Why no ribbon seals in captivity?

There should still be a few places in Japan keeping them. And wasn't there are a US holder until fairly recently?
 
California sea lion, Harbor seal and Grey seal are the only pinniped species currently supported in the US. There's a few others on display, such as walrus and Steller's sea lion, and I think the rest are all rescues.

Beautiful species and I do wish there was room and interest to support additional pinnipeds.
 
Tokkari Center in Hokkaido, Japan currently has a rescued individual off exhibit.
It's a pup that was rescued this May, and might come on exhibit depending on future situation.

Unfortunately Pukumaru the ribbon seal pup passed away last month:

オホーツクとっかりセンター アザラシランド on Instagram: ". アザラシランドよりお知らせです。 2024年9月24日にクラカケアザラシの ぷく丸くんが亡くなりました。 ぷく丸くんは今年5月4日に 紋別港内で保護されました。 数日前より食欲が低下した為、治療を行いましたが、 9月24日に飼育員に見守られながら 天国へ旅立ちました。 死因は腸閉塞でした。 ぷく丸くんの飼育は正直難しくて みんなで何度も頭を抱えて悩みました。 一時は回復の兆しも見えていたので、 今思うと飼育員に『大丈夫だよ』と 伝えてくれたのではないかと思っています。 最期までぷく丸は生きようと頑張っていました。 出会ってから短い期間でしたが、 とても濃い時間で、忘れる事はありません。 ぷく丸くんを可愛がって下さった皆様に 改めて、お礼を申し上げますとともに、 「ぷく丸」に感謝の気持ちを表します。 なお、2024年9月26日〜10月27日まで アザラシランド内の休憩室に献花台を設置いたします。 ぷく丸ありがとう。大好きだよ。 飼育員一同 #とっかりセンター#アザラシランド #北海道#紋別#アザラシ#クラカケアザラシ#seal"
 
Aquamarine Fukushima, the last holder in Japan AFAIK lost theirs recently. I think Mystic was the last one in the US and their individual is gone too.
Ye, you're correct. The last holder in the U.S was Mystic aquarium.
it is pretty, why are they not being held anywhere?
They're mostly kept in Japan aquariums, which I don't know how they got their population (but have an idea), so I really don't think the species is going anywhere in captivity, unless some facility aquires them from a japanese facility, which I doubt.
 
Ye, you're correct. The last holder in the U.S was Mystic aquarium.

They're mostly kept in Japan aquariums, which I don't know how they got their population (but have an idea), so I really don't think the species is going anywhere in captivity, unless some facility aquires them from a japanese facility, which I doubt.
It was already stated above that there are currently no animals in Japanese zoos/aquariums. They require them from time to time as rescue animals, but the species has proven itself sensitive to temperature changes. The Fukushima specimen was only kept on exhibit for a few months a year during winter, all other months it was inside in a very cooled room.
I think one animal might be held in Russia. Russia was planning on getting them and they are even more eager to capture marine mammals than Japan is. Most Japanese aquariums have stepped back from these practises.
 
It was already stated above that there are currently no animals in Japanese zoos/aquariums. They require them from time to time as rescue animals, but the species has proven itself sensitive to temperature changes. The Fukushima specimen was only kept on exhibit for a few months a year during winter, all other months it was inside in a very cooled room.
I think one animal might be held in Russia. Russia was planning on getting them and they are even more eager to capture marine mammals than Japan is. Most Japanese aquariums have stepped back from these practises.
Thanks for clearing that out! I got confused withe the number of spotted seals, which are much higher. I'm happy to see that japanese aquariums are stepping back from this practice.
 
https://otlibrary.com/ribbon-seal/ says that ribbon seals are elusive, due to their remote habitat. This may deter people from collecting them. As I suspect very few people have heard of them, I doubt if there is much demand from the to see captive ribbon seals, which could be expensive to acquire.
 
Back
Top