On Wednesday this week, 25-30 pilot whales, including several juveniles are trapped in the cove. Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project Cove Monitors observed them spyhopping, huddling close together and breathing rapidly – all obvious signs of distress after being aggressively driven in from wild waters. After a morning of slaughter the hunters are taking a break. Young juveniles have been trying to fight their way to adults. 6 skiffs have transported the lifeless bodies of Pilot whales. Juveniles are still netted, and awaiting their fate. Hunters are yet to return. 14 Pilot Whale juveniles are being driven back out to sea. A drive just as stressful as the drive into the cove. After the horror they experienced and without their families, they have little to no chance of survival on their own.
On Sunday this week, 7 bottlenose dolphins have been taken for a life in captivity. The remainder of the pod have been driven back out to sea. Very sad day here in Taiji.
And, on saturday last week, a pod of dolphins have been driven towards the harbor.
Lincoln O'Barry, from the group, said: 'As hard as it is to believe, dolphin traveling circuses are a big hit in Indonesia.
'It's pretty barbaric. It's the only time I've seen dolphins jumping through a hoop of fire. It's definitely something from a bygone era.
A dolphin is caught in a net before being carried to an open top box for transportation
'While all captive dolphin facilities have welfare issues, the circuses in Indonesia seem decidedly crueler because they're traveling.
'The animals are frequently hauled out of their plastic performing pools and loaded into the back of trucks along with other animals as the circuses move from town to town.
'The transportation is so stressful for the animals that many of the dolphins die due to this stress and lack of proper care.
The harrowing footage shows dolphins being caught in nets before being transported in tiny pools hundreds of miles.
Campaigners say many dolphins die because of the stress and lack of proper care.
'There is also evidence that all of the dolphins have all been caught illegally from the wild.'
In the shocking footage, dolphins are seen leaping out of the water through the narrow hoops, with flames brushing against their sensitive skin.
After being made to perform, the 6ft-long bottlenose dolphins are hauled from the tiny pool and loaded into open-topped, water-filled wooden boxes.
They are put into trucks or loaded onto planes and made to travel hundreds of miles between shows in portable plastic pools filled with chlorine and artificial salt water.
Spectators cram in to watch the shows, which experts say is 'hell' for dolphins, which are acoustic animals.
Animals are crammed into tiny spaces as they are transported hundreds of miles.
Femke Den Haas, founder of Jakarta Animal Aid Network, said: 'It's extremely cruel. When I first learned about the traveling dolphin shows, I couldn't believe it.
'Dolphins are acoustic animals, so it's hell for them. They're in so much pain being exposed to this amount of noise.'
The Dolphin Project claims there are currently 72 dolphins being kept captive illegally in the country, where travelling circuses are very popular.
WSI, Taman Safari Indonesia and Ancol are companies which run dolphin shows on the main Indonesian island of Java.
The charity aims to stop the exploitation and slaughter of dolphins.
It was set up in 1970 by Ric O'Barry, a former employee at the Miami Seaquarium, where he captured and trained dolphins.
Dolphins Beat Each Other Up Because They’re So Stressed In Tiny Tank. "They are literally living in a toilet bowl." A troubling video (posted this week) shows two bottlenose dolphins and a Pacific white-sided dolphin thrashing around in a tiny tank. They swim in frantic circles, banging into each other and jumping in and out of the water. The dolphins appear to have rake marks (scratches from another dolphin's teeth) and nicks across their bodies.
These wild dolphins were yanked from the ocean and placed inside a "show tank" at the Taiji Whale Museum in Taiji, Japan. Visitors can walk up to the tank to take photographs or pay to feed the dolphins pieces of dead fish. The dolphins are being kept in the tank as they wait to perform in one of the museum's shows, Christine Gau, program coordinator for Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project, told The Dodo.
Ric O'Barry, founder of Dolphin Project and a former dolphin trainer who was featured in the 2009 film "The Cove," told The Dodo that he believes the Pacific white-sided dolphin was getting bullied.
Infighting can be a problem among marine mammals in captivity, often due to the stress of captivity. The rake marks are usually the result of aggressive behavior.
The remaining dolphins are murdered for their meat, often right in front of their family members. On killing days, the cove runs red with the dolphins' blood.
But the trauma doesn't end there. The survivors then face a lifetime of captivity.
Whatever the size, it doesn't seem big enough for one dolphin, let alone three.
The situation might seem hopeless, but there are some simple things you can do.. You can help Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project continue to monitor Taiji by making a donation here. You can also visit The Dolphin Project to sign a petition and learn more about how you can help stop the hunt in Taiji.
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