What makes a great dolphin exhibit and what zoos/aquariums have them?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I was looking at pictures of the Shedd Aquarium in the gallery, in particular the white-sided dolphin and beluga exhibits.

It may me wonder what the best dolphin exhibits in the zoo and aquarium world are. So where are the best dolphin exhibits and what makes them great? Are size and depth of the tanks the primary considerations?

I was thinking about West Coast U.S. dolphin exhibits and realizing that there are none in AZA aquariums or zoos now that the beluga exhibit at Point Defiance has closed down. Sea World and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom have dolphins and orcas, but these are primarily theme parks.

I know that Georgia Aquarium is (has?) building (built?) a bottlenosed dolphin exhibit. Are any other zoos or aquariums contemplating dolphin exhibits, or are we in an era where it is unlikely that any more of these exhibits will be built given their expense and political controversy?
 
I believe the extent of non-theme park dolphin and whale exhibits in the US is:
Shedd Aquarium
National Aquarium, Baltimore
Georgia Aquarium
Minnesota Zoo
Indianapolis Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
 
I think any dolphin exhibit that isn't oddly themed is deemed an acceptable exhibit. Indoor facilities that provide plenty of room, a number of pools, plenty of light, and an open amphitheater are some of the best exhibits. I really think Shedd's Oceanarium is one of the best indoor dolphin exhibits in the country.

From the pictures I have seen in the Georgia Aquarium gallery, I am really disappointed in the new dolphin exhibit and would rank it as one of the poorest indoor dolphin exhibit. The exhibit is very dark (but maybe that's not always the case?), the mock rock is horrible, and the crescent, wave think in the performance pool reminds me of a cheap knock off a Sea World show.
 
geomorph said:
I believe the extent of non-theme park dolphin and whale exhibits in the US is:
Shedd Aquarium
National Aquarium, Baltimore
Georgia Aquarium
Minnesota Zoo
Indianapolis Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Click to expand...

In the past 5 years I have visited all 6 of these attractions (but my Georgia visit was before the dolphins arrived) and in terms of visitor appeal the Dolphin Dome at Indianapolis Zoo is outstanding. However, I would personally put a lot of weight into the depth and size of a tank to determine its quality, and I'm not sure that any of the above are truly brilliant. My instinct would say that Shedd Aquarium is the best of the bunch, as the all-indoor Oceanarium is excellent in terms of size and aesthetics.
 
Just something small to add, I prefer exhibits with a more natural shape/curvature to their tanks. Sea World Gold Coast is an AMAZING exhibit. It replicates the dolphin's natural habitat superbly.
 
From what I have seen online (never been there), dolfinarium harderwijk in the Netherlands (if you're including Europe in this) is worth a look. Their non-show dolphin exhibit seems to be quite interesting.
 
sealion said:
From what I have seen online (never been there), dolfinarium harderwijk in the Netherlands (if you're including Europe in this) is worth a look. Their non-show dolphin exhibit seems to be quite interesting.
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Well I can think of no place better to have a drink and something to eat,whilst watching Dolphins and Walrus swimming under water!
 
zoogiraffe said:
Well I can think of no place better to have a drink and something to eat,whilst watching Dolphins and Walrus swimming under water!
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mmmmmmm defiantly agree to that. Even watching sharks swimming makes me happy. ive never had the pleasure of watching dolphins or walrus.
 
geomorph said:
I believe the extent of non-theme park dolphin and whale exhibits in the US is:
Shedd Aquarium
National Aquarium, Baltimore
Georgia Aquarium
Minnesota Zoo
Indianapolis Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Click to expand...

Since this list was compiled Minnesota Zoo announced that it would no longer maintain dolphins in its collection, and the National Aquarium ended its dolphin shows. Author of "America's Best Zoos" Allen Nyhuis was just in Baltimore a couple of days ago and he was extremely disappointed to simply be looking at the swimming dolphins rather than witnessing a show. Now visitors can see the dolphins at any time and training sessions are able to be watched but there is not a designated show time whatsoever.
 
I've only seen captive dolphins twice and both times it was at Sea World on the Gold Coast. I realise that it's in a theme park but I really liked the exhibits. There are a number of lagoons that are all viewed from above but each one of them is really big and really clear so viewing is easy and dolphins aren't known for sitting still in a corner so they do put on a good show. Even the show pool is a massive lagoon with seating around it.
 
snowleopard said:
Since this list was compiled Minnesota Zoo announced that it would no longer maintain dolphins in its collection, and the National Aquarium ended its dolphin shows. Author of "America's Best Zoos" Allen Nyhuis was just in Baltimore a couple of days ago and he was extremely disappointed to simply be looking at the swimming dolphins rather than witnessing a show. Now visitors can see the dolphins at any time and training sessions are able to be watched but there is not a designated show time whatsoever.
Click to expand...

The National Aquarium ending its dolphin shows were in response to two problems. First, on peak summer days only about 50% of the visitors were able to see the dolphin show. Second, dolphin show times forced people to leave the one way traffic pattern of the aquarium building to get to the show which caused headaches for both staff trying to direct people and visitors trying to find their way. Now, the next exhibit named Dolphin Discovery allows guests to come and go as they please from the amphitheater. At scheduled times, trainers will do a "behind the scenes" look at how and why dolphins are trained, certain dolphin behaviors, and the care these animals need. Overall, the atmosphere is much more relaxed, especially for the dolphins and it allows visitors to interact more with the dolphins and staff. It really is a nice experience and doesn't have any of that corny crap associated with dolphin shows. Now, its more practical, educational, and scientific.
This new exhibit is part of the National Aquarium's effort to engage more people with the amazing animals at the aquarium. With over 40 presentations and feedings a day, the new experience will hopefully engage the thousands of guests which visit the Aquarium.
 
The Harderwijk dolphin lagoon is easily the best dolphin exhibit ive seen[tho it could be deeper].As for shows..well actually i dont really like them[a bit too circus for me] and i really dislike those exhibits where showtime is the only way of observing these creatures.
 
I was at the National Aquarium last summer during the time they did not have their dolphin shows. I did enjoy anyone being able to go into the amphitheater and look at the dolphins with their trainers. You could still see them do behaviors and it brought me so much joy to see how excited my niece got when she saw a dolphin jump out of the water.
 
I for one support the existence of shows because:

1. Most of the behaviors (most aquariums don't call them "tricks") are based off of natural jumping behaviors (the hoops some dolphins may jump through are just props).

2. Shows give dolphins much more exercise than they ever could just swimming around in a tank.

3.Shows provide enrichment for the animals.

But we can all agree that the loud annoying music shows play, we can do without.
 
Can anyone explain why Brookfield Zoo and Indianapolis Zoo (which both have bottlenose dolphins) have few, if any, complaints from AR activists (ex: PETA) about the treatment of their dolphins? I mean, they've got to be doing SOMETHING right to avoid claims of cruelty, right?
 
iluvwhales said:
Can anyone explain why Brookfield Zoo and Indianapolis Zoo (which both have bottlenose dolphins) have few, if any, complaints from AR activists (ex: PETA) about the treatment of their dolphins? I mean, they've got to be doing SOMETHING right to avoid claims of cruelty, right?
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They do get the same generic criticism as any other place that holds dolphins, but yeah, they're not high on the list of "most criticized". It's most likely because their enclosures are relatively decent, and neither of these zoos are super high-profile facilities. (you see the same thing with Texas State Aquarium. Outside of local activists who occasionally complain on the internet, it doesn't get much criticism) When a facility is getting large amounts of criticism, it's usually for one of a few reasons...

1. Conditions are exceptionally poor. Mirage Resort in Las Vegas and Miami Seaquarium get targeted for this. From what I've seen, neither of the zoos you mention are particularly bad.
2. The facility has some kind of larger influence in the practice of cetacean captivity. If a person wanted to end cetacean captivity, what they'd want to do is cut off the head of the industry. If the Brookfield and Indianapolis Zoos announced that they were phasing out dolphins, it wouldn't have any impact on bottlenose dolphin captivity. This is one reason you see North American facilities with belugas getting a lot of flak. There are only a few accredited aquariums/parks that have belugas here. If one of the facilities stopped holding belugas, it would have a big impact on beluga captivity as a whole.
3. Something bad happened at the place in the past that drew a lot of attention. Apparently this is why a lot of people pressure the Oregon Zoo to phase out their elephants, even though their upcoming exhibit is going to be one of the best in the country.
 
iluvwhales said:
I for one support the existence of shows because:

1. Most of the behaviors (most aquariums don't call them "tricks") are based off of natural jumping behaviors (the hoops some dolphins may jump through are just props).

2. Shows give dolphins much more exercise than they ever could just swimming around in a tank.

3.Shows provide enrichment for the animals.

But we can all agree that the loud annoying music shows play, we can do without.
Click to expand...

I would be less inclined to whine if the shows were a bit less, eh, show-y? Like, I think a lot of them anthropomorphize the dolphins a bit too much. I've seen lots of good bird shows, educational and entertaining, it would be nice to see more dolphin shows doing that kind of thing.

I agree, I hate the music. It's always terrible music, too.
 
Have you seen the Georgia Aquarium dolphin show? Grrr... I would have loved to have talked to the person who made it! They do show some videos about conservation in the beginning- nice ones, and specific too- but the show is terrible! And get this- you seethe dolphin tank before you enter the show- but you have to see the show to see their normal tank. And the total thing- inlcuding the show tank, which takes up lots of water and I don't think they use off shows- is only 1.8 million. I mean, sure that's a lot, but the show tank might be half of that! And the show... I'll post something more detailed when I get the chance.

~ Thaumatibis
 
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