T here is so much we haven’t learned about the sea – how it’s directly connected to global warming, pollution, food source, and its vast intersections with different wildlife and ecosystems. Saving it from ongoing threats will help us all.
The Whale Sanctuary Project
Learn about what they are doing to build a safe haven for rescued captive orcas and belugas. These whales are no longer adapted to live in the wild because of their poor health, isolation from their original families/pods, and age. Cetaceans are one of the few animals that live shorter lives in captivity than in the wild – typically half the years they would naturally live in the wild!
The Whale Sanctuary Project received approval in February 2020 to build a seaside sanctuary for whales and dolphins to live out the rest of their lives in peace, and in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat, in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, Canada. These marine animals are highly intelligent beings who have a very socially complex culture. Keeping them in concrete tanks is unusually cruel, cutting off their ability to communicate by sonar, separating them from their tightly knit families, and keeping them on the verge of starvation so that they are motivated to perform.
Unfortunately for dolphins and even orcas (killer whales), their mouth shape and markings make them appear as if they are having fun and enjoying performing for us. Let’s say “NO” to exploiting these intelligent beings by not supporting marine theme parks. See what Whale Sanctuary Project is doing to relocate these captive whales to their sanctuary in Nova Scotia so that they can retire in peace.
https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/
The National Aquarium – Baltimore, MD
Through the creation of North America’s first dolphin sanctuary, the National Aquarium is introducing a new option for human care of dolphins. The sanctuary’s mission is to advance understanding and protection of cetaceans by offering a natural environment in which the colony of dolphins in our care will thrive.
Title: Orcas do not do well in captivity. Here’s why.
Summary: This article in National Geographic explains why marine amusement parks are cruel. It may not seem clear, but amusement parks shorten their LIVES! They are taken from their tight-knit family pods, are caged in small cells and “exercise” in a poor excuse of a saltwater pool, and are deprived of their livelihood: to swim long distances freely and echolocate.
