Whales and Dolphins in the U.K

ashley-h said:
I don't think there's a problem with Whipsnade's pool. It is way too small for dolphins and was probably out of date when it was built, but it's a decent size for 3 adult sealions and the one juvenile. It's very deep and the do have access to the 3 pools all at the same time.
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I saw this exhibit at Whipsnade when it first opened in the early 70s it was named "The water mammals house" which housed two pairs of bottle nosed dolphins, there were one main outside and one main inside pools (It may of had a very small inside holding pool) which in total held 130,000 gallons on water, the heating and filtering plant was visble in the under ground viewing section, It was quite modern in design for it's time in the UK but way to small even back then.

From what I can remember the dolphins came from the gulf of Mexico via the USA.
 
Has anyone got pics of the old Dolphinariums in the UK? would be interesting to see them. there was a website dedicated to Windsor safari park (seems to have most of its data taken down) that had some nice pics of the dolphinarium and killer whale pool there!

Windsor Safari Park • Index page
 
Chester will NOT be getting any Whales or Dolphins.As for the collection that looked into keeping Dolphins with DEFRA it wasn`t Blackpool not sure which one it was though,alsothere was been rumours of someone opening a Marine Park in the South of England a few years back but that seams to have gone quite now.Personnaly i would love to see Whales and Dolphins back in the U.K but think its highly un-likely in the forseeable future.
 
three? im pretty sure its two, one indoor, one outside?
Whipsnade's dolphin exhibit had three pools, which could be divided between each pool when necessary. It was quite an advanced design for its time in the UK. One option possible in the early days was that there was space to replace the heating plant with ciller plant as they were considering a major "polar" development at Whipsnade and the facility COULD have housed walrus! Probably still possible today, now there's a thought.
 
Its a bit small for Walrus lol.
No, there are 3: outside, the main inside pool, and a small pool behind the white screen to the left of the main indoor pool.
 
foz said:
i'd prefer for a zoo to try and keep walrus's then dolphins/whales
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I feel it's going to be a very long time before the UK house Dolphins or whales again, one of the main problems in the Uk has been the poor housing in under size pools in which they were kept in the past such as Whipsnades "Water mammals house" and even Windsors set up was really not up to a really good standed, the only way I can see things changing for the better is if the Uk follow some of the better exhibits that they have in the US, Little and under funded exhibits for this kind of animal just will not do if they want to see them back in the Uk again
 
I remember a young , I think female walrus at Regent's park . I don't think it lived very long . Anyone else remember it and know any more ?
 
Someone mentioned that a walrus was kept in the pool the hippos use in the winter.
How the hell did it fit?!
 
Cat-Man said:
I could imagane it
a marine mammel park like:
Portsmouth Land of Marine Life!
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i live in portsmouth, and there is no way they would ever fit a mammal marine park in, have you even visited the city?
 
cottoni said:
You can see dolphins in France, Parc Asterix paris, or soon in Planete Sauvage ( Nantes ).
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Yes the new dolphin exhibit opened this year. The five dolphins are captive bred from I suspect Harderwijk whose company also own Planete Suvage and a various other parks:

 
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Vulpes said:
Has anyone got pics of the old Dolphinariums in the UK? would be interesting to see them. there was a website dedicated to Windsor safari park (seems to have most of its data taken down) that had some nice pics of the dolphinarium and killer whale pool there!

Windsor Safari Park • Index page
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As I menationed earlier, I've got a litte website which displays photos that i've found from various sources of uk (and some other) closed marine facilities, it needs updating, but the information and photos might b worth taking a look at:

The History of Defunct Marine Mammal Parks - Home

I think the main problems in the uk were the fact that land is/was and will be very expensive compared to places like the USA, so the pools were built smaller. I don't want to sound ponsy, but because the UK was a well developed country before early on, we launched/pioneered into cetacean displaying early and therefore created a bad name for the industry in the country. I'm not saying that for example, the USA isn't any less developed, but they have much cheaper land and a better freedom of speech/"everything goes attitude", whereas the uk had/has a pretty stubborn "NIMBY" attitude to most issues.
If only people realised that techonology is so much better now and animal welfare is the highest priority on any decent zoo's agenda.

hope you get the jist even if it doesn't make much sense! haha
 
It would surely be a profitable business if someone put enough money into it so that the pool was spacious and the facilities were top-class. Even if there has a been a bit of taboo about dolphins and whales in the UK, how many british people go to florida and visit seaworld??? thousands of thousands!!
 
sealion said:
that exhibit is really nice and modern!

i've always wondered whether they should put rocks, sand and seaweed on the bottom of dolphin and whale exhibits....
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I have seen exhibit with rock and reef-like rendering underwater. As for weed and sand, do they need it?

The new French exhibit is a nice and something that should have been constructed in the UK when the deadline from the Klinowska Report was reach for new standards in 1993. The French have quite rigorous minimum standards for cetacean exhibits from what I recall which I think came in before the UK Standards. Sadly the UK never wanted to spend the money. I walk past the site of the old London Dolphinarium most evenings I often think to myself what where they thinking of putting dolphins in Oxford Street with a main pool the size of most decent dolphinariums holding pools.
 
John Dineley said:
I have seen exhibit with rock and reef-like rendering underwater. As for weed and sand, do they need it?

The new French exhibit is a nice and something that should have been constructed in the UK when the deadline from the Klinowska Report was reach for new standards in 1993. The French have quite rigorous minimum standards for cetacean exhibits from what I recall which I think came in before the UK Standards. Sadly the UK never wanted to spend the money. I walk past the site of the old London Dolphinarium most evenings I often think to myself what where they thinking of putting dolphins in Oxford Street with a main pool the size of most decent dolphinariums holding pools.
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Thanks for ethe link about the london dolphinarium, very interesting but the pool is as you've said TINY! where those the dolphins that got took around the country for the "stripper shows"? or were they different ones?

As for the sand and weed, well I just thought if they added some more natural touches to the enclosure the animals might appreciate it. Light coloured sand would make the pools appear lighter/brighter aswell.
 
sealion said:
Thanks for ethe link about the london dolphinarium, very interesting but the pool is as you've said TINY! where those the dolphins that got took around the country for the "stripper shows"? or were they different ones
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There never was a touring dolphin strip show. People often confuse the London Dolphinarium with the Royalty Folies show in London that was staged by the 'strip king' the late Paul Raymond.
. This confusion arises due to two of the dolphins that that arrived at the London Dolphinarium "Bonnie" and "Clyde" who had been trained to work in a review show at the Beirut Casino. These two animals were later moved to Woburn Wild Animal Park's dolphinarium which was operated by Entam the leisure division of Trust House Forte.

The 'Royalty Folies' was staged for three-months at the then Royalty Theatre - now the Peacock Theatre in Holborn, London. Some pictures of the dolphins are HERE.

And a Getty Image HERE

Apparently there is a myth that a dolphin died at the theatre and it's ghost has been heard crying. :eek:

It's a nice story but it is actually rubbish because no dolphins died at the theatre. At the close of the show the two animals were moved to a dolphinarium in the Far East. Interestingly, there was some problem during their transport and the spent some time being held at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo's dolphin exhibit before continuing their journey.
 
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Ash said:
Someone mentioned that a walrus was kept in the pool the hippos use in the winter.
How the hell did it fit?!
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'Alice' and she was a pup and was kept in the elephant's inside bathing pool in the Hugh Casson Pavilion.
 
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