Jaya Ancol Onceanarium (also named Ocean Dream Samudra) in Jakarta, Indonesia, was the first aquarium to set up a captive colony. Using motorized canoes and nets, the staff drove and caught six dolphins in September 1974 from Semayang Lake, which would go on display for the park’s opening that year. The oceanarium would go on to capture four more in October 1979 and ten in August 1978 from the same location. In 1984, another six were captured in the Mahakam River system.
A few of the finless dolphins were trainable, and after a reported 3 months of training, they performed ‘Pesut’ stage shows, where the dolphins and scuba-equipped trainers put on a show entirely submerged in a unique, underwater theater.
The other Irrawaddies were used for their experimental captive breeding program. The success was poor: the first calf, a female named Isui, was born July 4, 1979 after a 14-month gestation period. Another calf, an unnamed male, was born December 11 but died shortly afterward. A female, Budiyati, was born February 14, 1981; she, along with Isui, were listed as alive in 1984. Yet it was never reported if either captive-born individuals lived long enough to produce their own offspring.
Due to extremely spotty record-keeping, their longevity at the facility isn’t entirely known. From the scant notes that were kept, it appears to have been poor: two dolphins from the 1974 capture died 10-20 days later due to gastrointestinal stress, while two from the 1978 capture died after 30 and 115 days later due to pneumonia and liver cirrhosis, and ‘constitutional heart weakness,’ respectively. A male from the 1979 capture would die from ulcers after 20 days in captivity. The fate of the six dolphins caught 1984 is unknown. Two individuals, either from the 1984 collection or a later capture, were photographed in the very early’s 1990’s.
