in small, substandard habitats having very long lifespans, as you observed - it’s almost as if they’re comic books, being kept in mint condition. It’s also interesting how a lot of zoos had great breeding success with animals in those tiny old exhibits, but then again, no enrichment, no space to avoid each other, what else would they do?

It’s sad that Toki/Lolita has passed. The cynic in me thinks that there are a decent number of folks, activists among them, who are on some level relieved that they don’t actually have to go ahead and do something with her now that may or (more likely) may not have gone well
 
SWT (3.4)
Li’I M [wild born] (c. 1983)
Piquet F [wild born] (c. 1988)
Avalon F [Jump x Catalina] (b. 07/18/1999)
Hailey F [Jump x Betty] (b. 08/28/1999)
Ohana F [Li’i x Loke] (b. 08/15/2006)
Bolt M [Arrow x Catalina] (b. 09/13/2009)
Ipo M [Li’I x Loke] (b. 07/18/2015)

Shedd (2.5)
Kri F [wild born] (c. 1985)
Katrl F [wild born] (c. 1987)
Munchkin F (b 10/21/2000) [Jump x Laverne] (b. 10/21/2000)
Makoa M (b 06/01/2015) [Li’I x Piquet] (b. 06/01/2015)
Harmony F (b 08/30/2020) [Sagu x Katrl] (b. 08/31/2020)
Elelo M (b 06/30/2018) [Li’i x Loke] (b. 06/30/2018)
Loke F [wild born] (c. 1983)

Total Population (14)
(5.9)
 
Great Argus said:
Needs torn down and the Seaquarium should leave cetaceans in its past. The whale pools and stadium have been in bad condition for some time now, it was a large chunk of why they were not allowed to exhibit Tokitae the last while.
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I think if anything at all......it could potentially make a nice swimming pool if fixed up.
It's a bad size for any kind of dolphin... but for humans it should be servicable.
 
2024 Update:

SWT (3.4)
Li’I M [wild born] (c. 1983)
Piquet F [wild born] (c. 1988)
Avalon F [Jump x Catalina] (b. 07/18/1999)
Hailey F [Jump x Betty] (b. 08/28/1999)
Ohana F [Li’i x Loke] (b. 08/15/2006)
Bolt M [Arrow x Catalina] (b. 09/13/2009)
Ipo M [Li’I x Loke] (b. 07/18/2015)

Shedd (2.5)
Kri F [wild born] (c. 1985)
Katrl F [wild born] (c. 1987)
Munchkin F (b 10/21/2000) [Jump x Laverne] (b. 10/21/2000)
Makoa M (b 06/01/2015) [Li’I x Piquet] (b. 06/01/2015)
Harmony F (b 08/30/2020) [Sagu x Katrl] (b. 08/31/2020)
Elelo M (b 06/30/2018) [Li’i x Loke] (b. 06/30/2018)
Loke F [wild born] (c. 1983)

Total Population (14)
(5.9)
 
I am cautiously optimistic that there may be an announcement out of SeaWorld Texas. I had booked the in water Beluga/Pacific White Sided Dolphin interaction for July and the park called and said that tour will not be offered right now. The tour is set to resume in August online. The beluga in water interactions are still available. Hopefully that means there may be a calf or two or three in the lag population. SWT has 3 females that need to have calves: Avalon, Hailey, Ohana. Keeping my fingers crossed that is the reason for the cancelled July tour.
 
MidwestFan said:
I am cautiously optimistic that there may be an announcement out of SeaWorld Texas. I had booked the in water Beluga/Pacific White Sided Dolphin interaction for July and the park called and said that tour will not be offered right now. The tour is set to resume in August online. The beluga in water interactions are still available. Hopefully that means there may be a calf or two or three in the lag population. SWT has 3 females that need to have calves: Avalon, Hailey, Ohana. Keeping my fingers crossed that is the reason for the cancelled July tour.
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That's exactly what happened!
 
Piquet gave birth to a Pacific white-sided dolphin calf sometime between mid June and early July.
450777855_346486878555597_1263393017445167933_n.heic
 
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