Cetacean exhibits; the best ones?

TheMightyOrca

TheMightyOrca

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
So I've been thinking some about the way cetaceans are kept in captivity, how the conditions can be improved and all. Most of the dolphin exhibits I've seen have been just blank, concrete tanks. One doesn't really see that for other captive animals. I'm wondering, are there any zoos or aquariums that go beyond that? I know of the tank that used to house Keiko the orca in Oregon. I would like to see a dolphin tank that resembles a natural habitat, I find the usual tanks to be pretty sterile and boring and it would be interesting to see something different.
 
Nuremberg Zoo, both of Zoo Duisburg's dolphin pools, the Vancouver Aquariums Beluga Pool (and mystic and shedd aren't to shappy either)

There are also a number of facilities in Latin america and the pacific islands that keep their cetaceans in large open ocean pens, however I'm to lazy to dig around figure out the names at the moment.
 
The best dolphin exhibit I've seen sofar is the Lagune at Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands and this is quite natural looking !
 
...along with the huge at Sea World Surfers Paradise, Australia

The Dolphin Cove at SeaWorld Orlando, USA, isn't bad either (maybe a little crowded).

What about the dolphins at Disney's Epcot Center? Are they still alive? And aren't they together with fishes and turtles? (Can't remember)
 
The beluga exhibit in Sea World San Deigo is beautiful. But, and here's the rub, whenever you do exhibits with open ocean animals there is always going to be a compromise on the design simply because a concrete pool is hard to make look like anything else. When dealing with replicating the ocean realm you're kinda stuck with either rocks, sunken ships or fantasy elements (like atlantis) to hide the obvious walls. Since belugas are often found close to shore, the rock work at Sea World seems natural. If you house the animals in an ocean harbor you loose the "window underwater", limiting your guests to surface views only.
 
TheMightyOrca said:
So I've been thinking some about the way cetaceans are kept in captivity, how the conditions can be improved and all. Most of the dolphin exhibits I've seen have been just blank, concrete tanks. One doesn't really see that for other captive animals. I'm wondering, are there any zoos or aquariums that go beyond that? I know of the tank that used to house Keiko the orca in Oregon. I would like to see a dolphin tank that resembles a natural habitat, I find the usual tanks to be pretty sterile and boring and it would be interesting to see something different.
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Cetaceans spend most of their time in the open sea where there are no rocks and no sand, just water. So isn't it vain to try resemble their natural habitat ? The small concrete tanks are actually more accurate and more genuine.
 
Do cetacean exhibits typically have wave machines that might resemble more closely their open ocean habitats? Even if it doesn't look interesting for viewers, maybe it would make it more enjoyable for the cetaceans!
 
Visually speaking, the best cetacean exhibits are at the Vancouver aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, Seaworld Orlando( Dolphin Cove, Belugas), Discovery cove, Seaworld San Diego(Dolphin point, Belugas), Georgia Aquarium(Belugas), Fjord and Baelt center, Dolphinarium Harderwijk, Duisburg Zoo, Teirgarten Nurnberg, Loro Parque (Bottlenose dolphins), L'Oceanografic (Beluga), Osaka Aquarium, Sea World Gold Coast and the various places that keep their dolphins in large ocean pens.
 
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