SeaWorld claims that their breeding programs help to save dolphins from the drive-hunts in Taiji, while partially true as currently do not purchase these animals from Japan, they are still participating in holding these animals captive. SeaWorld is setting an example to other captive facilities around the world by breeding and keeping these animals in tanks. They should be showing the rest of the world that they can change their business model and be successful!
We are asking SeaWorld to give the same treatment of their captive orcas to the dolphin breeding program. It's time to phase out the dolphin shows and the breeding program. They are continually making amazing drastic steps to improve the parks and the well-being of the animals in their care. We would love to see them include dolphins in any future plans. Some of the dolphins could also be released back into the wild, which would further promote their rescue and rehabilitation plans. It would truly speak volumes to see them do the right thing again!
As we said in our last petition regarding the orca program, the only true way to end captivity is to end the breeding program! Please do the right thing for the dolphin in your care!
Taiji dolphin drive hunt is over - but the cetacean slaughter continues. The dolphin drive hunts in Taiji, Japan have officially ended for the season, writes Ric O'Barry, however the offshore pilot whale hunt continues until the end of May. After a particularly brutal year, which culminated in my arrest and deportation from Japan, we at Dolphin Project will continue our crucial work to end the annual barbarity of cetacean killings and captures.
The Taiji fishermen and Japanese government claim the killings are a cultural tradition. There is nothing cultural about the slaughters or captures. The cruelty is extreme, and the methods used are violent, gruesome and prolonged.
Following its release in 2009, the documentary film The Cove highlighted the senseless cruelty of the Japanese dolphin drive hunts.
While its effect saw a slight reduction in the number of cetaceans killed in Taiji, the barbaric slaughters still continue.
On 29th February, authorities in Taiji declared the 2015/2016 hunting season - which usually runs from September until March - officially over.
But although the drives - in which dolphins are rounded up by 'banger boats' into a small cove - have ended for the season, the killings continue out at sea as fishermen in Taiji turn to the offshore whaling of small cetaceans.
The fishermen's drive permits are valid until the end of March, however the offshore whaling of pilot whales is officially permitted until the end of May. This results in opportunistic hunting with little oversight, and ends only at the fishermen's discretion - usually with the arrival of bonita and other migratory fish.
A total of 41 drives took place during the main hunting period, with five species of dolphins affected. More than 650 animals were killed, and 111 were taken into captivity for a life of slavery in so-called amusement parks.
Many of the dolphins taken captive will remain in Japan, while others will be shipped to marine parks around the world. It is estimated that marine parks, zoos and dolphinariums placed approximately 150 orders for wild-caught dolphins during the 2015/2016 season. The majority of orders originated from China - the largest international buyer of wild dolphins.
Meanwhile, the slaughtered animals are sold for food. Their meat is tainted with highly toxic levels of mercury, and therefore the market for such meat is dwindling. This results in the majority of dolphin flesh being sold as either pet food or fertiliser.
Captive dolphins sell for approximately $250,000, whereas dolphins sold for meat raise $200-$400. It is therefore easy to see that the captivity industry drives the slaughters, a practice considered 'traditional' by the Taiji fishermen.
Brutality, barbarity and bloodshed
The first drive of the season took place on 11 September 2015, when a pod of 12 Risso's dolphins was harassed, chased and driven to exhaustion into the netted killing cove after a three-hour pursuit. Desperate to escape, the pod tried to flee under the nets towards the beach.
Joined by my team of Dolphin Project volunteer cove monitors, we watched as a female dolphin beached herself a few feet away from where we were standing. All I could do was watch helplessly as the dolphin rolled over and died, while the rest of her pod was slaughtered.
Eight days later, the fishermen rounded up a pod of approximately 75-80 bottlenose dolphins in the cove. The dolphins were held overnight without shelter or food - no doubt leading to dehydration, exhaustion and extreme anxiety. The next day the fishermen selected 50 dolphins for a life of captivity, while the remaining dolphins were released back into the ocean.
One of the most horrific and heart-wrenching drives of the season took place in November, and spanned the four-day slaughter of approximately 50 pilot whales - including a large number of babies and juveniles.
As the pod swam tightly together, cove monitors witnessed tiny heads poking out of the water beside larger adults. The males swam around the periphery of the pod while the female matriarchs checked on the young. All were spy hopping out of the water - their panic and confusion palpable.
After the initial capture, the pod was netted alone overnight in the cove, with no access to food, before divers arrived the following morning to separate half of the group. Several pilot whales were pushed under sheets of tarpaulin where they met a violent end - metal rods pushed through their spines, leading to a slow and excruciating death.
The remainder of the pod was held for another night in the cove. The traumatised dolphins, swimming slower with laboured breathing, were subjected to a further two days of brutal slaughter. Young dolphins were left to watch as skiffs went by carrying the dead.
On day four, once the remaining adult pod members had been killed, the juveniles were carried back out to sea one-by-one in metal slings. Some became entangled in the slings and drowned, and for others the chance of survival was minimal. Babies were left unable to nurse, and there were no adults remaining to protect and teach the young.
The Taiji fishermen and Japanese government claim the killings are a cultural tradition. There is nothing cultural or traditional about the slaughters or captures. The cruelty is extreme, and the methods used are violent, gruesome and prolonged.
Banished without reason
This drive season was particularly brutal for the dolphins, and also for myself on a personal level. This began with my arrest on 31 August 2015 in the town of Nachikatsuura, a town close to Taiji, for allegedly not having my passport on my person. The police released me without charge the following day after they located my passport in the car I had been driving.
I have been visiting Japan on a regular basis as a tourist for 13 years to document the Taiji drive hunts and to explore the beautiful country - making lifelong friendships with many kind, caring Japanese citizens along the way.
But my regular visits were to come to a heartbreaking halt at the beginning of 2016. On 18th January I was arrested by immigration upon arrival at Narita Airport, was repeatedly interrogated and harassed, and held for 19 days in a Tokyo prison before being deported from the country.
Immigration officials claimed I did not inform them of my travel plans for a trip to Futo on 27th August 2015, and cited this as the reason for my deportation. The trip was un-planned and arranged after I had been through immigration, but officials refused to accept this. The authorities were already adamant about my deportation, and nothing was going to change their minds.
I was detained in bleak conditions in a small prison cell with little food. I lost more than 10 kilos in weight and suffered a minor chest problem, but I refused to give in to the authorities after being incarcerated on trumped up charges. On day 19, the government issued a formal warrant and I was physically placed onto a plane back to my hometown of Miami, Florida. I was treated like a criminal - yet my documentation of the barbaric drive hunts has always been peaceful.
The Japanese government has yet to comment on my deportation - and it is unlikely they ever will. The authorities will do whatever it takes to continue the dolphin slaughter, even if it means violating freedom of speech. Being unjustly deported from Japan has made me more determined than ever to continue the work of exposing these horrendous crimes against nature. They can keep me out, but they can never silence me. That power they do not have.
My deportation is also cause for concern for other activists, including Dolphin Project Cove Monitors, who are committed to exposing the brutal drive hunts. They are the backbone of our campaign in Taiji, documenting and raising awareness of the horrors that take place in the cove, and also monitoring the conditions in which the captive dolphins are kept - including Angel, the albino bottlenose dolphin held at the Taiji Whale Museum.
This season, 22 adult cove monitors came from 15 countries across the world, including the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, Canada, Bolivia, Malaysia, Japan, Sweden, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. A total of 12 children from the same countries also came to the cove, to act as youth journalists.
Is there an end in sight?
I write this article from my hotel room in London - a city which I believe holds a major key to ending not only the drive hunts in Taiji, but also raising further awareness of the captive dolphin industry.
On Friday 18th March I attended a protest march from the Daily Mail Group's offices at High Street Kensington, to the Japanese Embassy at Piccadilly. The protest was organised by Lauren Crabtree, 24 year-old founder of activist group Dolphin Defenders UK. Hundreds of people attended with the aim to encourage the media to further highlight the events at Taiji cove, and to place increased pressure on Japanese officials to end the slaughters - which continue to damage the country's reputation.
The demonstration follows a series of protests held in London throughout the 2015/2016 drive hunt season. Further events are being planned for May and September this year, details of which will be published by Dolphin Project.
The pressure is clearly having an effect - my deportation is testament to that. With the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is additional duress on the Japanese government to disassociate itself with such cruel animal torture.
Likewise, the world of cetaceans held captive for human entertainment is slowly but surely meeting its demise - proven by SeaWorld's announcement last week that it will end the breeding of orcas at all locations including subsidiary park, Loro Parque, in Tenerife.
The protests are effective, and we need more and more people to attend for our influence to increase. I hope we'll soon see thousands of people at these events. The British people convinced their government to make it extremely difficult for organisations to keep dolphins in captivity, and as a result there are no longer any dolphinaria in the UK. It is only a matter of time before people power also puts a stop to the atrocities in Taiji.
Dolphin Project Cove Monitors will continue to monitor the atrocities in Taiji throughout the upcoming 2016 / 2017 season. May this season will be the very last, with these barbaric hunts consigned to history.
When significant news of SeaWorld ending its breeding program for orcas hit media outlets around the globe, it was tempered by the corporation’s latest project. This “significant addition“, close to opening in San Antonio, Texas is called ‘Discovery Point‘. It’s a massive expansion that will allow guests to swim with dolphins in ‘Dolphin Lagoon’, beluga whales in ‘Beluga Bay’ or sea lions in ‘Sea Lion Shallows.’
According to the new promotional website, prices are $155 for a dolphin or sea lion swim and $125 for the beluga interaction. Actual water time with the dolphins lasts for 20-30 minutes with visitors able to enjoy a “dorsal fin tow ride back to shore.”
The financial prospects of swim-with programs are ginormous for the marine park industry. If the updated proposals for the care and welfare of whale and dolphins in captivity are adopted, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or APHIS, will provide them a welcome boost.
Now called “interactive programs”, APHIS views these programs as benign and are recommending adding an additional hour to public-dolphin interaction times:
"We note that interactive programs have been operating for over 20 years without any indications of health problems or incidents of aggression in marine mammals, as evidenced by medical records maintained by licensed facilities and observations by experienced APHIS inspectors."
With ‘official’ reporting for incidents suspended for years, it was left to the facility’s discretion to report accidents themselves. Nobody has died yet, but should a government agency base its policy on that when there are existing incidents on record?
SeaWorld Orlando ended its feeding program last year, but in 2012, eight-year-old Jillian Thomas was feeding a dolphin at SeaWorld Orlando when it partially launched out of the water and grabbed the girl’s hand. In the same year, a Swedish couple on their honeymoon at Dolphin Park, Isla Mujeres in Mexico were attacked by a dolphin named Picasso. A pissed-off Picasso went on to attack several other participants as well in what visitors described as a scene from the movie ‘Jaws.’
There were several other incidents prior to that:
- 2008. Annie, a dolphin housed at Dolphin Academy Curacao, landed on top of three people.
- 2008. At an undisclosed location, a dolphin suddenly gains speed and hits a young girl in the process.
- 2009. Dolphin Encounter in the Bahamas, another young girl was bitten by a dolphin.
- 2009. Watch the YouTube video at end of this blog. It is unknown where this incident took place but pleasure soon turned to panic when swimmers endured a deliberate attack by a captive dolphin. At one point, the trainer is forced to enter the water in a pointless attempt to intervene.
- 2009. A similar incident to the one above occurred in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The video of the encounter is entitled, “The Day that a Dolphin Almost Killed Me.”
- 2010. Another SeaWorld incident saw a dolphin at SeaWorld rising out of the pool to nudge a child in the stomach.
A recently deceased dolphin named Beetle became too much to handle for the SeaWorld Orlando park. A known biter, Beetle harmed several people including a seven-year-old Port Orange boy, and a six-year-old Georgia boy. The first child was encouraged by his mother to pet the dolphins again and the second child “didn’t want to see dolphins anymore.” As for Beetle, he was ousted — along with another problem dolphin named Cosmos, to ‘The Mirage’ in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both of these animals were captive born.
It takes just one groped animal having an off day to turn a dream into a nightmare.
If the incidents listed above do not disconcert you, reading the waivers that a participant must sign prior to a swim-with encounter, should. Discovery Cove’s waiver for children contains the following language:
"I, individually and on behalf of Minor Participant, agree to RELEASE, to the maximum extent allowed by law, SEA WORLD OF FLORIDA LLC its parents, subsidiaries, related and affiliated companies, including but not limited to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. and all their officers, directors, shareholders, members, employees, agents, successor and assigns (the “Released Parties”) from any and all claims, losses, demands, damages, expenses, lawsuits, causes of action and judgments …"
It continues:
"I further agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties to the maximum extent allowed by law, from any expenses, attorneys’ fees, loss, liability, damages or cost they may incur arising from any claim or lawsuit brought against them for any injuries, wrongful death, losses or damages of any kind that have been released or discharged by this Release whether caused in whole or in part by the NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY or other FAULT of the Released Parties."
For those who find the legal terminology too overwhelming, the waiver’s final warning about potential risks leaves little doubt. It’s presented below at it appears on the form:
"READ THIS FORM COMPLETELY AND CAREFULLY. YOU ARE AGREEING TO LET YOUR MINOR CHILD ENGAGE IN A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ACTIVITY. YOU ARE AGREEING THAT, EVEN IF THE RELEASED PARTIES USE REASONABLE CARE IN PROVIDING THIS ACTIVITY, THERE IS A CHANCE YOUR CHILD MAY BE SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS ACTIVITY BECAUSE THERE ARE CERTAIN DANGERS INHERENT IN THE ACTIVITY WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED OR ELIMINATED. BY SIGNING THIS FORM YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR CHILD’S RIGHT AND YOUR RIGHT TO RECOVER FROM THE RELEASED PARTIES IN A LAWSUIT FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, INCLUDING DEATH, TO YOUR CHILD OR ANY PROPERTY DAMAGE THAT RESULTS FROM THE RISKS THAT ARE A NATURAL PART OF THE ACTIVITY."
SeaWorld – to its credit, is wrapping up participants tighter than a tourniquet. It also retains the right to use your child’s image – and to alter that image in the manner it chooses without your approval or objection:
"The irrevocable right and permission to photograph or otherwise record me in connection with the Dolphin Interaction Program at Discovery Cove (the Program), and to use the photograph or recording (“Photograph”) for all purposes, including advertising and promotional purposes, in any manner in any and all media now or hereafter known, in perpetuity throughout the world, without restriction as to alteration. I waive any right to inspect or approve the use of the Photograph, and acknowledge and agree that the rights granted by this Release are without compensation of any kind."
With the flourish of a pen, parents are signing away a child’s rights for a 20-30 minute swim-with-dolphin session that could have unintended and potentially fatal consequences. What one has to consider is whether the thousands of incident-free interactions are worth one life-altering injury or death? Parents want to fulfill their child’s dream, and Discovery Point’s new attraction will help them to do that with little to no risk. What is more perplexing, is the endorsement by a federal agency whose decision is solely based upon setting the fox in charge of the hen house.
Including stillbirths, 20 orcas and 133 dolphins have died at SeaWorld in the last 24 years. Dolphin Project will continue our campaign to educate the public in the hope that each and every person will take the pledge to not buy a ticket to a dolphin show. Featured Image: Darkenrau – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
The Indianapolis Zoo, an AZA and AMMPA-accredited facility located in Indiana, is one of three in the Midwest to display cetaceans, along with Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo, in Illinois. Since 1989, the zoo has housed the dolphins in indoor tanks, all year round mainly due to the climate: the summers may be pleasant, but the winters are dreary, bitter, and tend to drag well into March. In comparison to SeaWorld’s history and dirty laundry being aired over national media outlets, the Indianapolis Zoo barely makes a blip on the radar. However, its history is enough to raise some brows: past purchases from dolphin drives and the lack of success with their captive breeding program is worth giving them a closer look.
INDIANAPOLIS ZOO HISTORY 101
Originally opened by Indianapolis Star columnist Lowell Nussabaum in April 1964, the zoo was nothing like its present day, 64-acre establishment. Plans for expansion were made in 1982, and three years later, construction broke ground at the zoo’s new home in the White River State Park within downtown Indianapolis. Two months later, construction was complete, but the zoo’s rejuvenation didn’t stop there. A new Whale and Dolphin Pavilion was announced, with then executive director Roy A. Shea boasting the facility would house “four false killer whales, four belugas, and eight bottlenose dolphins” – all in a 2.3 million gallon complex (the plans for the belugas never came to fruition, thankfully).
Eight bottlenose dolphins were captured off Florida’s western coast in early June 1988, and were quickly whisked to the mom-and-pop Theater of the Sea in the Florida Keys. There, over the next six months, the pod would undergo basic training. Tragedy struck almost two weeks before their departure date: on December 30th, a female named Rah drowned after her “jaws became caught in netting.” She was never mentioned to the media, becoming just another casualty in the Marine Mammal Inventory Report. Years later, Tom Cranberry, Area Manager of Marine Mammals, confirmed in a 2005 Indianapolis Monthly interview that Rah died “in the care of zoo handlers” while at Theater of the Sea.
At the same time, in mid-December, two female false killer whales (or pseudorcas) – later christened Tsuki and Hoshi – were bought from a drive fishery in Taiji. They were flown to Indianapolis on May 20 1989, after a 40-hour flight (and $240,000 spent on purchasing and transporting the pair). The zoo was surprisingly open about the exact location of their capture, although staff would later disingenuously defend their decision as ‘saving them from slaughter.’
Captive breeding programs for both species were planned since the beginning; for example, Hoshi and Tsuki were being trained to beach themselves on the slide out, making it easier for trainers to perform hormone checks and pregnancy tests in the future (once the zoo was able to get their hands on a male). That schedule was shelved in September 1991, when the paint and coating inside the pavilion’s tanks began to chip and blister, forcing the staff to temporarily relocate the false killer whales to Shedd Aquarium, and the bottlenose dolphin back to Theater of the Sea. Although all nine dolphins returned in April of 1992, the zoo faced another setback when Tsuki perished from bronchopneumonia and hepatic fibrosis in October of the same year.
Determined to stay the course, the Indianapolis Zoo announced they would obtain four more pseudorcas in August 1993, asking the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for an extension of their 1988 capture permit. They would face swift and vocal opposition by a coalition of national and local animal rights organizations who had the zoo in their sights.
Previously, Shedd Aquarium and Marine World/Africa USA (now Six Flags Kingdom) had attempted to import several pseudorcas in 1989 and 1993, respectively. While Shedd was taken to court in 1992 and won, it would be Marine World’s case that would draw the line on drive-sourced imports. In a May 3, 1993 letter by attorney Joshua R. Floum (on behalf of the coalition) to NMFS’s then assistant administrator William W. Fox Jr., Floum argued Marine World was violating the permit because the facility did not have documented proof stating the method used to capture the dolphins was humane, nor were there any Marine
World representatives present to oversee the capture methods. The Vallejo park’s import bid would be eventually denied, as described in a May 7 letter from then Acting Administrator of Fisheries Nancy Foster to Marine World’s president, Michael B. Demetrios:
"Your application described a seine-net capture method to collect animals swimming past the coastal bays and inlets of the Taiji area. …The actual location of the capture (Iki Island) and the actual capture method (drive fishery) are not those described in your application. …You …also stated that no one associated with Marine World/Africa USA was present during the capture of these animals” and thus don’t “have the firsthand knowledge necessary to conclude that the capture operation was `humane’ and conducted in a manner consistent with that described in your application.”
Following this outcome, drive-caught animals were off limits. Instead, the Indianapolis Zoo tried to exploit a loophole: get the animals from a Japanese aquarium or zoo that already had pseudorcas, thus, letting someone else do the dirty work. However, as the Indianapolis Star would bring up in December 1993, how did that third party obtain the dolphins?
When asked this very question, Roy Shea replied, “I don’t have to tell you that,” adding that “he did not know how the animals were captured.” In addition, the name of the “Japanese zoo” in question was never mentioned, sowing more seeds of doubt and concern. The plans would eventually fall through on February 26, 1994, with the unnamed Japanese zoo announcing it would keep the pseudorcas rather than give them to the Indianapolis Zoo. (It’s more plausible that the Indianapolis Zoo realized they would most likely have their renewal request denied due to their lack of, or unwillingness to share details of the pseudorcas’ origins, and called the deal off.)
Unable to get a companion for Hoshi, the zoo’s last pseudorca was sent to SeaWorld Orlando on October 22, 1994, in hopes she would breed there. She never bore offspring, and died four years later on March 19, 1998 from severe bronchopneumonia.
CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAM
Bottlenose dolphins have been bred and born in captivity within the United States since Marineland of Florida’s historic birth in 1947. It would not be until the 1970’s and throughout the 80’s when other facilities across the nation were forced to devise new standards and methods for keeping their captive-borns alive, due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. However, those standards and methods are not foolproof: according to Ceta-Base, five captive born dolphins died in various American facilities in 2015, their ages ranging from three weeks old to 20 years old.
In comparison to breeding Commerson’s or rough-toothed dolphins, bottlenose should be considered a bit old hat. For one reason or another, this was not the case for the Indianapolis Zoo. From the first calf born at the facility in 1993 to 2015, the facility has seen a record 32 pregnancies: 4 ending in miscarriages, 1 stillbirth, and 27 live calves born. Yet, only 5 of the 27 born lived beyond the first year of life. (Kalei, born in August 2000, was the first to do so). The rest either survived for a few minutes, a few hours, or a few weeks.
After almost a decade of failed pregnancies, the staff was at a loss as to the cause. To find a solution, the Indianapolis Zoo hired Dave Merritt of Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Connecticut, as Curator of Marine Mammals. In addition, the Zoo collaborated with the Minneapolis Zoo, Disney’s Epcot Theme Park, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Brookfield Zoo and the Dolphin Connection in Florida to help keep the calves alive. (The listed facilities, including the Indianapolis Zoo, are now part of the Dolphin Breeding Consortium group).
Eventually, the zoo would unfairly blame the death rate on the mothers’ lack of knowledge and experience in calf rearing: Nova, China, Phoenix and Ripley were captured between three and four years old, likely missing out on learning from their own mothers how to care for their siblings and newborn pod members. In an attempt to fix the issue, the staff tried separating the three expectant mothers — China, Ripley, and Nova — as they neared delivery in 2000. A dolphin calf puppet was even crafted “to simulate a [real] calf trying to position itself to nurse.” Neither idea worked.
In the end, what worked was “learning from example.” When Nova, the matriarch of the pod, gave birth to Kalei, the other mothers were gradually introduced to the pair, and would eventually copy their behaviors. For a brief time, between 2000 to 2002, a small “baby boom” of sorts happened and the zoo thought their troubles were over.
The boom did not last, and calves born from 2004 to 2007 were once more, dying. In an unusual move, the Indianapolis Zoo reached out to students at Zionsville Community High School in 2008. Incredibly, the diligent students made a breakthrough with “preliminary evidence pointing to some inbreeding” among the dolphin colony, something the zoo initially suspected.
This now begs the question: How did it take more than a decade for the zoo to figure this revelation out, given their connections to other marine mammal experts and partnerships with other zoological facilities? How was it that a class of genetics and advanced-placed biology students in a local high school eventually solved the dilemma? Even with this “newfound” knowledge, only two dolphins would survive out of the next 10 pregnancies that took place between 2009-2015.
INDIANAPOLIS ZOO DOLPHINS TODAY
As of April 2016, 10 dolphins currently live at the facility, consisting of four of the original wild-caught stock, one stranded juvenile, and five captive-born dolphins. The youngest is yearling Calypso, born April 24, 2015.
To get a better idea of the facility, and the conservation and educational programs claimed to be offered, I visited the Indianapolis Zoo back in mid-March.
Aside from dolphins, the zoo also houses two walruses, a harbor seal, a gray seal, and three sea lions.
The Pavilion went through an extensive makeover in 2005, updating and expanding the tanks, and adding a unique underwater dome, giving viewers a “360 degree view” of the animals as they swim. While it is an improved experience for the visitors, the same cannot be said for the dolphins: the tanks are predictably featureless and a bright sky blue to contrast against the dolphins’ gray bodies. Additionally, because the tanks are indoors, the facility was relatively dim. There were no skylights anywhere that could be opened on a nice spring or summer day to let in some fresh air.
Two pairs of gates were located on either side of the show stage, one leading to the west holding pool, the other leading to the east pool. A medical tank lies between the holding tanks. During my visit, the gates to the east tank were open and the eight dolphins flitted in and out of them during the day. Their high-pitched chatter could be easily heard even through the 4.4 inch-thick acrylic glass.
The western pool was gated shut, and considerably dark. I was able to spot two dolphins penned behind the gates once I stared long enough. They were frequently visited by the adolescents, who would speed over, poke their beaks under the gate and occasionally bite the bars (see photos below). The two animals were not let out during my entire visit — not even during the afternoon show. With no docents around at the Dome, I could not find out why they were gated for most of the day.
The Indianapolis Zoo’s population has not experienced the “cetacean shuffle” of individuals being swapped and sent to other parks, making this pod’s hierarchy relatively stable. I did witness an episode of rough-housing, which is predictable amongst juveniles and adolescents. However, even with both the east and west pools open, there was no space for the dolphins to flee if they needed to. It is also worth mentioning there were no toys or any objects of enrichment to be seen anywhere until after the afternoon show, when a small polyform buoy was thrown into the main show pool.
As for the educational materials offered at the zoo, there was little to none. There was one display at one of the underwater viewing dome entrances that gave basic education about a dolphin’s physiology and hydrodynamics. On the way out of the dome, there was another display that went much more in depth about the pavilion tanks filtration system, how much salt was needed, and how the dolphins have “round the clock access to some of the best veterinarians available.” If I had known any better, they took a page from SeaWorld’s playbook on how their orcas received “world class healthcare!”
I encountered advertisements throughout the zoo grounds offering a Dolphin In-Water Encounter – a “trainer for a day”-esque activity where the guests can touch, feed, and give basic commands to dolphins for $265 a pop (for non-members). Later, inside the Pavilion stadium, I would find another advertisement offering “Animal Art Adventures,” where a group of four can pay $260 to let a dolphin paint on a canvas as a trinket.
In comparison, I found absolutely no displays educating visitors on how to minimize their impact on marine pollution or ways to help marine life. It only gets worse: on Indianapolis Zoo’s own website, in a section titled “What to Expect From our Dolphins” on the Dolphin In-Water Adventure page, was the following question:
Q: What can I do to help dolphins in the wild?
A: You can help by supporting your local zoo or aquarium, reading or learning more about dolphins, and working to conserve the natural environment.
This especially infuriating considering during the Indianapolis Zoo openly supports orangutan, tiger, and African elephant conservation projects. While there is a small section describing the partnership with Nature Conservancy on the “Gulf Project,” the mission is more or less self-serving:
"The Indianapolis Zoo and The Nature Conservancy teamed up to develop and implement programming for the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin program at the Zoo to increase public awareness, including a video explaining how visitors can make a difference shown during daily dolphin presentations in the Zoo’s Dolphin Pavilion."
While I did encounter some video monitors by the Domes’ entryways, there was nothing pertaining to dolphin conservation, or what visitors could do to help marine life. Instead, it was more or less about how they took care of the dolphins at the Zoo and wild behaviors they might exhibit in captivity.
On top of that, very little scientific research was done on their own captive bottlenose dolphins. Most of their efforts are spent on lemur and African Elephant artificial insemination techniques. In December 2010, out of the 32 published research abstracts and papers focusing on or using the zoo’s own animals over the past decade, only three were related to their dolphins. Of those three, one focused on the dolphins’ pool size, another was on genetic diversity on captive bottlenose populations, and the last pertained to congenital hyper plastic goiters in captive-born calves. None of these studies cannot be applied to wild populations.
When I attended the afternoon show, I tried to maintain the lowest expectations possible. I would find out near the tail-end of the show that the Pavilion was in the midst of transitioning to a new show that would heavily feature their presentation screen and videography effects, planned to debut this summer. Even so, this was not an excuse to put on a 25-minute skit consisting of discussing the “bond” between trainer and dolphin, with dolphins performing flips, breaches and target-touching to Pharrel’s Happy. There were only two elementary facts about dolphins that were mentioned: how dolphins breathe air through their blowholes, and how dolphins have whiskers that eventually fall off not long after they are born.
The show could be best described as a PR gimmick to encourage audience members into volunteering for the zoo, in hopes they may eventually become full-time zoo employees.
If this is the best the Indianapolis Zoo can do in promoting conservation and awareness for dolphins in the wild, justifying why they have dolphins in an indoor tank complex, maybe the zoo should admit dolphins are not their forte. Considering the growing public awareness against cetaceans in captivity, the zoo would do itself a huge favor and halt their breeding program.
Better yet, the zoo could follow the National Aquarium of Baltimore’s proposal to retire their dolphins to a coastal sanctuary. Thus, the Zoo could stay ahead of the curve, with a win-win for both themselves and the dolphins.
The following resources were used in this article:
- Bringing up Mommy by Mike Knight, Indianapolis Monthly, April 2002
- What’s a Nice Dolphin Like You Doing in a Place like This? by Evan West, Indianapolis Monthly, May 2005
- Ceta-Base’s Indianapolis Zoo inventory (as well as a 2003 copy of the North American Bottlenose Studbook and 2016 Marine Mammal Inventory Reports)
- Letter from NMFS Acting Administrator of Fisheries, Nancy Foster, to Michael D. Demetrios, President of Marine World Africa USA, dated May 7, 1993
- Letter from Joshua R. Floum to Assistant Administrator of Fisheries, William W. Fox, Jr, dated May 7, 1993
- With It’s Permit Running Out, Zoo Learns it Won’t Get Whales by Diane Penner, Indianapolis Star, February 26, 1994
- Students on the Case of Dying Dolphins by Ben Woodsen, Times Sentinel, July 2, 2008.
- Indianapolis Zoo Welcomes Baby Dolphin by Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Times, June 8, 2015.
Featured image: dolphins Ripley and China with a trainer/Wikipedia Commons/CC-SA-2.5
This petition will be delivered to:
- CEO of SeaWorld
Joel Manby - SeaWorld Chief Zoological Officer
Brad Andrews - Vice President of Veterinary Services
Chris Dold
Richard O'Barry is Founder/Director of Dolphin Project. He worked for 10 years in the dolphin captivity industry, and has spent the past 46 working against it. Over the past 46 years, Ric O'Barry has rescued and rehabilitated dolphins in many countries around the world, including Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, South Korea, the Bahamas Islands and the United States. He is a leading voice in the fight to end brutal dolphin hunts in Japan, Solomon Islands, Faroe Islands, Indonesia and wherever else they occur.
Action: Dolphin Project action page.
The book: Behind the Dolphin Smile was published in 1989; a second book, To Free A Dolphin, was published in September 2000. Both are about his work and dedication. O'Barry is the star of the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove and the Animal Planet television series Blood Dolphin$.
