Sad news surfaced last week on the death of a Beluga Whale at SeaWorld Orlando. The individual, called Nanuq, is suspected to have died of an infection resulting from a broken jaw. The fracture seems to have been caused "from an interaction between two animals that were part of a compatible social group" - according to SeaWorld's Facebook page.
Now this is where I struggle with SeaWorld. Whilst I am aware that they carry out brilliant animal rescue work (just yesterday they rescued 19 manatees from a drainpipe, according to their Twitter feed), they fail to address the issue of keeping such huge animals in tanks that simply are not fit for purpose, for the sole reason of entertaining the public. Here is a paragraph about Belugas, taken from Wikipedia (I know... not the most reliable of sources, but it gives a rough idea of what this animal is about): "Belugas are gregarious and they form groups of up to 10 animals on average, although during the summer months, they can gather in the hundreds or even thousands in estuaries and shallow coastal areas. They are slow swimmers, but can dive down to 700 m (2,300 ft) below the surface." From this alone we can gather that Belugas are social animals, and the ones in captivity could never experience the interactions with others that they would do in their hundreds in the wild. Furthermore, they are capable of diving down to 2,300ft, whilst the largest tank at SeaWorld Orlando is a mere 36ft deep, and is exclusively for the Orcas. I am unable to find information on the dimensions of the Beluga tank, however it is safe to assume it is smaller than this. It is worth noting that Nanuq lived with three other Belugas in this tiny enclosure, and his broken jaw is unlikely to have happened in the wild, as he probably could have swum away from any confrontation. Unfortunately, this latest death at SeaWorld does not surprise me, and it upsets me that these animals have not been retired, but instead are exploited for public interactions worth $119 a pop (still listed on their website). If you still haven't watched it, I urge you to watch Blackfish. No animal should be kept in an enclosure the equivalent of a bathtub. We have come so far in society; we are now horrified at the idea of circuses which use animals as part of their entertainment and performances, yet the same occurs daily across SeaWorld's parks at a huge profit, at the expense of these majestic creatures.
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