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the horror of captive marine mammals
catefrances
Posts: 29,003
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/854175 ... ale-emerge
Disturbing new images have emerged of an injured killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego, sparking debate over what caused the horrific wounds.
Graphic photos show Nakai, an 11-year-old whale, with a large chunk of flesh missing from under his jaw, with the injury cutting through flesh and blubber.
The park has stated Nakai's wound was sustained when he came into contact with part of the pool during a show, but a leading whale expert believes it may have been caused by another whale in the enclosure.
Dr Ingrid Visser, the principal scientist at the Orca Research Trust, took the new photographs of Nakai's injury and believes she can identify teeth marks in the wound.
"You can see here there is some kind of puncture wound and that diameter and size and distance would match up with orca teeth," she told San Diego's CBS8.
While Dr Visser said the marks could also be caused by bolts in the SeaWorld pool, she believes they are spaced too close together and are more likely to be teeth marks.
Dr Nancy Anderson, a veterinarian with the University of California Davis Wildlife Centre, told the San Diego Union-Tribune the wounds were unlikely to be caused by another whale.
"The edges of that wound are so smooth. If it were the teeth of an orca, there is no way it could look like that," she said. "It looks more consistent with the animal getting snagged on something and pulling away from it."
Animal rights group PETA has blasted SeaWorld and submitted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for disciplinary action to be taken against the park.
PETA claims SeaWorld is housing the whales in violation of the Animal Welfare Act and has called for people to boycott the theme park.
"It's clear that SeaWorld can't be trusted to make the safety and wellbeing of marine animals its top priority," the group says on its website.
"Please don't ever visit SeaWorld (or any other marine-mammal park)— and tell company executives why you won't support the abuse of Nakai and the other intelligent, complex animals they've imprisoned and enslaved."
Disturbing new images have emerged of an injured killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego, sparking debate over what caused the horrific wounds.
Graphic photos show Nakai, an 11-year-old whale, with a large chunk of flesh missing from under his jaw, with the injury cutting through flesh and blubber.
The park has stated Nakai's wound was sustained when he came into contact with part of the pool during a show, but a leading whale expert believes it may have been caused by another whale in the enclosure.
Dr Ingrid Visser, the principal scientist at the Orca Research Trust, took the new photographs of Nakai's injury and believes she can identify teeth marks in the wound.
"You can see here there is some kind of puncture wound and that diameter and size and distance would match up with orca teeth," she told San Diego's CBS8.
While Dr Visser said the marks could also be caused by bolts in the SeaWorld pool, she believes they are spaced too close together and are more likely to be teeth marks.
Dr Nancy Anderson, a veterinarian with the University of California Davis Wildlife Centre, told the San Diego Union-Tribune the wounds were unlikely to be caused by another whale.
"The edges of that wound are so smooth. If it were the teeth of an orca, there is no way it could look like that," she said. "It looks more consistent with the animal getting snagged on something and pulling away from it."
Animal rights group PETA has blasted SeaWorld and submitted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for disciplinary action to be taken against the park.
PETA claims SeaWorld is housing the whales in violation of the Animal Welfare Act and has called for people to boycott the theme park.
"It's clear that SeaWorld can't be trusted to make the safety and wellbeing of marine animals its top priority," the group says on its website.
"Please don't ever visit SeaWorld (or any other marine-mammal park)— and tell company executives why you won't support the abuse of Nakai and the other intelligent, complex animals they've imprisoned and enslaved."
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
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http://youtu.be/naiegxG1X4M
those saltwater fish should be free in the ocean.
Then I showed them Puffy and how we interacted.
From the time I spied him on the other side of a crowded pet shop.
Our eyes met... his a beautiful aquamarine. I loved him over a decade,
he was happy and healthy and really loved me too
I wonder if eventually we won't have zoo's, aquariums ...
kind of sad for the children, guess they can watch the animals on TV
in the wild though.
We saw this on the am news, :( bad ouie it is
I heard just now on news radio the vets say it was not an attack but I guess we'll
see how this plays out.
Speedy recovery ...
I'm also surprised that with technology as it is, determining whether or not the wounds were caused by another whale is so difficult?
Anyway...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhGSY2sxwTU
I think differently though. I think it depends on the zoo/place. Without them, I think there are a lot of people that will never see some of these animals up close. And I think it's important because out of sight, out of mind. Kids can learn about animals from all over the world and learn to have an appreciation for them, a love for them.
Note that I am not against ' proper' zoos or sanctuaries as they can have a purpose. But keeping animals in unfit connditions and making perform is cruel.
Some of those "tricks" are merely showing off the animals natural capabilities but simple done on cue.
How do you feel about pets?
Zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, but they frequently fall short on both counts. Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little more information than the species' name, diet, and natural range. The animals' normal behavior is seldom discussed, much less observed, because their natural needs are seldom met. Birds' wings may be clipped so they cannot fly, aquatic animals often have little water, and the many animals who naturally live in large herds or family groups are often kept alone or, at most, in pairs. Natural hunting and mating behaviors are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding regimens. The animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise, resulting in abnormal and self-destructive behavior, called zoochosis.
As for education, zoo visitors usually spend only a few minutes at each display, seeking entertainment rather than enlightenment. A study of the zoo in Buffalo, N.Y., found that most people passed cages quickly, and described animals in such terms as "funny-looking," "dirty," or "lazy."
Zoos often sell or kill animals who no longer attract visitors. Deer, tigers, lions, and other animals who breed often are sometimes sold to "game" farms where hunters pay for the "privilege" of killing them; some are killed for their meat and/or hides. Other "surplus" animals may be sold to smaller, more poorly run zoos or to laboratories for experiments.
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/zoos.asp
A researcher had painted a white X on her head, just above the right eye. She couldn’t see it or feel it. What would happen if Happy noticed the mark in the mirror?
It was an experiment to determine if elephants, long known for their intelligence and strong family bonds, were also self-aware. If so, they would join a select group of animals — humans, apes and dolphins — with the ability to see themselves as others might.
Happy was the final hope. Two of her fellow residents of the Bronx Zoo had failed the test.
After being released into the enclosure, Happy walked straight to the mirror, then backed away. She moved in and out of view of her reflection. Soon, Happy’s trunk inched up to the mark, touching the X tentatively as if inspecting a new hairdo. She eventually would touch her head 47 times.
The researchers were thrilled. The team, headed by an Emory University graduate student, Josh Plotnik, published the results in a journal of the National Academy of Sciences.
Video of Happy gazing at herself in the mirror went viral. A book on elephant behavior devoted a chapter to her as the study proved the earth’s largest land animals have a depth previously unknown. Happy was a star.
Six years later, a reporter took a ride into the elephant area of the Bronx Zoo called Wild Asia, which is accessible only by monorail. It’s a rambling, leafy section of terrain where the zoo’s biggest attractions reside: tigers, rhinos and elephants.
It’s the same area where a man was mauled two weeks ago after leaping into a tiger den.
Not far away is the elephant exhibit, where on this day two of them plodded about near a small pond.
“There’s two of our beautiful friends, Patty and Maxine!” chirped a tour guide.
Afterward, he was asked if they were the only elephants at the zoo.
“Yeah,” he said. “Just those two.”
An informal survey of other zoo workers revealed an astonishing fact: Most thought that Patty and Maxine — 40-year-old Asian females and the two other research subjects that failed Plotnik’s self-awareness test in 2006 — comprised the zoo’s full complement of pachyderms.
Happy, one of the most famous elephant in the zoo, if not the nation, had vanished.
‘She should be there; that’s what our records indicate,” said Ashley Byrne, a spokesperson for the animal-rights group PETA, which closely monitors elephants in captivity, including those in The Bronx.
“We do keep track because when a zoo has decided an animal is no longer useful to them, we sometimes see them being sold off to roadside zoos or even canned-hunting facilities.”
A clue was provided by a YouTube video posted on June 8, 2010. It showed Patty and Maxine near their pond. A caption read: “Happy is not here, as she does not ‘get along with’ one of these two.”
Wildlife conservationist and author G.A. Bradshaw noted something similar in her book, “Elephants on the Edge — What Animals Teach Us About Humanity.”
“She has two neighbors who are contemporaries, Patty and Maxine, but the two have formed a fast friendship, leaving Happy something of a third wheel.”
The question of Happy’s circumstances was put to the zoo’s spokesperson, Mary Dixon, who didn’t immediately respond. A closer look at Happy’s life revealed a disturbing secret.
She was born in 1971 in Thailand and captured as an infant. She landed at a zoo in Hawaii for a few months. In 1973, she was shipped off to West Palm Beach, Fla. Four years later, she arrived in The Bronx.
During all that time, she had a constant companion, a male named Grumpy. He was the same age, also from Thailand, and was captured in the same year as Happy — meaning he was probably her brother, cousin or other close relative. He traveled with her to Hawaii and Florida and came to The Bronx with her in 1977.
But in 2002, Grumpy died, the cause of death listed initially as “unknown.”
A follow-up record uncovered by a Swedish elephant authority, Dan Koehl, showed that Grumpy was attacked by Patty and Maxine and “killed after sustaining injuries from being beaten up by [them].”
“It had to be a pretty violent situation,” said Ed Stewart, co-founder of the animal-advocacy group PAWS, which runs an elephant sanctuary in Northern California.
“It’s a tragedy, but things like that just don’t happen in the wild.”
Deaths in captivity are not uncommon.
Another elephant, Tus, died at the Bronx Zoo in 2002 from an unknown cause. The passing of Grumpy and Tus went unreported in the press.
Happy — approaching middle age at 31 in 2002 — was left to herself.
The zoo found Happy a new companion. Sammy, a male young enough to be her son, was introduced and the two hit it off. The handlers were encouraged.
Four years later, when Plotnik launched his study, he took note of how well Happy and Sammy got along.
“They had a very good relationship,” he told The Post. “Just as Patty and Maxine had a very good relationship.
“But the two groups stayed away from each other. I never saw them mixing — and I was there for months.”
Happy’s luck didn’t last. Shortly after Plotnik’s research concluded, Sammy passed away from liver disease. Happy was alone again.
Plotnik’s study of elephants shamed many zoos. After its publication, the Bronx Zoo announced it would close its elephant exhibit after any of its three remaining elephants died.
And it would take on no new animals until that time.
The announcement was considered a bold move — elephants have long been among the most popular among visitors, and their loss could hurt revenue.
But it was applauded by conservationists and behavioral scientists, who believe elephants should be left in the wild or kept in sanctuaries, where they have significantly more room than zoos can provide.
It also intensified the scrutiny of the conditions of elephants at zoos.
In The Bronx, a team of caretakers must constantly work on the feet of Happy, Maxine and Patty, scrubbing the pads and filing down their nails — something not necessary in the wild, where elephants walk as much as 30 miles per day.
Without that care, they likely would develop foot or joint problems, a common cause of death for zoo and circus elephants.
Happy’s mental state was another matter.
“If that animal is all alone, that would be extremely stressful,” said Byrne.
“Elephants have close family dynamics, and interaction is essential to their well-being.”
Observers worry that Happy, forced to live in proximity to two alpha females who killed her lifelong companion, could slide into despair, something that has occurred at other facilities
So the zoo went against its vow — and brought in another elephant to keep her company, according to a zoo handler.
But the new arrival, a young male named Jumbo whose mother passed away at another location, was adopted by Patty and Maxine. The gamble backfired.
Happy spends most of her time indoors in a large holding facility lined with elephant cages, which are about twice the length of the animals’ bodies. The public never sees this.
On Sept. 22, after Post inquiries, Happy was finally spotted. She’d been put in the elephant exhibit — alone — while Patty and Maxine appeared mostly out of view in a separate enclosure on the opposite side of the monorail.
In a written statement, Dixon claimed Happy was out in public “regularly.”
“Rotating animals through exhibits is part of our behavioral-enrichment efforts,” she wrote. “I am not sure, but she may even be out tomorrow. When not on exhibit, they still have time outside.”
Advocates are pushing the Bronx Zoo to fulfill its promise to shut down the elephant exhibit.
“They should do it now and send those elephants to a sanctuary,” said Byrne of PETA, which has been pressing the matter with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which owns the zoo.
But acting right now would be a financial risk.
“Zoos are concerned about a domino effect,” said animal advocate Stewart.
“Next year it’s polar bears, then grizzly bears, though Detroit got rid of their elephants and attendance is better than ever.”
Besides the potential loss of visitors, several obstacles must be overcome.
The zoo would have to find a suitable location, though there are two likely places: PAWS in California, where eight animals live on 115 acres, and the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., which has 14 pachyderms and more than 2,000 acres.
Stewart estimated the cost of building three crates for the trio and trucking them to Tennessee at about $80,000.
“It’s quite a bit harder moving elephants that don’t travel that often — it’s stressful for them and it takes conditioning. You have to take precautions.
“And you worry about their health. They’d have to be quarantined for tuberculosis for a time. Putting a new elephant into a group that’s been together for a while is a risk. Climate is an issue, but if they’re in New York, they should be fine going anywhere.”
He thought transferring Happy, Patty and Maxine would be great for them — and not overly difficult to pull off.
The good news?
“Some of the most social elephants are the ones that were alone.”
Plotnik hopes for the best for his research darling — and saddened to hear of her circumstances. If Happy truly has a sense of self, she may also know loneliness.
“Elephants should not be kept isolated,” he said. “Their social welfare is a priority.”
http://m.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/ ... HAB0HUIllN
:think:
So, do they ever rate the zoos?
And as I said, I already understand the counter-opinion.
Sure I'm entertained when George jumps three feet in the air to catch "Da Bird", but HE loves it. My enjoyment in watching him is just gravy
uhhh ... all it shows is what some animals are prepared to do when you are reliant on your captors as your only source of food ...
killer whales/dolphins and pretty much all large size mammals (see gorillas) are not meant to be captive ... it is imprisonment - no matter how you look at it ...
as for pets ... i really don't think there is a comparison here ... in some instances - like pet snakes and such ... but not with dogs and cats ...
It did make me think. I'm sure someone could be for animal rights and are anti-zoo and hypocritically own a Jack Russel Terrier or an Australian Shepard inside a city and not even think twice about that those breeds require lots of space and exercise that a city cannot provide.
Shouldn't packs of dogs be running around wild like wolves? Since humans have been able to successfully domestic them by training them with treats, it's OK to not make comparisons to "large" mammals?
Is the only reason that wolves are not pets is because human have not been able to successfully domestic them on a consistent basis?
And cats are part of the felidae family. People freak out about a tiger in a zoo ... and then have a de-clawed inside-house kitty at home. Cats that grow up in the wild are not meant to be indoors ... but if trained from birth to be domesticated, it's OK.
Interesting thoughts for me to chew on.
Could be, just interested in their point of view.
Even for domesticated animals, whether your cat, dog or budgie or the farm animal, they need to be kept in an environment suited to their species allowing them to follow their natural instincts, and need to be cared for properly. Too many people that own animals really should not.
On a note for Jason ref should dogs run wild in packs like wolves (or any other animal with similar domesticated/wild counterparts).... part of the domestication process alters their social behaviour and, what would seem logical social interaction for a wild animal is no longer a requirement for the domesticated one.
Interesting...a few questions
So, is it wrong to keep feral cats?
And, how is animals being born into captivity, and then their offspring being born into captivity, etc different from domesticating animals of the past?
I believe it is wrong to keep feral cats as a pet. I know people who have a farm and some feral cats live there (sort of) but they are not 'pets'.
Because domestication doesn't happen as quickly as that and it is not a natural process (ie many generations of offspring being born into captivity). Selective breeding, culling, etc. all play a part in this process. They may become 'tame' (ie accepting human contact/interaction) but will not be domesticated (a genetic evolution). As I mentioned in the previous post, so many different criteria need to be met (from a biological and social point of view) for an animal having any chance of being domesticated that only a handful of wild animals can be. It is a huge evolutionary upheaval for the species.
My daughter is studying wildlife conservation and recently wrote a biology paper on this subject. As I'm into this as well, I usually read her research, books, etc. It is quite complex but very interesting - very eye opening too.
But then we all view animals differently. I like seeing the urban foxes in my neighbourhood, others kill them. Some people don't care about animal welfare thinking one needs to look after humans first, some do. Personally, I find things like circuses and seaworld revolting.
captive orcas are taken from their family pods. male orcas live with their mamas their entire lives. how can we take an animal that is so family orientated from its family and expect it to be happy in an oversized fish bowl??? no wonder they freak out every now and again and attack their trainers. they are the apex predator in their world and yet we now hand them their meals? theres no more coordinated hunt or communication with their family or other pods. sure there are usually other orcas captive with them but thats not their choice and we wonder why its so difficult to breed them in captivity. they become a shadow of their former selves. as i believe most all captive animals do. im undecided about fish.
the last time i was at a zoo is last time illl ever be at a zoo. it was about a decade ago i think. we were standing in front of the brown bear enclosure.. no fence between us and the bear, just a concrete ditch several feet deep and a simple hip height steel pole rail. i watched with my children by my side as the bear paced back and forth,never taking its eyes off us. the bear was clearly disturbed and to me looked like it was looking for a way out. i told the kids it was time to go and havent been back.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
i love iguanas. but if im gonna see them im going to the galapagos.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I have been to a handful of zoos and I think they are actually very important to have. I mean most of them (and all of the ones I have been too) aren't just set up to show animals off (this isn't victorian times), but are set up as actual research facilities, which allow humans to learn about animals and how they behave. Plus most major zoos have chairities set up that try to help with animal conservation in the wild. Plus there are a number of animals, that if it were not for zoos, would be completely extinct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinct_in_the_Wild
So yea it might suck for that one elephant in the zoo, but I think it benefits elephants as a whole (and the same goes for other species.
***********************
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/3-newborn-pola ... 15029.html
The Toronto Zoo says three newborn polar bear cubs have died.
Aurora, an 11-year-old female polar bear, gave birth to one female and two male cubs on Dec. 6, the zoo said in a news release on Monday.
One of the male cubs died shortly after it was born, and the two others died on Sunday. The zoo said it wasn't clear how the second two cubs had died and that tissue samples will be analyzed.
The zoo said that the silver lining in the deaths was that Aurora showed maternal instincts for the first time, after rejecting three cubs last year, only one of which survived.
"The fact that Aurora was doing everything right this time is a huge step in the right direction," said Maria Franke, the zoo's curator of mammals.
Polar bears are considered critically endangered, with between 20,000 to 25,000 wild polar bears worldwide — about 60 per cent of those in Canada.
"The information gained throughout Aurora's breeding has allowed us invaluable information that we can learn from and share with our counterparts," the zoo said.
http://www.imax.com/borntobewild/
Milwaukee has a very fine zoo.
My favorite the aviary house where the birds fly free.
The kids loved monkey island, also free type habitat.
The very best though was the polar bear swimming ...
an underwater viewing area as well as above.
The animals seemed happy making us happy too.
The sad thing ... will the ones in captivity in the future be the lucky ones?
The disappearing habitat and environment changing the wild world
forever.
There is a balance that is hard to identify.
Many modern zoos take care of their animals pretty well (and are regulated). Like you said, this gives people a chance to see and appreciate animals up close. Sure, we can watch the Animal Planet channel, but nothing compares to being up close with animals.
It's impossible to quantify, but how many people who have become helpful to animals (professionally, charitably, spreading awareness, etc), started that way because of seeing wild animals in a zoo as a child, or whatever? Would they have become how they are without that exposure?
And the pet analogy is a good one... zoo animals are un-naturally contained, and often "perform" for food/attention, but same with pets.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
our dog does not perform for food or attention. he is played with as part of our pack and thats what packs do. that play is needed for a social animal.. ALL social animals. he also hunts for birds in our yard.. which makes me smile.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I agree with you.