i hate it when people use keikos death as a reason why no orca should ever be released again. he died of pneumonia (a condition caused by water entering the lungs through the blowhole, and is a common cause of death even in captive animals)
I am sorry but with respect we do not know what ‘Keiko’ died of because no bonfida post-morten of the animal was undertaken.
he also survived for seven months and was in constant contact with a team of people who he trusted. he was observed hunting and feeding himself successfully, they taught him to negotiate sea ice and took regular blood tests to make sure he was well. he showed no signs of dissease until two days before he died. there was nothing anyone could do (even if he had still been in captivity) he was not just dumped back in the sea on his own.
Sorry again, here are the actual facts regarding ‘Keiko’ and his rehab.
Keiko the killer whale
Please also read the link to the copy of the paper recently published in 2009 in the peer-review journal
Marine Mammal Science. He never was observed hunting and feeding himself successfully and he went missing for sometime when he was ‘released’ by his new owners the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) as (IMHO) they realised he would never integrate back to a wild whale pod. He then made his way to Norway were he was found begging for food, hardly the actions of an animal integrated back into the wild!
Keiko was in his pen in Iceland from 1998 he died in Norway in 2003 so I don't understand your comment regarding "7 months"
I also disagree with your statement that ‘Keiko’ would have die even if he was in captivity of the illness that killed him because as I understand it there was no experience marine mammal vet present at the Norway site and there was also no way to do a full examination on this animal.
many dolphins have been released successfully back into the wild and orca are the largest of the dolphin family - there is no reason for it not to work with the right whales and a little less media attention.
Many? No they haven’t. Certainly not properly run scientifically published studies.
Only two such projects am I aware of:
WELLS,R.S., K. BASSOS-HULL AND K. S. NORRIS. 1998. Experimental return to the wild of two bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science 14:51–71.
GALES,N., AND K. WAPLES. 1993. The relationship and release of bottlenose dolphins from Atlantis Marine Park, Western Australia. Aquatic Mammals 19:49–59.
The first one above involved young male animals deliberate caught and held for two years and then return to their place of capture. The other was of long-term captives and the off-spring from an aquarium in Perth Australia. The fate of all these animals is unknown but what is known is that a number did not re-adapt and had to be returned to captive care.
More information can be found here:
Releasing Captives Back to the Wild
Yes animal rights activists do cite various projects on their web sites but these have never been followed through and were inconclusive.
The UK Into The Blue Project with three ex captive dolphins is hailed a success by activists but their is no evidence they the animals survived.
INTO THE BLUE - What ever became of "Missie", "Silver" and "Rocky"
An illegal release by activist Ric O’Barry ended with the animals having to be recaptured in a poor physical state with animal dying some years later due to a long-term health problem developed due to this trauma. O’Barry was prosecuted and fined.
THE SUGARLOAF DOLPHIN RELEASES
i am strongly agaisnt these places they should all be shut down imediatly. dolphins are the most intelligent animals on earth, to use them purely for entertainment is cruel
I am sorry but the evidence for this is not as compelling as many think, see this paper here.
Brains, Behaviour and Intelligence in Cetaceans<BR> (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises)
And another review here:
Bibliographic Guide to Dolphin Intelligence
Anyway, regardless of a human assumption of ‘intelligence’ why should ‘lesser’ animals be treated differently.
