Posts Tagged ‘Beluga’
An end to captivity in Canada?
After being stalled in the Canadian Senate since November 2017, a bill that would ban whale and dolphin captivity in Canada is finally moving forward. If S-203 passes the Senate, it will be voted on by Parliament and be one step closer to becoming law. The bill would criminalize holding whales and dolphins captive in…
Read MoreCaptive beluga loses first calf
Earlier this year, we shared the sad news that Qinu, a beluga held at Georgia Aquarium, was pregnant with her first calf – a continuation of the horrible legacy of captivity. Unfortunately, Georgia Aquarium has reported that Qinu’s calf died before birth. This news comes after SeaWorld Orlando also announced the death of a newborn beluga…
Read MoreBest seats in the house! Watching belugas from land in Quebec
I’m delighted to introduce our fourth guest blog from supporter, Oliver Dirr, who has been travelling round the world, watching whales and sharing his best experiences with us! Read on for his account of watching belugas from land in Quebec. Quebec is the most southerly vantage point in the world for viewing arctic beluga whales.…
Read MoreA sad legacy: Captive beluga pregnant with her first calf
Georgia Aquarium recently announced the pregnancy of a young beluga whale held at their facility. Qinu, just shy of 10 years old, was born in 2008 at SeaWorld San Antonio, and is expected to give birth to her first calf in late fall. The last beluga calf born at the Georgia Aquarium died after less…
Read MoreLatest update on removal of Belugas from Ocean World aquarium in Shanghai
WDC is continuing to work with Merlin Entertainments in an effort to find a location for a natural sea sanctuary in order to remove three belugas currently housed in Merlin’s Chang Feng Ocean World aquarium in Shanghai, China. Despite many obstacles and months of work to find a location off the coast of Russia (where…
Read MoreBeluga whale calf dies at Georgia Aquarium
The latest beluga whale calf to be born at the Georgia Aquarium has died, less than a month old. Its mother, a whale named Maris, gave birth on May 10th but after failing to gain weight during its critical early weeks, the calf did not survive. Initial diagnosis suggests that it was suffering from gastrointestinal…
Read MoreBeluga whale died from jaw infection after ’interaction’ with another whale
A necropsy (post-mortem) has revealed that the death of Nanuq, the beluga whale that died in February at SeaWorld, was caused by an infection in a fractured jaw. This followed an “interaction” with another whale, according to SeaWorld. Nanuq was on a long-term breeding loan from the Vancouver Aquarium when the incident occured.
Read MoreNanuq: The most recent casualty of captivity
SeaWorld has announced that one of its male beluga whales, on breeding loan to its parks from Vancouver Aquarium since 1997, died on Thursday, February 19th. The cause of death has not been reported for Nanuq, an approximately 32-year-old beluga originally captured from the waters of the Hudson Bay, but the Orlando park reported that…
Read MoreOil pipeline plans halted over fears for beluga whales
Oil company, TransCanada has brought a halt to construction of a terminal on a major pipeline along the St. Lawrence River in Canada following growing fears for a nearby population of endangered beluga whales. The belugas in the area were labelled as “threatened” after a formal study ten years ago found the population numbered 10,000.…
Read MoreA Vancouver future free of whale and dolphin captivity?
On the 31st July 2014, something historic happened in Vancouver, Canada. At a special meeting organised to focus on the captivity of whales and dolphins at the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Park Board voted unanimously in favour of an end to captive breeding at the aquarium. The Board has now directed its staff to bring…
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