Cetaceans kept in North America

Austin the Sengi

Austin the Sengi

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
While cetaceans as whole have been a controversial infraorder when it comes to being kept in a captive setting. Nonetheless, there is a decent diversity of cetaceans that are still present; with all of them belonging to the superfamily Delphinoidea.

In addition, since we already have a population list for almost every species listed below. I felt that the best way to unite these lists together was to plan a general holder list; which would later result in the creation of this thread. Also, this thread will only cover operating facilities in Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America (excluding Hawaii and overseas territories):


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) - 25 holders

USA:
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Minnesota Zoo - (temporary)
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium


Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


I also want to give a quick shoutout to @Sydney, @MidwestFan, @Jonathan Petersson, loxodontaafrica, and DolphinLover for the population lists that helped make this thread relatively easy to establish.
 
Obviously I know that Hawaii is a state, but originally, my focus was solely on facilities in the US mainland. However, when the time comes to update the list, I’ll include the Hawaiian facilities for good measure.
 
The only park in Hawaii I've got holding cetaceans is Sea Life Park Hawaii with Bottlenose Dolphins and Wholphins (false killer whale x bottlenose dolphin)
 
BigNate said:
The only park in Hawaii I've got holding cetaceans is Sea Life Park Hawaii with Bottlenose Dolphins and Wholphins (false killer whale x bottlenose dolphin)
Click to expand...

There's also Dolphin Quest Honolulu and Dolphin Quest Waikoloa.

Coral World Ocean Park in the Virgin Islands is US territory.
 
Neil chace said:
I thought I read somewhere on here recently (by @ThylacineAlive I believe) that the bottlenose dolphins in US zoos aren't actually truncatus, but erebennus? Might want to check on that.
Click to expand...
It was in one of the several Zootierliste threads.

T. erebennus was only split from T. truncatus in 2023, hence why they are all listed as T. truncatus - but it would depend on where the dolphins were sourced (i.e. the wild-capture locality) and it would also need DNA verification I would assume given that just being caught in a specific region wouldn't automatically make it one or the other.


Edit: in a quick look at the website of the Hawaii Sea Life Park, it says they have both Pacific and Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins.

Another edit: see also this thread: United States Bottlenose Dolphin Population
 
Last edited:
As promised, listed among the others below are the Hawaiian facilities that I previously excluded. However, my stand on including overseas territories still stands with this thread; which of course, means that Coral World Ocean Park will not be listed below:


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus / aduncus / “erebennus”) - 28 holders

USA (includes Hawaii):
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Dolphin Quest Hawaii*
• Dolphin Quest Oahu*
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Minnesota Zoo - (temporary)
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii**
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium


Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


Wholphin (Tursiops truncatus x Pseudorca crassidens) - 1 holder

USA (Hawaii)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii



(* all Atlantic - T. truncatus)
(** Atlantic + Pacific - T. tursiops / aduncus)
(underline/bold - newly added facility)
 
Austin the Sengi said:
As promised, listed among the others below are the Hawaiian facilities that I previously excluded. However, my stand on including overseas territories still stands with this thread; which of course, means that Coral World Ocean Park will not be listed below:


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus / aduncus / “erebennus”) - 28 holders

USA (includes Hawaii):
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Dolphin Quest Hawaii*
• Dolphin Quest Oahu*
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Minnesota Zoo - (temporary)
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii**
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium


Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


Wholphin (Tursiops truncatus x Pseudorca crassidens) - 1 holder

USA (Hawaii)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii



(* all Atlantic - T. truncatus)
(** Atlantic + Pacific - T. tursiops / aduncus)
(underline/bold - newly added facility)
Click to expand...

I know that for bottlenose dolphins, Marineland Canada has 4 females. Are they excluded as they’re a subspecies or outside the US?
Tursiops Truncatus Ponticus, to be precise.
 
I will add a couple additions to the list. Hope this helps some! Also I would take all bottlenose subspecies with a grain of the salt unless they are wild caught Pacific as the addition of the new tursiops erebennus and the population being managed on a non-subspecific level it will be almost impossible to keep track of the subspecies until more research is done.

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Dolphin Research Center

Bottlenose x Common Dolphin Hybrid
SeaWorld San Diego
Ocean Adventure Marine Park (Institute for Marine Mammal Studies)
Discovery Cove

Indo-Pacific x Common/Tamanend Bottlenose Dolphin Hybrid
Miami Seaquarium

Common Bottlenose Dolphin or Tursiops erebennus
Dolphin Discovery Cozumel
Dolphin Discovery Playa del Carmen
Dolphin Discovery Puerto Aventuras
Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres
Dolphin Discovery Tulum
Dolphin Discovery Vallarta
Dolphin Discovery Ocho Rios
Dolphin Discovery Montego Bay
Dolphin Discovery Cove Cayman
Dolphin Discovery Punta Cana
Dolphin Discovery St Kitts
Dolphin Discovery Ocean Adventures
Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman
Dolphin Quest Bermuda
Interactive Aquarium Cancun
Delphinus Punta Cancun
Delphinus Playa Mujeres
Delphinus Puerto Morelos
Delphinus Riviera Maya
Delphinus Xcaret
Delphinus Xel-Há
Atlantis Bahamas
Balmoral Island
Coral World
Dolphin Explorer
Dolphin Encounters
Dolphin Academy Curaçao

I’m sure that there are still facilities missing from the list as there are an abundant number of bottlenose holders throughout the Caribbean but hopefully this will enough for the time being. I would recommend doing more research in general then the population threads have to offer as they limit themselves to certain regions (USA Bottlenose) or do not include every species such as hybrids and the Atlantic Spotted above.
 
To say that this is quite the impressive list is already by itself amazing, and while I am going to predominantly stick to continental facilities (with a few exceptions of course). I certainly appreciate the effort that you’ve made to make the list above possible.
 
With the helpful information that @Jonathan Petersson recently contributed. Of course, it only seemed necessary to further expand the bottlenose population to an astonishing total of fifty-three holders across several countries and island nations! Along with the inclusion of a dolphin species new to the thread, as you will notice below:


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus / aduncus / “erebennus” / etc.) - 53 holders

USA (includes Hawaii):
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Dolphin Quest Hawaii*
• Dolphin Quest Oahu*
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Minnesota Zoo - (temporary)
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii**
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada - (T. t. ponticus)

Mexico:
• Dolphin Discovery - (Cozumel)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Playa Del Carmen)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Riviera Maya)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Isla Mujeres)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Tulum-Akumal)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Puerto Vallarta)
• Delphinus - (Punta Cancun)
• Delphinus - (Playa Mujeres)
• Delphinus - (Puerto Morelos)
• Delphinus - (Riviera Maya)
• Delphinus - (Xcaret)
• Delphinus - (Xel-Há)
• Interactive Aquarium Cancún

Miscellaneous (mostly Caribbean):
• Atlantis Bahamas
• Balmoral Island - (Bahamas)
• Blue Lagoon Island - (Bahamas)
• Curaçao Sea Aquarium
• Dolphin Cove Cayman
• Dolphin Discovery - (Ocho Rios)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Montego Bay)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Grand Cayman)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Saint Kitts)
• Dolphin Explorer - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Quest - (Bermuda)



Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 1 holder

USA
• Dolphin Research Center


Wholphin (Tursiops truncatus x Pseudorca crassidens) - 1 holder

USA (Hawaii)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii



(* all Atlantic - T. truncatus)
(** Atlantic + Pacific - T. tursiops / aduncus)
(underline/bold - newly added facility)
 
As reported by @Kaleb in the respective news thread. The Brookfield Zoo recently reacquired their bottlenose dolphins from the Minnesota Zoo; and thus, the latter facility are no longer a current holder of the species:


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus / aduncus / “erebennus” / etc.) - 53 holders

USA (includes Hawaii):
• Brookfield Zoo
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Dolphin Quest Hawaii*
• Dolphin Quest Oahu*
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii**
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada - (T. t. ponticus)

Mexico:
• Dolphin Discovery - (Cozumel)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Playa Del Carmen)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Riviera Maya)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Isla Mujeres)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Tulum-Akumal)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Puerto Vallarta)
• Delphinus - (Punta Cancun)
• Delphinus - (Playa Mujeres)
• Delphinus - (Puerto Morelos)
• Delphinus - (Riviera Maya)
• Delphinus - (Xcaret)
• Delphinus - (Xel-Há)
• Interactive Aquarium Cancún

Miscellaneous (mostly Caribbean):
• Atlantis Bahamas
• Balmoral Island - (Bahamas)
• Blue Lagoon Island - (Bahamas)
• Curaçao Sea Aquarium
• Dolphin Cove Cayman
• Dolphin Discovery - (Ocho Rios)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Montego Bay)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Grand Cayman)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Saint Kitts)
• Dolphin Explorer - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Quest - (Bermuda)



Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 1 holder

USA
• Dolphin Research Center


Wholphin (Tursiops truncatus x Pseudorca crassidens) - 1 holder

USA (Hawaii)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii



(* all Atlantic - T. truncatus)
(** Atlantic + Pacific - T. truncatus / aduncus)
(underline/bold - newly added facility)
 
Austin the Sengi said:
As reported by @Kaleb in the respective news thread. The Brookfield Zoo recently reacquired their bottlenose dolphins from the Minnesota Zoo; and thus, the latter facility are no longer a current holder of the species:


Orca (Orcinus orca) - 3 holders

USA
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego


Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 1 holder

USA
• SeaWorld San Diego


Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) - 7 holders

USA:
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Mystic Aquarium
• Georgia Aquarium
• Shedd Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus / aduncus / “erebennus” / etc.) - 53 holders

USA (includes Hawaii):
• Brookfield Zoo
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)
• Discovery Cove
• Dolphin Research Center
• Dolphin Connection
• Dolphin Plus - (Bayside)
• Dolphin Plus - (Marine Mammal Responder)
• Dolphin Quest Hawaii*
• Dolphin Quest Oahu*
• Epcot
• Georgia Aquarium
• Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS)
• Island Dolphin Care
• Long Marine Lab
• Marineland Dolphin Adventure
• Miami Seaquarium
• Mississippi Aquarium
• National Aquarium - (Baltimore)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii**
• SeaWorld Orlando
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• SeaWorld San Diego
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Theater of the Sea
• Texas State Aquarium

Ex-US:
Canada:
• Marineland Canada - (T. t. ponticus)

Mexico:
• Dolphin Discovery - (Cozumel)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Playa Del Carmen)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Riviera Maya)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Isla Mujeres)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Tulum-Akumal)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Puerto Vallarta)
• Delphinus - (Punta Cancun)
• Delphinus - (Playa Mujeres)
• Delphinus - (Puerto Morelos)
• Delphinus - (Riviera Maya)
• Delphinus - (Xcaret)
• Delphinus - (Xel-Há)
• Interactive Aquarium Cancún

Miscellaneous (mostly Caribbean):
• Atlantis Bahamas
• Balmoral Island - (Bahamas)
• Blue Lagoon Island - (Bahamas)
• Curaçao Sea Aquarium
• Dolphin Cove Cayman
• Dolphin Discovery - (Ocho Rios)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Montego Bay)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Grand Cayman)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Discovery - (Saint Kitts)
• Dolphin Explorer - (Punta Cana)
• Dolphin Quest - (Bermuda)



Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - 2 holders

USA
• SeaWorld San Antonio
• Shedd Aquarium


Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) - 2 holders

USA
• Gulf World Marine Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA)


Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - 1 holder

USA
• Aquatica Orlando


Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 1 holder

USA
• Dolphin Research Center


Wholphin (Tursiops truncatus x Pseudorca crassidens) - 1 holder

USA (Hawaii)
• Sea Life Park Hawaii



(* all Atlantic - T. truncatus)
(** Atlantic + Pacific - T. truncatus / aduncus)
(underline/bold - newly added facility)
Click to expand...
SeaWorld Orlando no longer houses Beluga whales at the moment. Nunavik went to Georgia Aquarium for breeding purposes and Oliver went to SeaWorld San Diego because they're expanding the Walrus habitat.
 
Originally I thought they were going to use the old polar bear/harbor seal exhibit as an additional walrus habitat, and acquire a new pair of belugas to replace Nunavik and Oliver. But clearly that doesn’t seem to be the case now? It certainly seems like a very last minute decision if you ask me.
 
Last edited:
Austin the Sengi said:
Originally I thought they were going to use the old polar bear/harbor seal exhibit as an additional walrus habitat, and acquire a new pair of belugas to replace Nunavik and Oliver. But clearly that doesn’t seem to be the case now? It certainly seems like a very last minute decision if you ask me.
Click to expand...
Do you mean you think they are moving the walrus into the previous beluga habitat?
 
Austin the Sengi said:
That’s what it sounded like based on the way @Kaleb worded it in their post above.
Click to expand...
Ah! Certainly possible. Alternatively, if they are expanding the walrus they could put them in the beluga habitat temporarily while the other two are combined into one larger exhibit. I don't think we really know currently, at least I haven't heard anything concrete.
 
Well then, until we have more concrete evidence on the subject. For the time being, I will not remove SeaWorld Orlando as a current beluga holder; just in case if they unexpectedly end up getting belugas again.
 
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