Dolphins & whales in the UK

[zoogiraffe]

If anything, I think it would be Belugas at Biota!: But then the aquarium itself would need to be built in the first place, which'll be a while if ZSL keeps pushing the date back due to low costs.

I don`t think the ZSL would bring in cetaceans to Biota as it would cause them far too much flak,but i hvae to agree with easytigger on the fact it will happen in the U.K in the future may be soon than we think.

 

[Sun Wukong]

Also, we know very little about cetaceans,

That actually should rather indicate that more cetacea should be kept in captivity than less-as the more we learn, the better. Especially in the case of River Dolphins, the ex-situ option might come in handy one day.

About @ashley-h's comment: some species can't be kept in captivity-may it be due to their size, lifestyle or special diet requirements (think of the hundreds of parasitic species...).

 

[zebedee101]

It's a touchy subject, but I don't believe any species can't be kept in captivity, it's just a case of a facility willing to construct the right enclosures which would be a mammoth task, but not impossible IMO.
And Cat-man, couldn't disagree more about the Whipsnade sealion pool as it's one of the largest in the UK: Yes it's old fashioned, but it's got a massive water volume, a big outdoor pool with a bigger indoor one, and they are given a lot of enrichment and they do the shows, so they're always busy.

Ashley - they dont do the shows in the winter time and continually swim up and down. My issue isn't actually with the pool, which looks ugly but as you say has a large water volume which is mainly down to its depth and not its surface area. Its the narrow concrete ledges which I dont like, at zoos that have large naturalistic rocky outcrops the animals spend a lot more time on land, at whipsnade the pool was designed for dolphins so therefore the only area needed poolside was for trainers. Now that sealions inhabit the pool there isn't enough suitable room for them to chill out and nap. Last time I was there the paint was peeling badly in the indoor pool and the underwater viewing was leaking badly and corroded. The change to splashzone was a marketing ploy and had no benefit for the sealions. Take a look at pictures of teh Seaworld Rocky point preserve in florida to get an idea of how much better the exhibit could be. Even the central park sealion pool, which is smaller has a rocky outcrop in the centre.

Sorry to go off topic and also off topic - Whipsnades breeding of giraffes was pretty good (although they all seemed to be male offspring) The exhibit meets theirneeds and the paddock seems to have been big enough for their needs, a more naturalistic exhibit would need to use very mature trees as the giraffes just detry anything within their reach.

 

[Bele]

Although I admit to enjoying the Windsor Safari Park orca and dolphin show , I do get much more of a buzz seeing the wild bottle-nosed dolphins around Newquay , Cardigan Bay . Trouble is , of the many times I have been there , I have only twice been fortunate to get good sightings . It is particularly frustrating when the notice board in the harbour office says that there were sightings an hour before my arrival !

 

[easytigger]

Although I admit to enjoying the Windsor Safari Park orca and dolphin show , I do get much more of a buzz seeing the wild bottle-nosed dolphins around Newquay , Cardigan Bay . Trouble is , of the many times I have been there , I have only twice been fortunate to get good sightings . It is particularly frustrating when the notice board in the harbour office says that there were sightings an hour before my arrival !

BBC NEWS | England | Devon | Dolphins seen feeding in estuary

Head down to the cornish / devon border now then