will they ever bring an population of river dolphins into captivity

[Tapirus Lar]

Ganges Dolphin I honestly don't know

The situation for them is a lot more improved currently than it was. Since it became India's national aquatic mammal, and the Ganges river cleaning programs were started, the population seems to have recovered a bit. According to the most recent estimates there are over 4000 of them in India, with the Chambal river being a main stronghold of the species.

 

[jwer]

Considering the fact fhat there are still nations seemingly willing to invest in cetaceans (read: China) and the fact the range of south american river dolphins stretches along nations that might be a bit more lenient with CITES papers when confronted with a load of cash, it wouldn’t surpirse me if a few ended up in Asia during the next 10 years. I mean, a couple ended up in South-Korea in the last 20-odd years…

For the Asian species, I don’t think so. Too few animals and all concentrated in highly protected areas for some to be snuck under the radar. Although the richest family in India who are building a huge zoo might be able to create an in-situ rescue center to obtain a few rescued animals ex-situ.

 

[WalkingAgnatha]

For the Asian species, I don’t think so.

I believe Yangtze Finless-Porpoises are still held in captivity (China)? I doubt the Ganges Dolphin would end up in collections although

 

[JVM]

On one hand, if the current trends relating to keeping marine mammals in captivity, continue, I think it would be borderline impossible to see these animals in captivity again, at least in the west; however, if the trend changed and marine mammals in captivity became fashionable, I think we would see another crack at river dolphins before we would see any new oceanic cetaceans.

 

[Enzo]

They're cetaceans. Animal rights activists are currently trying to get the keeping of cetaceans in captivity banned in a number of countries.

So no, river dolphins aren't going to be brought into captivity anytime soon. I very much doubt there's any real appetite within the zoological world to do such a thing, everyone is simply too busy trying to safeguard the species that are already present in captivity!

Hello. Considering current Brazilian legislation regarding the keeping of cetaceans in captivity (according to Wikipedia, there is a de facto nationwide ban on dolphinariums and the like due to strict regulations), I believe at least river dolphins from Brazil will never leave the country ever again. I'd say it might even be unlikely we'll have them in a controlled environment anytime soon.

Being Brazilian myself, I recall only two instances of Brazilian river dolphins in captivity inside Brazil. One was an individual in Belo Horizonte (@David Matos Mendes could give you further detail about said dolphin) and the other were two females in São Paulo

Nevertheless, I'd love to see a boto. If I ever book a trip to the Amazon rainforest, seeing one will definitely be amongst my top priorities.

 

[Jurek7]

There is already a boto in Peru, so the question rather answered itself. There is a good chance that more botos, especially rescues, will appear in one of South American institutions. For years, there were several in Venezuela. If botos were kept in a natural lake, this would be little different from their normal habitat.

I doubt they will appear in the so-called West, but it is difficult not to mention that cetacean tanks are expensive and the economic stagnation changes to crisis. Western zoos already struggle to maintain or expand populations of easier and uncontroversial aquatic mammals like Nile hippos or sea lions...

 

[Local_Shark]

Funnily enough I actually wrote multiple research papers and presentations on this exact subject in college!

Short answer: probably not. Like everyone else is saying here, the very idea of cetaceans in captivity is currently highly unpopular and most zoos/aquaria are focused on optics. They want to get their animals out of their facilities and into semi-in situ homes (National Aquarium) or just not get any new ones and keep going with it quietly (Georgia). This sort of project would take obscene amounts of money as well so it would likely be avoided in favor of less controversial options.

My personal wish/a longer form answer: I think someone should try again! I genuinely believe that a good way of preserving these beautiful species would be to at least attempt a captive breeding program, so that there could be some captive ambassadors and also - potentially - to repopulate them in the wild. As crazy as it sounds, the Chinese government has actually successfully taken in some Yangtze finless porpoises in the last few decades and has managed to breed them successfully. They also claim to have maintained enough of a “wild” environment (raising them with formerly wild pod mates, reducing human interaction) that the captive-bred animals retained some degree of wild instincts, and were able to be released into a nature preserve upriver on the Yangtze. Allegedly (and keep in mind, there’s not much independent info on this, so we’re taking a Chinese government program at its word for the most part) the couple of captive-bred porpoises that were released have survived in the wild. We do know that Amazon river dolphins are capable of breeding in captivity, and I believe with technological and husbandry care advancements we could do it again. The question is, do we have the ideological and scientific drive to attempt it? I believe the habitat loss currently being suffered by all river dolphin species is more than enough reason to bring together an international coalition to attempt what the Chinese government is engaging in. We as a species failed to save the Yangtze River dolphin/baiji, but we could at least try to save these other species if we combine a breeding and release effort with vigorous habitat protection and restoration efforts in situ.

Will it happen? I doubt it. Do I think it would be a good thing if the international zoo and aquarium community came together to proactively aid these species like we did with the California condor? Absolutely.

 

[The_Leopard_Seal]

Funnily enough I actually wrote multiple research papers and presentations on this exact subject in college!

Short answer: probably not. Like everyone else is saying here, the very idea of cetaceans in captivity is currently highly unpopular and most zoos/aquaria are focused on optics. They want to get their animals out of their facilities and into semi-in situ homes (National Aquarium) or just not get any new ones and keep going with it quietly (Georgia). This sort of project would take obscene amounts of money as well so it would likely be avoided in favor of less controversial options.

My personal wish/a longer form answer: I think someone should try again! I genuinely believe that a good way of preserving these beautiful species would be to at least attempt a captive breeding program, so that there could be some captive ambassadors and also - potentially - to repopulate them in the wild. As crazy as it sounds, the Chinese government has actually successfully taken in some Yangtze finless porpoises in the last few decades and has managed to breed them successfully. They also claim to have maintained enough of a “wild” environment (raising them with formerly wild pod mates, reducing human interaction) that the captive-bred animals retained some degree of wild instincts, and were able to be released into a nature preserve upriver on the Yangtze. Allegedly (and keep in mind, there’s not much independent info on this, so we’re taking a Chinese government program at its word for the most part) the couple of captive-bred porpoises that were released have survived in the wild. We do know that Amazon river dolphins are capable of breeding in captivity, and I believe with technological and husbandry care advancements we could do it again. The question is, do we have the ideological and scientific drive to attempt it? I believe the habitat loss currently being suffered by all river dolphin species is more than enough reason to bring together an international coalition to attempt what the Chinese government is engaging in. We as a species failed to save the Yangtze River dolphin/baiji, but we could at least try to save these other species if we combine a breeding and release effort with vigorous habitat protection and restoration efforts in situ.

Will it happen? I doubt it. Do I think it would be a good thing if the international zoo and aquarium community came together to proactively aid these species like we did with the California condor? Absolutely.

I do believe that freshwater cetaceans will do better in captivity than most saltwater cetaceans.

 

[Local_Shark]

I do believe that freshwater cetaceans will do better in captivity than most saltwater cetaceans.

The actual data is a bit hazy on that. In tanks that are explicitly designed for the specialized needs of river dolphins, such as shallower bottoms and specialized pH to mimic their environment, they have been known to do very well. In more generic tanks and without those enrichments, they do poorly. To do it again, I believe a more advanced version of the tank the PPG Aquarium built in 2002 for their boto, Chuckles, would need to be utilized.

 

[TheMightyOrca]

Along with the stigma against cetacean captivity, there's also the matter that river dolphins just aren't as popular as their marine counterparts. Unless a facility is focusing specifically on research and conservation, popularity is going to be a big factor in what animals they decide to keep. Why bother going through the difficulty and expense of keeping a river dolphin, which don't have many examples of successful captive care and are largely pretty obscure species, when bottlenose dolphins and other marine cetaceans are a safe bet in terms of care and popularity and much easier to acquire?

That said, I could picture it happening at a facility where the intent is conservation. If they succeed with keeping them alive and well enough for long periods of time, I could see zoos and aquariums taking them on. Maybe not in the US, but I wouldn't even discount that possibility. I think that when it comes to the mainstream public, a lot of the distaste for cetacean captivity comes from poor optics and presentation. For waaaay too long, dolphin exhibits had this entertainment/circus vibe, so the education argument falls flat and the conservation argument doesn't really work for non-endangered/vulnerable species. With river dolphins, the conservation argument is a lot stronger, and if they go in with an education and natural vibe over an entertainment one, they might be able to avoid a lot of the controversy.

 

[Local_Shark]

That said, I could picture it happening at a facility where the intent is conservation…I think that when it comes to the mainstream public, a lot of the distaste for cetacean captivity comes from poor optics and presentation. For waaaay too long, dolphin exhibits had this entertainment/circus vibe, so the education argument falls flat and the conservation argument doesn't really work for non-endangered/vulnerable species. With river dolphins, the conservation argument is a lot stronger, and if they go in with an education and natural vibe over an entertainment one, they might be able to avoid a lot of the controversy.

That was almost exactly the thesis of the reports I wrote on the subject - that the only reason to ever do this would be to conserve the species in much the same way as we did the California condor or rhino species nowadays. We were way too late in doing that for some rhinos and for the Yangtze River dolphin, and certainly for the vaquita…and even worse, attempting a captive breeding program pushed that species closer to extinction. A proactive conservation program now for the river dolphins that only have “endangered” or early “critically endangered” status now could potentially avert that and would certainly be far better optically. The question is which facilities might have the will to attempt such a thing.

 

[TheMightyOrca]

That was almost exactly the thesis of the reports I wrote on the subject - that the only reason to ever do this would be to conserve the species in much the same way as we did the California condor or rhino species nowadays. We were way too late in doing that for some rhinos and for the Yangtze River dolphin, and certainly for the vaquita…and even worse, attempting a captive breeding program pushed that species closer to extinction. A proactive conservation program now for the river dolphins that only have “endangered” or early “critically endangered” status now could potentially avert that and would certainly be far better optically. The question is which facilities might have the will to attempt such a thing.

I'm not much of a fan of cetacean captivity myself, but even I'd be down for trying out captivity as a conservation tool for species that need it, if they can benefit from it. It's not the most ideal, but as you say, it would be better to try it out now rather than wait for the situation to become so dire that attempting captivity becomes too risky. And I have wondered if, with proper enclosure design and research on care, maybe freshwater species could actually fare better than oceanic ones?

I think the facilities most likely to attempt it would be research-based ones rather than zoos or aquariums. More flexibility to experiment, and less concern with optics and popularity. I don't picture many zoos or aquariums wanting to take that on unless they know the species can be kept reliably.

 

[Local_Shark]

I think the facilities most likely to attempt it would be research-based ones rather than zoos or aquariums. More flexibility to experiment, and less concern with optics and popularity. I don't picture many zoos or aquariums wanting to take that on unless they know the species can be kept reliably.

I tend to agree. Only the Chinese science ministry is undertaking any kind of program like this now, and that’s after their Yangtze River dolphin/baiji restoration program already failed so now they’re much more engaged on the Yangtze finless porpoise. Notably someone in this very thread had sources for the Indian government doing the same thing with the Ganges and/or Indus River dolphins it looks like. I tend to think it’d be governments and/or universities that try, if anyone.

But…if we’re just hypothesizing, and I had to throw out a random guess that I also think would fit really well with what they already do, it would be a certain facility in my home state! The SD Safari Park has no true South American exhibit and has already been arguably the most successful facility in the US with species survival programs. An Amazon River dolphin/boto complex that I could regularly visit would genuinely be the coolest thing ever for me, lol.

That being said, the logistics and legality of removing any of these species from their home countries would likely prevent any American zoo or aquarium from even considering the idea. And that’s not even considering the somewhat, for lack of a better word, colonialist implications of a non native facility insisting on trying it rather than a local one. European and American groups removed a truly depressing 140 Amazon River dolphins from their habitat in the 1960s and 1970s, only a handful of which even lived longer than 5 years due to the obvious deficiencies of the standards of care back then. I have no doubt that any of the home nations of the species in question have a long memory when it comes to that failure, and wouldn’t look favorably on any attempts that weren’t offered up with very legitimate sensitivity and collaborative spirit between the nations.

 

[gerome]

I tend to agree. Only the Chinese science ministry is undertaking any kind of program like this now, and that’s after their Yangtze River dolphin/baiji restoration program already failed so now they’re much more engaged on the Yangtze finless porpoise. Notably someone in this very thread had sources for the Indian government doing the same thing with the Ganges and/or Indus River dolphins it looks like. I tend to think it’d be governments and/or universities that try, if anyone.

But…if we’re just hypothesizing, and I had to throw out a random guess that I also think would fit really well with what they already do, it would be a certain facility in my home state! The SD Safari Park has no true South American exhibit and has already been arguably the most successful facility in the US with species survival programs. An Amazon River dolphin/boto complex that I could regularly visit would genuinely be the coolest thing ever for me, lol.

That being said, the logistics and legality of removing any of these species from their home countries would likely prevent any American zoo or aquarium from even considering the idea. And that’s not even considering the somewhat, for lack of a better word, colonialist implications of a non native facility insisting on trying it rather than a local one. European and American groups removed a truly depressing 140 Amazon River dolphins from their habitat in the 1960s and 1970s, only a handful of which even lived longer than 5 years due to the obvious deficiencies of the standards of care back then. I have no doubt that any of the home nations of the species in question have a long memory when it comes to that failure, and wouldn’t look favorably on any attempts that weren’t offered up with very legitimate sensitivity and collaborative spirit between the nations.

I believe it's possible for species like the tucuxi, which are part marine and part freshwater. And because there small they would be easier for logistics

 

[Local_Shark]

I believe it's possible for species like the tucuxi, which are part marine and part freshwater. And because there small they would be easier for logistics

Oh, I would wager so, but they aren’t as endangered as their fully freshwater cousins. The will might not be present for them to be brought into captivity, and certainly the optics wouldn’t be quite as good. That would be most likely to happen in a South American country near where they reside, if I had to guess. It would be really need to see a couple of that species as ambassadors. Definitely rescues would be preferable - in my personal view, rescue or species survival programs are the only acceptable reasons for cetaceans to be held in captivity.

 

[BlobfishBoy]

Last I checked on cetabase there were 2 tucuxi listed in captivity I believe in some obscure facility in their native range. Sadly the site is currently under maintenance so I can't confirm if this is still the case.