Reports from newspapers indicate that three of the whales transported to the Mystic Zoo in Connecticut from Ontario in August 2021 have now died, according to the Associated Press on Wednesday, the latest being a 9-year-old beluga whale named Kharabali, amid a string of deaths in captivity that animal rights advocates claim is evidence that such mammals should not live in captivity.
Main Facts
Kharabali died on Tuesday after she began swimming abnormally in November and spent time in the zoo’s intensive care unit. The facility stated that the exact cause of death has not yet been determined.
The male beluga whale Havok died in August 2021, and Havana, the female, passed away the following year, according to the Associated Press, although the zoo said both of these animals arrived from Marineland, a zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with untreatable conditions.
Kharabali, Havok, and Havana are among many whales that have died in captivity in recent decades, which is one of the impacts of living in captivity according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, which also include frustration, boredom, increased likelihood of attack, dorsal fin collapse, and other signs of physiological stress.
Main Background
Kharabali is one of five whales that left a crowded home at Marineland in Canada – where 14 whales and one dolphin have died since 2019 – to the zoo in Mystic in 2021. The beluga whales were transported to Connecticut following a legal battle in which a Delaware animal rights group filed a lawsuit to stop the transfer, claiming it would cause them physical and emotional harm. Officials at that time said they were bred in captivity and would not survive if released into the ocean. When the first whale died soon after arrival, the USDA conducted an inspection and found issues in the care of that whale and others at the zoo, according to the Associated Press. A spokesperson at that time indicated that these issues are being addressed.
The transfer of the five whales comes as part of a global campaign to stop breeding whales in entertainment parks like Marineland, SeaWorld, and other destinations, a practice that gained widespread popularity in the 1960s. The first marine mammals kept in captivity were captured in the 1960s on the orders of circus man P.T. Barnum and were later placed in the American Museum of Barnum.
The big number: 177. That is the number of killer whales that have died in captivity, excluding 30 miscarried or stillborn calves, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Approximately 5,000 marine mammals – a class that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises – are believed to have died in captivity since the 1950s.
In conclusion, the orca Lolita (later renamed Toki) died in August due to potential kidney failure. Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, provided millions of dollars in March in an attempt to save the orca from captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. She had performed daily for the public for more than 50 years before falling ill in late 2021, and Irsay provided medical care worth $20,000 a month while the Friends of Toki group worked to transfer her to “home waters.” Toki died in August due to potential kidney failure. She was one of seven killer whales captured from the wild in what became known as “Black Friday” at Penn Cove, which saw 80 whales being netted in Puget Sound in 1970. Five of them drowned, and their bodies were weighted to avoid detection. Toki’s death has raised calls for increased efforts to release other whales and dolphins from captivity before they die.
More
Information
Three of the five whales that were transferred to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut have died.
The whales arrived at the facility after a legal battle.
Keeping whales in captivity is considered a practice that leads to reduced survival rates in the wild.
More details about whales in captivity and how they suffer in confinement.
The whale Lolita died due to potential kidney failure.
Tokitae died after being captured from the wild in 1970.
The whales died due to living in captivity and harsh conditions.
The whales died due to physiological stress and health problems.
The whales died due to potential attacks and dorsal fin collapse.
The whales died due to being held in captivity, boredom, and frustration.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional issues.
The whales died due to living in captivity and physiological stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
The whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to living in captivity and psychological and emotional stress.
Whales died due to
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/12/13/third-whale-dies-at-connecticut-aquarium-after-5-were-controversially-transferred-from-canada/
Leave a Reply