Will dolphins and other marine mammals ever return to the UK?

[Sun Wukong]

Manatees would be great as they are under threat in many places! The don't require as much space and as far as I know, have never been kept in the UK before.

Objection!

1. Just because they are not as agile as cetaceans doesn't mean that manatees do not require much space; quite the contrary, as after all, they are pretty large animals.

2. Amazonian manatees were kept in London in 1875 for 5 weeks and 1889for 5 months; an African manatee was kept in London in 1875 for one month.
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3. Just because an animal is "under threat", it doesn't have to be kept in a zoo...

@vs0u2086: Mentioning media-savvy Ric O'Berry is rather a deterrent than a sign of quality...
As a veterinarian, you should know of the benefits gained for the sake of all sick cetacea by the husbandry & treatment experiences of captive cetacea . What was learned by pioneers such as David Taylor or Bernhard Neurohr can now be put to use to help cetacea in need of veterinary treatment. Without this gain of knowlegde, textbooks like the CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine or the apt bits & chapters within the Fowler & Miller copies would have been way shorter and less comprehensive (than they sometimes already are...), and treatment way more difficult.

Indeed, there are many animal species that can't and shouldn't be kept in zoos due to various reasons (food specialisation, size, special reproduction cycle...). This subject has been discussed again and again on this forum. But some cetacea species like Beluga whales or bottlenose dolphins (especially from inshore populations) seem to do just as fine in captivity as various other popular zoo species, if given the right husbandry. Why should enclosure size be a knock-out criterion for the husbandry of cetacea, but not so for, say, manatees? Cetacea shouldn't get special treatment just because of emotional reasons & current zeitgeist.

 

[Devi]

Just to add a couple of years ago (-ish) there were rumours that an aquarium had asked for planning permission to put in a dolphin exhibit. I don't know where it was or whether it was legit, does anyone know?

It was The Nirah Project I believe? As far as I know the project is now not happening, there's been no news for a few years now. It was a very interesting idea too.

Take a look - Nirah

 

[sealion]

Objection!

1. Just because they are not as agile as cetaceans doesn't mean that manatees do not require much space; quite the contrary, as after all, they are pretty large animals.

2. Amazonian manatees were kept in London in 1875 for 5 weeks and 1889for 5 months; an African manatee was kept in London in 1875 for one month.
ZootierlisteHomepage
3. Just because an animal is "under threat", it doesn't have to be kept in a zoo...

@vs0u2086: Mentioning media-savvy Ric O'Berry is rather a deterrent than a sign of quality...
As a veterinarian, you should know of the benefits gained for the sake of all sick cetacea by the husbandry & treatment experiences of captive cetacea . What was learned by pioneers such as David Taylor or Bernhard Neurohr can now be put to use to help cetacea in need of veterinary treatment. Without this gain of knowlegde, textbooks like the CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine or the apt bits & chapters within the Fowler & Miller copies would have been way shorter and less comprehensive (than they sometimes already are...), and treatment way more difficult.

Indeed, there are many animal species that can't and shouldn't be kept in zoos due to various reasons (food specialisation, size, special reproduction cycle...). This subject has been discussed again and again on this forum. But some cetacea species like Beluga whales or bottlenose dolphins (especially from inshore populations) seem to do just as fine in captivity as various other popular zoo species, if given the right husbandry. Why should enclosure size be a knock-out criterion for the husbandry of cetacea, but not so for, say, manatees? Cetacea shouldn't get special treatment just because of emotional reasons & current zeitgeist.

I never said that manatees required less space, but they would probably be better welcomed by the public than dolphins. Many zoos, for example the ZSL ones are focusing their collections on only containing animals that are under threat. Manatees would fit in with this agenda, as would something like an amazonian river dolphin. (On this note, can I just say that it is such a shame that the chinese river dolphin has become extinct before anything could be done!!)

I agree with what you've said about the animal species. Cetaceans may be more challenging to look after than some other animals but this is not to say that in the right circumstances they cannot be kept properly.

 

[sealion]

I've seen the cove, and I found it very interesting to watch. I am obviously against the dolphin slaughter, but I'm a bit wary about the captivity message they force onto you because they have taken advantage of the "captive" (pun not intended) audience.

 

[Sun Wukong]

@sealion: The majority of animals kept in most zoos worldwide, also in the ZSL ones, are the ones attractive for the general visitor. That's the reason why you can find meerkats, South American coatis, flamingos and Bennett's wallabies in pretty much every zoo worldwide-even though none of them is "under threat" (beside of being eaten by a straying wild fox or given unhealthy food by visitors). Manatees, especially in comparison to the more agile, active and popular dolphins, are far less attractive for the normal zoo visitor and yet require expensive and roomy husbandry; so only a few zoos keep them.
Some projects were undertaken to save the baiji-but unfortunately, they were not successful.
Don't generalize: a lot of of cetacea species cannot be kept properly in captivity, due to their size and life style; think of the huge baleen whales or open water species such as the Pygmy sperm whale. Yet some species can be kept adequately if given the right husbandry circumstances.

 

[Zambar]

Why do so many ZooChatters appear to concentrate on wanting to see animals in captivity (good zoos, of course) where there are good photographic opportunities (so many posts on this site seem to be about photography, and not the animals' ability to hide away). EcoTourism is growing rapidly and there are already opportunities to see wild dolphins and, occasionally, orcas and true whales around the UK coast. These experience are much more magical than any encounter in a dolphinarium, for example.

I am zoo and wildlife veterinarian and I whole-heartedly believe in the role of zoos - I just don't think that all species are suitable for captivity.

Agreed. I've watched Minke Whales and Harbour Porpoises twice off the Isle of Mull with Sea Life Surveys (along with Basking Sharks and Sunfish on my second outing) and the experience is absolutely amazing: I've seen Orcas and Dolphins at Marineland Antibes, but watching the mother minke roll across the surface with her calf amongst stunned-to-silence tourists beats that anyday. I'm hoping to do one of the whale watching trips off Cornwall sometime, as well as watching bottlenose dolphins from the shore in the Moray Firth, which I hear is even better.

Why ponder whether they'll come back to tanks here when you've got the best marine safari off the UK's coasts!

 

[Devi]

I think that sea mammals in a zoo is controversial, but would anyone argue a rescue/rehab centre? So far in this country most sea mammals are killed if found injured. Only seals and more recently turtles can be catered for.
Would it be ok to keep and rehabilitate an injured dolphin or whale? Would it be ok for an animal who can never be returned to the wild because of injury or disability to remain captive?

 

[Tim May]

Manatees would be great as they are under threat in many places! The don't require as much space and as far as I know, have never been kept in the UK before.

Amazonian manatees were kept in London in 1875 for 5 weeks and 1889for 5 months; an African manatee was kept in London in 1875 for one month.

As Sun Wukong has pointed out, manatees were indeed kept in London Zoo during the nineteenth century. More recently, a West Indian manatee was acquired by London Zoo in 1962.

London Zoo is not the only place in the UK to have kept manatees, though; manatees were definitely also kept in the Brighton Aquarium and the old Westminster Aquarium.

 

[Deviant*Strain]

Please may I urge everyone who is enjoying this post to rent / download / watch the recent Oscar-winning documentary, 'The Cove'. It is a very well made documentary focusing on the capture and slaughter of over 20 000 wild dolphins in a small cove off the Japanese coast, annually. The primary aim of these capture exercises is to sell dolphins to captivity, where they fetch around US$150 000 each. Over 90% of the world's captive dolphinarium, 'swim with a dolphin', zoo dolphins are thought to have been wild caught from that one little cove in Japan. The remaining, unsold, dolphins are all slaughtered and the meat, almost a by-product and full of mercury, goes into the human food place.

I'm not an extremist, nor a sensationalist, but it is a very interesting and thought-provoking film. The man trying to stop this massacre each year is Mr. O'Barry, none other than the man who caught and trained the original 'Flipper', for the tv series, before he realised how unsuitable cetaceans are for captivity. Please, let me know what you think. Best wishes.

Japan supplies living Dolphins to a TINY amount of Dolphinaria in Asia. Most places have amazing Bottlenosed Dolphin breeding records. Mr O'Barry is a grumpy old man who's antiquated ideas belong in the past. He is PETA of the Cetacean world and I think we can all agree that they're just... stupid. Also, none of the captured Taiji Dolphins ever reach places like Sea World who (A) are not able to import captured cetaceans, and (B) don't need to because of their tremendously successful breeding programs. The primary aim of these hunts is meat, the by product is Japanese and Chinese aquariums wanting to restock their animals as they don't seem to care about breeding programs.


The Cove is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever seen. The only good thing it did was make these hunts known the public, BUT the amount of rubbish information in there is just... astounding. Don't watch The Cove, do your own research and figure it out for yourselves or talk to people who know. Ric O'Barry and Russ Rector (who is another Anti-Cap for cetaceans) are old men with old ideas that belong in the past. Miami SeaQuarium may have small tank for Lolita, I can't stand it, BUT she couldn't be moved, it would kill her. They're care of animals however is immense (hence Lolita living beyond 40 years old). Once Lolita dies, I doubt MSQ will ever get another Orca until they do something about that horrid tank.


I for one do not want to see cetaceans back in the UK. We've got a lot of updating to do for our current animals and exhibits and cetaceans are specialist. SeaWorld and places like Marineland D'Antibes are fine. They have large exhibits (and I'm sorry, if you can accept Elephants in captivity then Cetaceans are equal, both travel amazing distances in the wild etc etc). MLF should be the minimum for Orca habitats I believe. It's very deep and very wide and for the four Orca's they have, it's perfect.

 

[Vulpes]

I think the biggest problem for UK dolphinaria is cost! It costs a lot to heat a large pool! Dolphins now breed so well in captivity it is unnecessary to capture them from the wild. These are however warm water animals which are smaller and cuter. North Atlantic Bottle nosed dolphins are much bigger! they would be suitable for an unheated pool but they would never get permission to capture them. Unless they were going to rescue and rehab I cannot see this ever happening. If a UK dolphinarium was to be built it would have to be indoor! like they have in some of the northern European zoos.

If someone had the cash and the balls, I think they would make money! Who will do it though? I would imagine a lot of petitioning outside every day for years!

Manatee I can see in the near future, Chester, Bristol or some of the large aquariums are the most likely I think!

 

[John Dineley]

I feel the biggest problem with the keeping of dolphins & Orca's in the UK has been in the past almost all the exhibits keeping them have been far to small and cramped which does not paint such a good picture to the zoo going public, Whipsnades water mammal house comes to mind as one of them and there were much much worse, while classed as modern at the time (I visited it just after it opened) it was far to small for four dolphins a mere teaspoon for them to live in.

If the UK wants to house such animals again they should maybe look at some of the major parks overseas such as the seaworlds in the USA or even some of the European parks. Penny pinching exhibits are not going to work anymore so if they really want to keep them then give them large first class facilities or just dont keep them.

Of course, as I have pointed in various other threads, places like Whipsnade would now be illegal to house dolphins. See the preamble HERE as a potted history of UK cetacean keeping.

I have to say that regarding Whipsnade that when it was designed it was as the result of a fact finding tour by the zoo director and someone I know with considerable experience in the field joked that they must have taken every bad point from all the main European dolphinaria and incorporated into Whipsnade pool.

Whipsnade Zoo - Zoological Society of London

 

[John Dineley]

I am zoo and wildlife veterinarian and I whole-heartedly believe in the role of zoos - I just don't think that all species are suitable for captivity.

Have you worked with cetaceans in captivity? I have to say that the smaller cetaceans adapt to captivity very well. We now have situation where animals such as Tursiops successfully bred in captivity much the same as many other ABC zoo species.

Marine Animal Welfare - dolphins in captivity

 

[John Dineley]

. Over 90% of the world's captive dolphinarium, 'swim with a dolphin', zoo dolphins are thought to have been wild caught from that one little cove in Japan.

Actually the majority of the dolphins in zoos and aquariums in the US and Europe are captive bred and from original stock acquired from the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, as far as I am aware no dolphins from the 'drive fisheries' in Japan have been imported in Europe for many years. Two were imported in the UK by Terry Nutkins in 1981 to Knowsley Safari Park.

Article from the Radio Times regarding this HERE

The in Japan (as in other counties) were undertaken for food; the sale of a number of animals to aquariums - mainly in Asia - was undertaken as a side-line.

The European Association for Aquatic Mammals (EAAM) who have many members in European zoos and aquaria have a position statement regarding this matter linked below:

European Association for Aquatic Mammals - EAAM - Statement on Japanese Drive Fisheries

Ric O'Barry (formerly Ric O'Feldman) is an interesting character and a blatant self publicist. He claims to have been the sole trainer of 'Flipper' which was actually several animals house at the time in the Miami Seaquarim and at Santini’s Porporise School, now the Dolphin Research Centre (DRC), on the Florida Keys. In fact, a number of trainers were involved in training the animals for both the two movies and the television series. Ricou Browning - the co-creator of the series for Ivan Tors - was involved in training as was Milton Santini and a number of training staff at the Miami Seaquarium such as Jim Kline (see photo at the foot of these comments).

In 1999 O'Barry and his associate Lloyd A. Good III, have been found guilty of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act for releasing two captive dolphins off the Florida coast. Details of this can be found in the below link:

THE SUGARLOAF DOLPHIN RELEASES

One of the two animals that were rescued after this illegal release called 'Buck' was very ill and never recovered from this experience and died some years later at the DRC regardless of their best efforts to help him.

Relevant legislation, DRC marine education, Dolphin Research Center Marathon FL

It is unlikely after this event the US authorities would allow him responsibly for any captive cetaceans in that country. This is perhaps why he now spends his time outside the US were he can still plays 'I was Flipper's trainer' card.

O'Barry hasn't actually worked with captive marine mammals for years and he is a 'self-styled expert' with very little contemporary knowledge of modern cetacean husbandry. Even during his time as a dolphin trainer he use antediluvian methods of training animals such as punishing animals with electric cattle-prods which he admits in his book "Behind the Dolphin Smile" - something no right-minded trainer would ever think of doing.

See zoologist Karen Pryor's works for a back-ground on the development of cetacean training. Interesting video of Pryor discussing early dolphin training posted HERE.​

Personally I tend to regard O'Barry's opinions on cetaceans in captive care with extreme caution and I would advice others to do the same.

Above photo taken from "Friendly Porpoises" by William B Gray (1974) who was the original collections manager for the aquarium.​

 

[DDcorvus]

One question, what happens the stranded porpoises or other cetaceans. Because I know here (and if I m correct in Denmark) there are well organised rehab centres. The current captive population at Fjord&Bælt and Harderwijk are former rehab animals that could not be released due to lack of chances of survival (some health based some because the animal was very young when found) except for 2 captive born ones.

You would consider that the UK needs similar facilities or do they send their stranded cetaceans to continental Europe?

 

[Devi]

Umm, nothing happens to them. If they can't be pushed into sea the vet has to PTS. Hence why we need a rehab centre, or at least somewhere to go in emergencies.

 

[DDcorvus]

mmmh, a big shame because the rehab could not only save some animals that are euthanised now, but animals could support research (like it's done at Neeltje Jans in the Netherlands) and it would be a humane way of acquiring animals for display and education purposed.

 

[John Dineley]

Umm, nothing happens to them. If they can't be pushed into sea the vet has to PTS. Hence why we need a rehab centre, or at least somewhere to go in emergencies.

You are correct. The problem stems from the UK having no adequate cetacean rehabilitation centres and hence a policy that animals that can not be successfully re-floated within a certain period of time they are killed on the beach, normally by injection. We also have various NGO involved like the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) who, in the past at least, have been openly anti-captive; they were involved in the infamous Into The Blue project.

Interesting to note that I know for a fact that when the beaked whale swam up the Thames in 2006 no one involved in this operation had any direct experience of handling large, living cetaceans such as killer whales, etc; there are actually a number of people who have this experience resident in the UK but none where asked to be involved and suspect this was down to politics!.​

The problem is compounded by the fact that any facility that would be open to the public would have to comply with the UK cetacean keeping standards that came out of the 1988 'Review of Dolphinaria'; this was rightly included in the regulations to stop people opening 'dolphinariums' that badge themselves as rescue centres. We still have a problem in the UK with 'animal sancutrays' trying to do this with wild and exotic animals although many fall foul of the Zoo Licensing Act if they are open for more than 7 days in 12 months.

In the Netherlands they have rehabilitation faculties at Harderwijk and have had some success in rescue and rehabilitating habour porpoise; they also have a resident group who have also now also bred.

The sad fact is that is that I am certain many small cetacean are killed on UK beaches which if they had stranded elsewhere could well have been saved and return to sea or at least been used for exhibit.

I have always through that porpoise would be an interesting cetacean display in the UK due to them being indigenous.

 

[John Dineley]

I think the biggest problem for UK dolphinaria is cost! It costs a lot to heat a large pool! Dolphins now breed so well in captivity it is unnecessary to capture them from the wild. These are however warm water animals which are smaller and cuter. North Atlantic Bottle nosed dolphins are much bigger

Tusiops truncatus is the same species world wide according to my colleague Dr Margaret Klinowska. But you may have a point regarding the heating of the pool although I have kept bottlenose dolphin in water at 12 Centigrade with out problems they just eat more

 

[vs0u2086]

This is turning into a great thread. I apologise for making some sweeping statements based on only a couple of sources and I fully welcome everyone else's views and experiences.

My personal experiences involve working with captive belugas and bottlenose dolphins. The centres at which I have been involved has all bred recently, or have pregnant females at the current time. I do think that the UK would benefit from having a rescue/rehab facility - this is not my expertise. My understanding is that in most stranding cases, for example, there is little chance of saving the animal, if it cannot be re-floated at that time (after some veterinary or supportive care). Would one or two such centres, located around the UK coastline, be able to provide much assistance? I'm not sure. If so, then great - I'd be fully behind them.

Personally, I am not an advocate of elephants in captivity (as was mentioned by a previous poster). Yes, they can be trained for blood sampling, ultrasonography, oral examinations, and many more procedures, and they obviously enjoy these interactions, but, in my opinion, captivity does deprive these very social animals of the ability to travel long distances, meet conspecifics, surf the waves, hunt fish, etc. Ok, I may be being a hypocrit in some respects and conveniently forgetting about all other animals in captivity, but if there's not a need for cetaceans in captivity in the UK, I don't think we should bring them back.

I know that cetaceans do generally do 'well' in captivity but, speaking with colleagues, it is amazing how many underlying, inapparent problems many of them seem to have when necropsied after death. I don't mean this as a sweeping statement - they just appear to be very hardy animals. Best wishes.

 

[Sun Wukong]

I know that cetaceans do generally do 'well' in captivity but, speaking with colleagues, it is amazing how many underlying, inapparent problems many of them seem to have when necropsied after death. I don't mean this as a sweeping statement - they just appear to be very hardy animals. Best wishes.

You could say the very same about other animals kept in zoos or as exotic pets (reptiles, anyone...?)-yet they are kept, and hardly anyone seems to make a big fuss about it.

If consequently following this logic, one could also ask if there's a need for manatees or any exotic animal in general in the UK