PORT HILFORD BAY, N.S. – Sept. 22nd, 2026

Construction is underway on the next major phase of the Whale Sanctuary Project in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, marking another significant step toward creating North America’s first seaside sanctuary for whales retired from entertainment and public display.

Building on construction progress already underway at Port Hilford Bay, the Whale Sanctuary Project has now moved into its next major stage of site development, with more than $1.4 million CAD in advancing the shore-side infrastructure that will be essential to building and eventually operating the sanctuary.

This latest phase had been scheduled to begin earlier but work in the wharf area was temporarily delayed after nesting barn swallows were discovered at the site. Following Canadian Wildlife Service procedures, the project adjusted its construction schedule to protect the birds and allow the nesting period to conclude.

Members of the construction crew at work on the barn swallow loft.

And with that process now complete, work is moving ahead. It includes geotechnical engineering and re-construction of the wharf, boat launch and slipway; installation of core and armour stone to establish and protect the shoreline infrastructure; and preparation of the ground and footing base where future sanctuary buildings will be constructed.

The area being developed will provide the staging area for the major in-water work still to come.
“Every stage of construction brings us closer to the day when we can open these waters to whales in need of sanctuary,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “This work creates the foundation for the marine infrastructure and facilities we need to operate, and it is enormously rewarding to see that progress taking shape. We’re also proud that this investment is supporting Nova Scotia contractors and using materials sourced here in the province, ensuring that as we build the sanctuary, we’re investing in the community and Canadian expertise that are helping make it possible.”

The area being developed will provide the staging area for the major in-water work still to come, including installation of the sanctuary’s nets and bay pen.

With construction progressing, the Whale Sanctuary Project is now focused on securing the funding required to maintain that momentum and advance the next stages of sanctuary development.

The project is engaging with individual philanthropists, foundations, corporations, and other potential partners in Canada and around the world to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary. The funding will support the next stages of the project’s construction plan as work continues toward making the sanctuary ready to receive and care for whales.

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About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a seaside sanctuary at Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, for whales retired from entertainment and public display. The sanctuary will provide a natural ocean environment where whales can live with greater space, autonomy and choice while continuing to receive lifelong human care, including specialized feeding and veterinary support.

The Project is developing the infrastructure, expertise and partnerships required to provide a responsible alternative for whales who cannot be released into the wild but can experience a dramatically different quality of life in a seaside sanctuary.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Whale Sanctuary Project Begins Next Step of Development at Nova Scotia Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This is becoming unbearable. The death of Osiris, who was transported to Shedd from Marineland Canada, follows those of Peekachu and Rain. A fourth whale, Jelly Bean, who was sent to Oceanogràfic Valencia in Spain, has also died.

It was well known among animal welfare organizations that the health of these whales was seriously compromised. Shedd admits this in their blog post, saying that Osiris was “a whale of clinical concern.”

Tonight, we can only mourn this latest passing. There will be more. None of these whales should have been shipped anywhere until they had been examined by competent, independent veterinarians, who could have determined what was in the whales’ best interests.

And now we are seeing the consequences of this so-called “rescue” – a reckless operation to allow these animals to be further exploited for their entertainment value and for breeding.

It is a slow-motion unfolding tragedy.

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PRESS STATEMENT

September 3rd, 2026 – Three beluga whale deaths at Shedd Aquarium in little more than a week should force governments, regulators and the public to fundamentally question an industry that continues to keep whales in captivity for entertainment purposes.

“The deaths of former Marineland Canada belugas Peekachu and Rain, alongside long-time Shedd resident Beethoven, are shocking and horrifying,” said Dr. Lori Marino, neuroscientist and founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “We cannot simply mourn them, wait for another necropsy and carry on as though there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the status quo. At some point, the world has to stop looking at each death in isolation and start questioning the system itself.”

Photo of a beluga whale during a show at Shedd Aquarium – By Sage Ross via Creative Commons.

The deaths come as the captive marine mammal industry has portrayed and celebrated the transfer of Marineland Canada’s whales to facilities in the United States and Europe as an international “rescue.”

In 2021, when Marineland Canada shipped five beluga whales to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, two of them died in the first six months.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling for full transparency about the health of whales transferred from Marineland, including what was known before transport, how animals were determined fit to travel and what additional safeguards are being taken for the surviving whales.

Facilities receiving whales from Marineland Canada must commit publicly that the animals will not be bred.

The fundamental failure of the captive whale industry to plan for the animals it captured, bred, and used for entertainment.
Crisis Not Limited to North America

Around the world, the captive whale industry is confronting the consequences of decades spent capturing, buying and breeding animals without any regard to what happens when facilities close, populations age, or keeping whales in captivity is no longer acceptable.

In France, Wikie and her son Keijo remain shuttered in Marineland Antibes in the South of France, caught by an industry determined to send them to another captive facility despite the French government having identified the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option. Their situation underscores the fundamental failure of the captive whale industry to plan for the animals it captured, bred, and used for entertainment. When facilities close, whales should not be left stranded for months or years while the industry searches for another set of concrete tanks willing to take them.

The Sanctuary Model

The Whale Sanctuary Project is building a seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia to provide a fundamentally different future for whales who cannot be released into the wild: lifelong professional care in a natural marine environment, with the space and autonomy that no concrete tank can provide.

But building that alternative requires urgent financial support.

The sanctuary is under construction, and the Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on philanthropists, foundations and people around the world who care about whales to help now so that it can be ready to receive animals.

“We know there is a better way, and we are building it,” added Marino. “But we need people who are appalled by what they are seeing to help us finish this sanctuary. If we want to stop this endless cycle of whales being trafficked from tank to tank, we have to build somewhere better for them to go.”

The deaths at Shedd and the continuing plight of Wikie and Keijo should make the urgency painfully clear.

The choice now is whether we allow the industry to keep shuffling whales between captive facilities or build the infrastructure necessary to finally break that cycle.

How many more whales must die in captivity around the world before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?

Moving whales from one concrete tank to another cannot be the long-term answer.

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Title photo by Sasha Rink/World Animal Protection

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PRESS STATEMENT

August 26, 2026 –The death of the beluga whale Peekachu, just two weeks after she was transferred from Marineland to Shedd Aquarium, is heartbreaking. It is also deeply concerning. There must be full transparency about what happened.

The public deserves to know what health assessments were conducted before Peekachu was approved for transport from Marineland, what those assessments showed, what health issues were identified following her arrival at Shedd, and when those concerns first emerged.

Shedd Aquarium should now commit to releasing the complete findings of Peekachu’s necropsy when they are available, along with sufficient information about her pre-transfer and post-arrival health assessments to establish a clear timeline of her condition.

Peekachu’s death is horrible, but the risks facing these whales are, sadly, not surprising. They spent decades in crowded concrete tanks under questionable care standards. Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld surely know that all of the whales coming from Marineland have pre-existing conditions. How and why was she cleared for transport?

How many more whales must die in captivity before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?
Is this not a repeat of what happened five years ago when five beluga whales were sent to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut? Two of them died shortly after arrival and a third died 22 months later. It also makes the question of breeding impossible to ignore. Canadian law prohibits breeding. SeaWorld and the two aquariums receiving belugas from Marineland should publicly commit that these animals will not be bred. The objective should be to provide the best possible lifetime care for the whales who already exist, not to create another generation destined to spend their lives in captivity.

Peekachu’s death brings forward a fundamental question facing the captive wildlife industry:
How many more whales must die in captivity around the world before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?

Moving whales from one concrete tank to another cannot be the long-term answer.

This tragedy reinforces the need for coastal sanctuaries like the one that the Whale Sanctuary Project is developing in Nova Scotia to provide captive whales with a fundamentally different future: one where they can receive lifelong professional care in a natural marine environment without being used for entertainment or breeding.

Peekachu deserved better. The remaining Marineland belugas deserve every possible safeguard, complete transparency about their health, and a future that does not perpetuate the cycle of captivity.

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Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Death of Beluga Whale Peekachu at Shedd Aquarium Raises Serious Concerns appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Whale Sanctuary Project signs 20-year lease with Province of Nova Scotia, advancing North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary

Long-term marine lease provides certainty for the next phase of construction and capital fundraising.

WINE HARBOUR, NOVA SCOTIA (August 21, 2026) – The Whale Sanctuary Project has reached another major milestone after the Province of Nova Scotia formally executed a 20-year lease, renewable for an additional 20 years, for the marine sanctuary area at Port Hilford Bay in Indian Harbour on the province’s Eastern Shore, securing long-term stewardship of the coastal waters that will become the world’s first seaside sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales retired from captivity.

The agreement follows an October 2025 Order in Council (OIC 2025-288) approved by the Executive Council (Cabinet) of Premier Tim Houston, authorizing the Province to enter into the lease with the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Today’s announcement builds on the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in June and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, reflecting continued momentum toward creating a new model of care for whales retiring from marine parks.

“This is a landmark moment, not only for the Whale Sanctuary Project, but for everyone who believes there can be a better future for whales living in captivity,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “The lease provides the certainty we’ve been working toward for years. It allows us to move confidently into the next phase of construction, continue building the infrastructure needed to care for whales, and demonstrate that sanctuaries are no longer simply an idea, but an achievable reality.”

“This is a landmark moment for everyone who believes there can be a better future for whales living in captivity.”
Nova Scotia Power has completed bringing electrical service to the sanctuary site, and our general contractor is now beginning work to refurbish the wharf. The wharf will serve as the hub for the sanctuary’s whale care facilities and the staging area for installation of the bay pen and sanctuary barrier net that will provide whales with a safe, natural coastal environment.

The sanctuary will give retired whales the opportunity to experience natural seawater, tides and weather in a space more than 100 times larger than any tank, while still receiving lifelong expert veterinary and animal care.

“The execution of this lease represents much more than the completion of an administrative process,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It reflects a growing recognition that whales who have spent their lives in captivity deserve something fundamentally different. A seaside sanctuary offers the opportunity to prioritize their wellbeing, autonomy and dignity while providing lifelong expert care in a natural ocean environment.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project thanks the Province of Nova Scotia, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, local community members, donors, volunteers and project partners whose collaboration has helped transform the project from vision to reality and continues to build momentum toward welcoming the sanctuary’s first whale residents.

To support the Whale Sanctuary Project and help build a seaside sanctuary for whales retired from captivity, visit whalesanctuaryproject.org/donate. 

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Nova Scotia Formally Executes Lease for Sanctuary Waters appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Six More Marineland Belugas Sent to U.S. Aquariums as Whale Sanctuary Project Condemns Continued Captive Breeding

Four whales bound for Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and two for Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta as third airlift in three weeks moves animals from one concrete tank to another

CHICAGO / ATLANTA, August 14, 2026 – The Whale Sanctuary Project is raising concerns over the breeding programs of both Shedd Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium as six more beluga whales were removed from Marineland and transported this week.

Transferring beluga whales from one impoverished environment to another, only to be bred, should not be celebrated as the humane end to this crisis.

“Marineland’s collapse should be a turning point for captive belugas, not an opportunity to continue the cycle of forcing them to live in barren tanks while growing its inhumane breeding program,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “These whales needed immediate care and a safe place to go. But the long-term goal must be to end the cycle that creates more whales who will spend their entire lives in tanks. Institutions taking in these animals have a responsibility to ensure this crisis is not used to perpetuate that system.”

The latest transfer follows two earlier airlifts from the shuttered Canadian marine park. With this latest move, Shedd Aquarium is receiving four additional female belugas, bringing its beluga population to 16. The aquarium has a decades-long history of breeding belugas in captivity.

Georgia Aquarium has also participated in efforts to maintain a captive beluga population and has publicly described collaboration among accredited aquariums as important to sustaining that population.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on Shedd Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium to honor the intent of Canada’s prohibition on cetacean breeding by committing publicly that the Marineland belugas transferred into their care will not be bred. These whales should not leave Canada only to produce another generation born into captivity.

The Marineland crisis exposes a fundamental problem with the captive-whale industry: when marine parks fail, close or can no longer care for their animals, there are extraordinarily few alternatives available to whales who cannot simply be released into the wild.

That is precisely why seaside sanctuaries are needed.

“Calling these transfers a rescue does not resolve the larger ethical problem,” added Dr. Marino. “The question is not whether these aquariums can provide better care than a bankrupt and shuttered Marineland. They can. The question is whether lifelong confinement in an aquarium, and especially the continuation of captive breeding, is the best future we can offer these animals. It is not.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is building that alternative at Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia: a seaside sanctuary where whales retired from entertainment facilities can receive lifelong professional care in a natural coastal environment, supported by dedicated veterinary and animal-care teams.

But creating a sanctuary capable of receiving whales requires significant investment in infrastructure, animal care facilities and the systems needed to safely bring whales from captivity into a coastal environment.

The crisis at Marineland underscores the urgent need for an alternative to the industry’s tank-to-tank trafficking of whales. The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on donors and supporters in Canada, the United States and around the world to help close the remaining funding gap and open the sanctuary.

In recent months, the organization has raised millions of dollars toward construction and development, bringing a 2027 opening increasingly within reach.

Additional funding will help close the remaining gap and ensure that the next whales in need have a genuine alternative to another life in an aquarium tank.

To support the Whale Sanctuary Project and help build a seaside sanctuary for whales retired from captivity, visit whalesanctuaryproject.org/donate. 

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Whale Sanctuary Project Condemns Plans to Breed “Rescued” Beluga Whales appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

While these transfers are portrayed by the captivity industry as benevolent outreaches serving purposes of rescue, conservation and education, a closer look reveals that the cetacean (whale and dolphin) captivity industry in the United States has much to gain from importing these whales. (Two are now slated to go to Oceanogràfic, an aquarium in Valencia, Spain.)

They will be allowed to breed more whales

The Memorandum of Understanding that SeaWorld, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and the Georgia Aquarium have signed with NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is conspicuously missing any agreement by the facilities not to breed these whales. By contrast, in 2019, when Marineland Canada exported five beluga whales to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, breeding was not permitted.

Photo of a beluga whale being fed at Marineland Canada. Photo by Dreamstime.

And even though Canadian law expressly forbids the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment or breeding, the Canadian government required no such agreement before signing off on the export of the whales.

As Animal Justice, Canada’s premier animal law advocacy organization, explains the situation:

“When Canada passed groundbreaking laws in 2019 banning whale captivity and breeding, the promise was that this would be the last generation of whales to experience the misery of captivity. Instead, we’re simply exporting the suffering abroad and allowing it to continue.”

Marineland was threatening to kill them

Why, then, did both governments quietly give a green light to these beluga whales being used for breeding? The answer, most likely, is that without this agreement the captivity industry would be a lot less interested in importing them.

“We’re simply exporting the suffering abroad and allowing it to continue.”
The Canadian government had found itself in an awkward situation with Marineland Canada threatening publicly to kill any belugas that it could not otherwise get rid of. Marineland was claiming to be in a financial crisis and unable to care for the whales any longer. But the approximately 1,000-acre property they have put up for sale is considered to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Marineland has also repeatedly refused to consider the sanctuary option and to at least care for the whales until the Whale Sanctuary Project can finish construction of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

And so, the deal was done. And the industry has successfully spun the narrative that this is simply an “emergency rescue” rather than also an opportunity to restock its American facilities.

Will the whales be better off in their new tanks?

Considering that Marineland was threatening to kill them, the whales will certainly be better off in that they are, at least, still alive! But that’s a pretty low bar: removal from one concrete tank to another, one form of enforced captivity to another.

Photo of captive beluga whale at Marineland Canada by Sasha Rink/World Animal Protection.

For these whales and for any others – whether taken captive in the wild or born in a tank, never to know anything beyond its concrete walls – it can only ever be, at best, just a better prison.

As Animal Justice sums up this whole miserable episode: “It’s not a rescue, it’s government-enabled whale trafficking.”

The bottom line: It’s whale trafficking

What do we mean by “trafficking”?

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children defines trafficking as:

(a) […] the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

And the U.S. Department of Justice, which focuses on human trafficking, notes that trafficking victims are “lured or forced into situations where they are made to work under deplorable conditions with little or no pay” and that “traffickers can be pimps, gang members, diplomats, business owners, labor brokers, and farm, factory, and company owners.”

Just as persons of a different gender, race, age etc. can be victims of trafficking – bought, sold, used and abused for pleasure and profit – so can those of a different species.

Whales and dolphins are no less intelligent and emotionally sensitive than we humans. They live in closely bonded families, just like us. They care for their young and grieve their lost ones, just as we do. To take them from their families and sell them, loan them, trade them, enslave them, breed more of them, and exploit them for profit is a crime against nature, just as it is when committed against the young and innocent of our own kind.

We call it what it is: trafficking. And it is time to bring this whole sorry episode in our history to an end.

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Marineland beluga transfers mark end of one crisis but hardly the ‘rescue’ industry suggests

Years of rejected retirement solutions and inadequate government planning left captive whales with no truly humane option

PORT HILFORD BAY, NOVA SCOTIA, July 21, 2026 — As Marineland Canada’s remaining 30 beluga whales begin their transfer to U.S. marine entertainment parks and aquariums, the Whale Sanctuary Project says the operation marks the latest chapter in the captive cetacean industry’s decades-long practice of moving whales between facilities rather than retiring them.

Rather than signaling a new model for animal welfare, the transfers perpetuate the same system of captivity that created the Marineland crisis in the first place.

“For years, we warned that this day was coming,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of Whale Sanctuary Project. “We first approached Marineland in 2019 with a constructive proposal to retire whales to a seaside sanctuary before the situation became a crisis. That opportunity was rejected. These transfers are not evidence that the system worked. They are evidence that governments and the industry waited until there were virtually no good options left.”

For decades, captive whales have been treated as commercial assets, transferred back and forth for breeding, exhibition and other business purposes. The Marineland transfers should prompt governments to ask whether moving whales from one entertainment facility to another represents meaningful progress or merely prolongs captivity under a more favorable public-relations banner.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is developing North America’s first seaside sanctuary for retired whales in Nova Scotia. It will provide an alternative for whales who cannot return to the wild but deserve far more natural living conditions than those offered by conventional concrete tanks.

Canada has passed legislation bringing an end to the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, but the law does not provide for what happens to the animals when facilities close.

“Ending captivity is only half of the conversation,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of Whale Sanctuary Project. “Governments also need compassionate, long-term solutions for whales who are already living in captivity. Without credible retirement pathways, they will continue to face impossible choices whenever another marine park fails.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling for greater transparency around the transfers, including public disclosure of the veterinary assessment process, long-term monitoring of the whales’ welfare, and binding assurances that exported whales meet the requirements of Canadian law and will not be used in future breeding or entertainment programs.

The organization says the lessons from Marineland extend well beyond Canada. As aging marine parks close, governments around the world are struggling to determine the future of the whales and dolphins they leave behind.

Similar concerns are unfolding in Europe, where the future of the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes remains uncertain following the closing of the park in January 2026.

“If the only answer governments have when a marine park fails is to move whales to another marine park, then we have not solved the problem,” Marino concluded. “We have simply moved it. The next captive whale crisis is not a question of if. It is a question of where.”

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About Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment and lifelong expert care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Marineland Beluga Transfers: End of a Crisis but Hardly a ‘Rescue’ appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

By Joanne Jordan, June 24th, 2026.

WINE HARBOUR – Under bright blue skies along the scenic shoreline of Wine Harbour, the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) hosted a groundbreaking June 19, where ceremonial shovels turned the soil to mark the upcoming start of construction.

More than 60 people – including local residents, elected officials and Indigenous supporters – gathered at the Wine Harbour Wharf to help celebrate the milestone following years of research, planning and development.

Inside the sanctuary’s gated perimeter, attendees toured the site, where the land-based portion of the project will be built, and listened to remarks from Whale Sanctuary leaders and supporters.

Outside the property, a small group of protesters opposed to the project, some holding signs, gathered at the entrance road and along the gated perimeter. Signs with messages in opposition to the WSP were also posted along the road leading to the site.

Messages of gratitude

In welcoming guests, Whale Sanctuary CEO Charles Vinick thanked the many people involved in bringing the project to this point.

He offered special thanks to community liaison officer and coordinator Amy Simon (photo right, with daughter Austyn), affectionately known locally as “the whale girl,” noting she was the person who introduced project organizers to the Wine Harbour site.

“Amy has been our leader locally, and we are very grateful for all of her support,” Vinick said.

An emotional Vinick also thanked his wife, whom he described as “my rock,” for her understanding, patience and unending support throughout their years to­gether as he has worked to find a better future for marine life.

Collaborative journey

Vinick thanked support­ers and volunteers who dedicated countless hours and gave gener­ously of their time and energy to help make the project a reality.

“We wouldn’t be here without all of you,” he said.

He also thanked Indig­enous leaders for their support and guidance. “Throughout the years spent working on the project, engaging in in­formal consultation with the Mi’kmaw communi­ties “was a tremendous experience,” Vinick told the crowd.

“What we’ve learned together is how much we have in common,” he said.

Special guests from the Mi’kmaw community included former senator Dan Christmas, who represented Nova Scotia in the senate from 2016 to 2023; Mi’kmaw artist Allan Siliboy; and Shauna- Lee Maloney Wright of Sipekne’katik First Nation, who performed a traditional welcome song.

Her daughter, Aman­da Ruby Wright – whose Indigenous name coin­cidentally means “little whale,” – led a smudging ceremony before the ceremonial turning of the soil.

Bec Borchert, the marine protected ar­eas coordinator at the Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) Negotiation Office, spoke about the im­portance of consultation and discussions between development project organizers, including those involved with the WSP, regarding potential impacts – both good and bad – on Mi’kmaw Rights and Title.

She also empha­sized the importance of incorporating Mi’kmaw values, laws, language and governance oppor­tunities in the planning and development of the sanctuary.

Borchert said one of the important Mi’kmaw values is the principle of All My Relations, “which connects us to all living and non-living things in our environment – to the past, to the present and to the future.” She said this principle helps guide the steps needed to be taken to make projects like the WSP a reality.

As co-owners of the lands and waters of Nova Scotia, the Mi’kmaw community has a re­sponsibility “to speak on behalf of our kin and to stand up for marine life in our territory,” Borchert said.

“The WSP is one project that has made working together for mutual benefit absolutely easy.”

Championing the Cause

Guest speaker Wilfred Moore, a lawyer and former senator, introduced the legislation to protect whales and dolphins in Canada and prohibit keeping them in captivity for entertainment and for breeding purposes. Moore championed that legislation even after his retirement, until the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act passed in 2019.

Moore said that with “a great team” behind him and the support of his friend, the late lawyer, judge and sena­tor Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and sponsored the bill, he worked hard to see it passed.

And now, Moore said, “This is an opportunity for our province to show leadership.”

He acknowledged that the road hasn’t been an easy one and there has been opposition.

Moore appealed to those who are opposed to the Whale Sanctuary Project, suggesting it would be a positive step if people would work together.

“Just give us a chance,” he said.

To those who sup­port the project and are eager to see it completed, “Hang in there with us and we’ll get the job done,” said Moore.

Preparing the site

Vinick said it is realistic to project a spring or summer 2027 opening as the project continues to meet key construction and fundraising milestones, including site engineering and the fabrication and installation of nets, the bay pen and anchoring systems.

“We are proceeding with construction including installation of electrical power at the site, potable water, and refur­bishment of the wharf,” Vinick told The Journal.

The land where the buildings will be constructed is privately owned and, he added, the terms and conditions between the WSP and the province for the Crown lease of the sanctuary site have been agreed upon for signature.

He noted the refurbishment of the wharf area that wraps around the land where the groundbreaking was held “is among our highest priorities, not only be­cause that is the site for our land-side buildings, but even more importantly, because the wharf is the staging area for all in-water installation of the nets and the bay pen in the sanctuary waters.”

Vinick added, “We have always said that we will do everything possible to welcome whales when they need us. That remains our mantra today.”

Municipal Support

Councillor Scott Beaver, speaking on behalf of the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s, said “the WSP represents a unique vision, one that has attracted attention not only across Nova Scotia, but around the world.

“The project is an important investment in the region,” he added, noting the construction phase creating local employment opportunities, “and, in the years ahead, the sanctuary has the potential to bring visitors, research, education and economic activity to our beautiful Eastern Shore.”

Beaver said the dedication that led to the reality of the WSP reflects many of the qualities of the District of St. Mary’s. “Our strong communities, our connection to the ocean, and our commitment to preserving the natural beauty, that’s what makes this place so very, very special,” he said.

Correcting a wrong

Whale Sanctuary Founder and President Dr. Lori Marino said the sanctuary “is an opportunity for us to make right, what is wrong.” She added, “What was wrong was the idea that whales should be taken out of the ocean and put into concrete tanks for our entertain­ment. Whales are wild creatures, and they have their own lives to live, just as we do, and no one, no one, should take that away from them.”

Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick

Marino said the groundbreaking ceremo­ny marked a celebration of more than just the project.

“We are here to cele­brate our efforts to give back to [the whales] what was taken from them, a life in the ocean,” she said. “This will mean so much for the individual whales who get to come here, but it will be a shining example of what humans are capable of: coming together not just for our own sake, but for the sake of others, others who might look different than us but are persons in their own right.”

Marino added the proj­ect could be seen as an opportunity to reshape the relationship between humans and animals around the world.

Excited for the future

Speaking with The Jour­nal after the event, Greg Morrow, MLA for Guys­borough-Tracadie, said, “It’s exciting to get to this point … It’s been a long time coming.”

Morrow acknowledged that, although there have been a number of hurdles and “a bit of red tape” to overcome, “It’s here, it’s exciting, and it’s a great opportunity for the area.”

Helen MacDonald attended the groundbreaking ceremony with her husband, Hughie, a founding member of the Wine Harbour Port Authority who fished for more than 60 years from the very spot where the WSP is to be built.

“We’re so excited, it’s really wonderful,” Mac­Donald said.

The event concluded with refreshments and an opportunity for visitors to speak with presenters and ask questions about the sanctuary.

(You can download a PDF copy of this article here.)

The post Groundbreaking at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

With a shared respect for the Wksitqamuk (Earth) and Mi’kmaw worldviews about the environment and all living things, this MOU serves as recognition of shared values in respect to marine animals and their long-term welfare in Mi’kma’ki.

“We’re pleased to further the relationship we’re building with the Whale Sanctuary Project to protect marine life,” said Chief Wilbert Marshall, Natural Resources Lead for the Assembly. “Through knowledge sharing, the integration of our values and understandings, we hope that this sanctuary will be a place to learn, grow and advocate for these important species, for generations to come.”

“Today’s agreement reflects a shared commitment to advancing education and related programming that respects both the science of animal welfare and the knowledge systems that have guided stewardship of these waters for generations” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “This agreement with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs codifies and strengthens the work we can do together to educate and communicate our shared respect for all life.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project works to bring an end to the exploitation of captive cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and is creating North America’s first coastal sanctuary for whales retired from aquariums and marine entertainment parks. With the MOU, the Assembly and the Whale Sanctuary Project hope to facilitate employment and skill-based training opportunities, as well as the integration and amplification of Mi’kmaw knowledge in education and outreach related to the sanctuary.

Construction mobilization is underway for the sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, while the Whale Sanctuary Project continues to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome its first whale residents. Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn has been in active consultation on this project since 2021.

In both western science and Mi’kmaw knowledge systems it is well understood that cetaceans are sentient, cognitively and emotionally complex beings. This MOU is a milestone for Mi’kma’ki as part of the global cetacean sanctuary movement and for re-building our relationship with the natural world and all our relations within it.

# # #

The post Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs and Whale Sanctuary Project Sign Landmark Agreement to Advance Marine Stewardship and Education appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Over the coming months, according to the U.S. agreement, 13 belugas will be shipped to SeaWorld San Antonio. Three will go to SeaWorld San Diego, two to the Georgia Aquarium, and ten to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

The other two are believed to be going to Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

“This collective of aquariums is well positioned for this extraordinary task, thanks to decades of beluga care experience and having collaborated on several successful beluga rescues in the past,” said Johnny Ford, a spokesperson for the Shedd Aquarium and the rest of the consortium of facilities.

Absent from the consortium is the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Five years ago, five belugas from Marineland were transferred there from Marineland. Two of them died within a few months, and a third passed away after that.

This outcome will at least be preferable to Marineland’s crowded and grossly sub-par conditions.
Since September 2024, when Marineland Canada closed its doors to the public, the company has been looking to sell the whales to another commercial facility or, when that approach failed, to be relieved of the cost of caring for them any longer. On more than one occasion, the management threatened to kill them if the Canadian government did not step in to facilitate a suitable transfer for all of them.

While this is a sad outcome, it will at least be preferable to the crowded and grossly sub-par conditions to which the whales have been subjected. And the facilities to which they will be distributed will be under more pressure than was the case at Marineland to be transparent about their health and welfare.

It is now seven years since the Canadian parliament passed Senate Bill S-203: The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. This groundbreaking legislation paved the way for other countries to pass similar laws. However, while these laws bring an end to the exploitation of whales and dolphins for entertainment, they do not provide for their retirement. There are many whales in need of retirement, and establishing sanctuaries for these animals is no small undertaking.

Our hearts go out to the beluga whales now leaving Marineland Canada. May they find a measure of better health and welfare at the parks and aquariums that will be receiving them.

The post Marineland Canada’s Beluga Whales Going to U.S. Marine Entertainment Facilities appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

All this in spite of his former statements and the position he outlined in the meeting held in Paris in February. So now mother and son will shortly be trafficked to a concrete tank in a zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands with a poor animal (and human) welfare history and characterized by unwise husbandry decisions, lack of transparency, and the death of four young orcas in the past five years.

Had the Minister kept his word and supported his own nation’s law to ban cetacean captivity for entertainment and breeding, Wikie and Keijo would have had a different future – a much brighter future. Now they will never know what they came so close to having.

Mother and son will shortly be trafficked to a concrete tank in a zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands.
The time, expense, and amount of work it takes to create a coastal sanctuary for whales is not for the faint-hearted. And we would not have been ready to receive Wikie and Keijo immediately. But we are getting there and we think that it was well worth the government waiting for – for the sake of these two individuals who have been through so much. Nothing worth doing is easy and quick, but the result is life changing. The marine parks and zoos know all too well that the first cetacean sanctuary will sound a death-knell for their cruel industry. And they have fought tooth-and-nail for years to prevent this new future for captive cetaceans from coming to fruition. They fought hard to deny Wikie and Keijo the chance for a better future in sanctuary and refused to even engage in discussion with us. And so, they get to further ruin the lives of two more intelligent, sensitive beings who should be in the ocean living as orcas, not as circus clowns.

But the captivity industry should be on notice that we who are engaged in creating this seismic shift in our relationship to cetaceans will not give up. Just as there are already sanctuaries for elephants, great apes, big cats and other animals, we will create cetacean sanctuaries and children will finally learn why these creatures can only thrive in the ocean. In the longer future, there will be little need for sanctuaries because authentic sanctuaries do not allow breeding and therefore do not perpetuate captivity. Wild animals like dolphins and whales will live where they are supposed to live: in the wild and in control of their own lives.

We are so grateful to everyone who, in so many ways, supported our efforts to bring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary. Please know that we will continue our efforts to rescue captive whales from the impoverishment of concrete tanks and bring them to a well-deserved life under human care in a natural ocean setting.

#   #   #

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TV host and naturalist Nicolette de Vidar was present through much of the effort to rescue Timmy the humpback whale and return him to the ocean. On May 16th, she hosted a 90-minute discussion with five members of the rescue team who worked together to free Timmy (also known as Hope).

Timmy had stranded on sandbanks in Northern Germany waters. In her introduction, Nicolette notes that many people witnessed Timmy being gradually freed from the sandbanks. But what then happened on the barge that transported him to where he was released into the ocean has, until members of the team were ready to tell the story themselves, been a matter of rumor, hearsay and speculation.

By signed agreement with Stefan Meyer, the captain of the barge, Jeff Foster, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Whale Transfer & Rehab Coordinator, was designated the lead for all whale-related operations. Stefan was assigned responsibility for overseeing the barge and safety crew.

But protocols that had been agreed broke down. In one case, when Jeff requested that the tugboat retrieve his colleagues of the whale rescue team from the other boats to ensure a safe and properly coordinated operation, his request was denied multiple times by the tugboat captain.

In her video, Nicolette interviews the whale rescue team members about the specifics of what happened aboard the three boats and the barge. The team includes Jeff along with:

• Mike Partica, marine mammal expert and trainer specializing in the management of rehabilitation and release of dolphins and orcas;
• Kyra Wadsworth, animal caregiver and trainer of sea mammals, with experience in rehabilitation of dolphins, whales and other animals;
• Dr. Anne Herrschaft, Timmy’s lead veterinarian on the mission. (Anne could not be present for this interview);
• Dr. Kirsten Tonnies, German veterinarian who was also on Timmy’s rescue team;
• Sergio Bambaren, Peruvian writer and author of “The Dreaming Dolphin,” known by many as the “whale whisperer.”

Jeff has also written a detailed summary of the events discussed in this interview. The Whale Sanctuary Project has posted this summary on the blog here.

The post Interview with Timmy the Humpback Whale’s Rescue Team appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On the morning of May 1st, four vessels—the Fortuna, Robin Hood, Arne Tesilius, and an accompanying barge—continued their steady northward passage into the North Sea. By the third day of transport, they had traveled more than 300 miles from Wismar Bay and were positioned roughly 45 miles north of Skagen, Denmark, marking a significant point in their ongoing journey.

May 1

An early morning briefing was held with Stefan the barge captain, the divers and boat crew to outline the operational plan for the day, which would include tagging the whale and a potential release later in the afternoon, weather permitting. The vessel crew emphasized that sea conditions were extremely rough. As a result, we were required to sign a liability waiver acknowledging that we would not hold the crew responsible for any injuries sustained during the tagging or release operations.

In addition, in-water safety protocols were developed by Jeff Foster, Anne Herrschaft the attending veterinarian, Mike Partica, Kyra Wadsworth, and the rescue divers. These protocols included limiting personnel access to the whale to those with experience working with marine mammals, following prior observations that some barge crew members were unable to consistently adhere to established safety guidelines around the whale. An agreement was signed by Jeff and Stefan designating that Jeff was the lead for all whale-related operations, while Stefan was assigned responsibility for overseeing the barge and safety crew.

At approximately 10:00 AM, as soon as they arrived at the barge, Jeff, Mike, Kyra, Anne, two divers and Stephan immediately conducted an assessment of the whale. Timmy exhibited multiple visible injuries consistent with the severe conditions experienced overnight. These included several lacerations on the anterior portion of the head, likely caused by contact with exposed bolts along the barge walls; additional abrasions on the head region and near the blowhole, likely due to contact with the straps holding the sandbags in the front of the barge; a scrape measuring approximately two feet along the right fluke; and a significant abrasion (“raspberry”) along the left lateral body measuring approximately one meter in length and half a meter in width.

Based on these observations, Jeff, Mike, Kyra and Anne expressed serious concern regarding the whale’s physical condition and ability to withstand another night aboard the barge, particularly given forecasts indicating worsening sea conditions as the vessel continued northward.

The tagging procedure proceeded under challenging conditions. The only tag that could be acquired in advance of departure from Insul Poel was designed for use on a seal and was therefore larger than appropriate for a humpback whale’s dorsal fin and had to be modified to fit Timmy’s dorsal fin. To adapt it, the team retrofitted the device using multiple cut sections of firehose secured with epoxy. Prior to departure, the team purchased the longest stainless-steel pins available, which were 3 inches in length. During the tagging application procedure only a single pin could be used to attach the tag to the dorsal fin because the dorsal fin was too thick in most parts for additional pins to be used properly.

Jeff, Mike, Kyra and Anne expressed serious concern regarding the whale’s physical condition and ability to withstand another night aboard the barge.
Conditions on the barge were rough, though the water level had been lowered enough to allow personnel to stand. Jeff, Mike, and Kyra entered the water with the tagging equipment, and Anne joined shortly afterward to remain near Timmy’s head to provide a calming presence. Due to limited accessibility, Jeff positioned himself on the whale just behind the dorsal fin to carry out the tagging procedure. Lassie, one of the divers, also entered the water to assist, while Mike made repeated trips between Jeff and Kyra to relay equipment.

The tagging process took approximately 30 minutes to complete and was ultimately secured. However, it was noted that the use of only a single attachment point could cause the tag to hang lower on the animal than intended, potentially affecting the consistency of satellite signal transmissions.

Following this, we formally requested permission from the barge crew, including divers Dan and Lassie, to remain with the whale due to concerns for its welfare. While permission was granted for us to stay onboard the barge, we were not permitted to enter the water.

As sea conditions continued to deteriorate, Timmy was observed expending significant energy attempting to stabilize and avoid repeated impact with the barge structure. Given Timmy’s existing injuries and increasing fatigue, our team strongly recommended initiating release procedures as soon as possible. However, we were informed that due to the vessel’s location within active shipping lanes, release would be delayed by at least one hour.

Jeff Foster in an earlier Whale Aid program preparing to take a breath sample from an orca (Photo by Katy Foster)

Jeff, Mike, Kyra, and Anne evaluated potential methods for removing the whale from the barge. It became clear that Timmy’s length had initially been underestimated and that the whale was several meters too long to turn around within the confines of the barge. Multiple attempts by the whale to reposition itself had already been observed to be unsuccessful. The team also raised the water level within the barge to the maximum feasible height to determine whether additional buoyancy would enable Timmy to turn, but this also proved ineffective.

The option of using a net to extract the whale was considered and ultimately rejected for several reasons. The available nets were highly abrasive, and the size required for an animal of this scale would have been extremely difficult to manage manually. Additionally, standard practice avoids dragging a whale using mechanical force beyond human control. Given this whale’s existing injuries and elevated stress levels, there was significant concern about causing further harm, particularly to sensitive areas such as the head and eyes.

The captain made the decision to leave Timmy unattended during the night despite strong objections voiced by Jeff and other members of the whale rescue team.
Communication throughout this process was inconsistent and ineffective. Multiple individuals simultaneously issued directives, often disregarding established protocols and the whale rescue team’s guidance.

It was ultimately decided to suspend operations for the evening and reconvene the following morning because weather conditions were improving, and it was felt we could continue farther north with the whale, which ultimately was in Timmy’s best interest. The captain made the decision to leave Timmy unattended during the night despite strong objections voiced by Jeff and other members of the whale rescue team given their concerns regarding Timmy’s deteriorating condition and the risks associated with leaving Timmy unattended overnight. Notably, it is standard practice in such operations to maintain continuous (24-hour) monitoring of an animal; however, the whale rescue team was not permitted to do so, which caused significant concern.

Later that evening, a coordination meeting was held involving Jeff, the barge captain (Stefan), the captain of the tugboat Robin Hood, the captain of the Fortuna, which was the vessel towing the barge, and Howie, the first mate on the barge. A release strategy was discussed and agreed upon. The Fortuna captain stated that Jeff would be responsible for overseeing the release operation. The agreed method involved slowing the barge tow to a minimum speed, manually repositioning the whale toward the stern, and then, if necessary, using the tugboat to solely apply controlled drift force without power to guide the whale the remaining distance out of the barge before releasing all lines.

Jeff communicated to the rest of the whale rescue team that operations would commence at 7:00 AM the following morning, with the tugboat scheduled to retrieve them from the Arne Tesilius, the vessel on which the whale rescue team members were being housed.

*     *     *

May 2

At approximately 6:30 AM, a crew member on the Fortuna informed Jeff that the transfer to the barge process was already underway. Upon arriving on deck, Jeff observed that personnel were fully prepared and already mobilized aboard the tugboat Robin Hood. He was informed that the team was departing immediately to assess the whale but would return for the rest of the whale rescue team. Although initially considering waiting for the rest of his team, Jeff boarded the tugboat at the last moment to assess the health of the whale believing they would be returning for the rest of the whale rescue team after checking on Timmy. Weather conditions the previous night had been fairly rough, and he had concerns about the health of the whale.

During transit to the barge, disagreements arose regarding the methodology for handling and securing the whale. Jeff advocated for the previously agreed-upon approach; however, the tugboat captain, the barge captain and crew advocated and pressed for different methods.

Upon arrival at the barge, Jeff requested that the tugboat retrieve the remainder of the whale rescue team from the Fortuna and the Arne Tesilius to ensure a safe and properly coordinated operation. This request was denied multiple times by the tugboat captain. Jeff reiterated that he would not proceed without the full team, emphasizing that this was the only safe and responsible course of action.

The tugboat captain attempted to confiscate Jeff’s phone, threatening to discard it overboard.Jeff then attempted to confirm operational authority via radio communication. The captain of the Fortuna reaffirmed that Jeff was to direct the release operation. Despite this, the tugboat captain continued to refuse compliance. Communication barriers further complicated the situation, with conflicting instructions being issued in multiple languages. Not only were Jeff’s concerns for the whale ignored, but the captain and crew were insolent and contemptuous of his requests to follow the plan as previously agreed upon by which the personnel having the experience to care for the whale would execute the plan. Without the whale team present to execute the release plan, Jeff determined that he would not move to the barge and simply could not participate in what the barge captain and crew were doing.

Jeff requested that the Fortuna deploy its rubber boat to pick up staff and transport them to the barge but received no response. He then attempted to contact the rescue organizers to report that the situation was deteriorating. However, he was unable to reach them due to the lack of internet and cellular service.

Given these circumstances, Jeff again formally stated that he could not participate in what the barge captain and crew were doing. Not only were his concerns for the whale being ignored; the crew were openly disrespectful of his expertise. Jeff stated multiple times that he wanted the whole procedure called off, requesting that it be stopped. But his requests were ignored.

He then approached the captain once more, calmly stating that the situation was unacceptable and noting that it could potentially result in legal action from organizers. The captain responded nonverbally with a shrug, after which Jeff returned to the flying bridge of the tugboat, the Robin Hood.

Subsequently, Jeff observed from the tugboat as crew members—including individuals without marine mammal handling expertise—attempted to reposition and release the whale. One individual, Stefan, who only had minimal prior in-water experience with the whale, entered the water and attempted to maneuver him alone, without success.

Throughout the operation, guidance and safety protocols that the whale rescue team had previously provided to the crew were repeatedly disregarded. Crew members demonstrated a lack of understanding of the risks associated with interacting with a large marine mammal under stress.

During this time, Jeff began documenting the events. The tugboat captain intervened, attempting to confiscate his phone by grabbing his hand and then threatening to discard the phone overboard, stating that recording was not permitted. Jeff complied and ceased recording to avoid escalation.

The release attempt proceeded with multiple individuals (Stefan, Danny, Howie, and two others) manually securing lines to the whale’s fluke using a pike pole, which has a very sharp end with a hook. The soft tail-lines were secured to the whale and then attached to the tugboat. It was also observed that the Fortuna appeared to maintain a higher towing speed than agreed upon. As a result, the whale was forcibly dragged over sandbags within the barge with the pectoral fins fully extended, appearing to try to maintain stability while also causing visible distress.

The tugboat then seemed to apply reverse force, resulting in a rapid and uncontrolled extraction of the whale from the barge with the Fortuna pulling forward and the tugboat pulling in the opposite direction. This occurred significantly faster than the planned controlled release, raising further concerns about potential injury to the whale.

Several crew members privately expressed apologies for the manner in which the situation had been handled.
Once clear of the barge (approximately 30 meters), the whale was freed from the lines. Upon surfacing, Timmy appeared disoriented, initially taking a shallow breath before regaining some stability and taking a stronger breath.

After the release, Jeff returned to the lower deck of the tugboat. Several crew members privately expressed apologies for the manner in which the situation had been handled. Jeff did not engage further and remained silent during the return transit to the Fortuna. Upon arrival, he was given limited time to gather his belongings before rejoining the Arne Tesilius.

On the Arne Tesilius, Jeff briefed Mike and Kyra on the events that had occurred earlier that morning involving the Fortuna and Robin Hood. He expressed significant frustration and concern regarding the situation. It was also noted that none of the whale specialists had been able to assess Timmy that morning, leaving the team without updated information on the whale’s current condition, particularly given that conditions the previous night had been relatively rough.

The attending veterinarian Anne also joined the discussion and reiterated that no veterinary assessment of the whale’s health had been conducted, despite this being standard practice prior to a release. The situation left the team deeply concerned about the whale’s current physical and behavioral condition. After weeks of intensive effort to reach this stage, the outcome was especially disheartening and contributed to a strong sense of frustration among all involved.

*     *     *

May 16

Based on data from Timmy’s transmitter device, we know that the whale swam freely in the open ocean for several days, had multiple deep dives, including to a depth of 150 meters, indicating that Timmy was foraging for food. On May 15th, Timmy was located on the surface and, sadly, was found to have passed away.

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The post Summary of Events Surrounding Release of Timmy the Whale appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The project to rescue this young humpback whale who had stranded on sandbanks in Northern Germany waters brought together people from countries far and wide for one purpose: to give him a chance. In the face of arguments that there was no hope, and that the whale should simply be euthanized or left to die, people joined together in an “all-out” effort to help a whale who continued to show himself to be determined not to give up.

What followed, throughout the many days of the rescue efforts in Germany, was a powerful reminder of the very best of humanity: compassion, determination, collaboration, and the willingness to fight for another living being simply because his life mattered.

The uncertainty surrounding Timmy’s release is understandable with all the contradictory stories in the media and even posted images of other whales. Worse yet, the ship’s captain and crew took it upon themselves to release the whale and did not permit the veterinarians and whale experts to conduct or even participate in this release. Only one was even allowed to observe the ship’s crew releasing the whale.

There may always be unanswered questions about whether Timmy sustained injuries during the release process. The treatment and conduct displayed by members of the ship’s crew that day was more than disturbing given the extraordinary care and professionalism that had surrounded Timmy throughout the rescue effort.

The young whale’s remarkable will to live, and the organizers’, funders’ and the rescue team’s efforts on his behalf, and the public’s support for his determination will not be diminished by the circumstances surrounding that day.

While the outcome of his release is not what everyone wished for, he was not left to slowly deteriorate on a sandbank. And we do know from his transmitter device that he swam freely in the open ocean again for several days, diving deep beneath the surface to 150 meters, experienced the water around him, perhaps hearing the songs of other whales, and living his authentic life once again, even briefly.

# # #

The post A Whale Sanctuary Project Comment on the Stranded Humpback Whale Timmy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

PRESS STATEMENT

PORT HILFORD BAY, NS (May 15, 2026) — As construction continues on the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Nova Scotia site, the organization is responding to the Government of France’s decision regarding the future of Wikie and Keijo, the two orcas remaining at Marineland Antibes.

The Whale Sanctuary Project understands from the French Minister of Ecological Transition Mathieu Lefèvre’s statement that he has approved Marineland Antibes’ request to transfer Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo in Spain, contradicting his former statements and the position he outlined in the meeting held in February. This outcome is deeply concerning from both a legal and animal welfare perspective.

“This decision is devastating for Wikie and Keijo,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Allowing them to be transferred to Loro Parque zoo defies the Minister’s position that the Nova Scotia sanctuary is the only ethical, credible solution that is in keeping with the letter and spirit of the French law, which was intended to end the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment and breeding.”

The law explicitly prohibits these practices. However, Loro Parque continues to rely on performance-based programming and breeding, particularly following the deaths of four orcas at the facility since 2019. Transferring Wikie and Keijo into that environment risks perpetuating the very system the law was designed to phase out.

“This decision reflects the ongoing tension between policy commitments and implementation,” said Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Despite clear legal and ethical direction, there remains pressure to maintain outdated models of captivity. This only underscores the importance of building credible, humane alternatives that can support real change.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to align its work with the position previously articulated by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, which identified the sanctuary as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option that meets French legal requirements.

Construction planning and early mobilization activities remain underway in Nova Scotia, with initial work focused on core site preparation, including marine and utility infrastructure.

The capital campaign is continuing, with recent donor support contributing to near-term construction priorities. The Whale Sanctuary Project remains confident in its ability to secure the funding required to complete the sanctuary and support the long-term care of whales transitioning out of captivity.

“While this is tragic for Wikie and Keijo, it reinforces the urgency of the work ahead,” added Vinick. “We are continuing to build a sanctuary that can support whales in need around the world and provide a viable path forward as more governments and institutions move away from captivity.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project remains focused on delivering a long-term solution for whales transitioning out of captivity and is closely monitoring broader developments across the sector, including in Canada.

-30-

About the Whale Sanctuary Project 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:

Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

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SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) explores the origins of life and intelligence and the mysteries of the cosmos. Through cutting-edge research, education programs, and public outreach, it strives to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe.

Dr. Marino’s work as a neuroscientist has led to major breakthroughs in our knowledge about the cognitive capacities of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Understanding how life and intelligence have evolved on our own planet helps scientists in the field of astrobiology explore how it may have evolved elsewhere in the cosmos.

Lori’s work brings to the foreground of the scientific community the urgency of bringing an end to the cruel exploitation of whales and dolphins, along with other animals, for human entertainment.

Among the questions she addresses in this episode of SETI Live:

• What makes whale and dolphin communication and intelligence scientifically compelling to the search for extraterrestrial life?
• Are we beginning to identify language-like structure in cetacean communication?
• What are the some of the ethical questions that arise as we learn more about intelligence in other animals?

This year’s Drake Award, which Lori receives this evening, affirms that any meaningful search for intelligent life beyond Planet Earth must be grounded in our ability to live in harmony with our fellow animals on this planet.

(Title image of Jupiter courtesy of NASA Goddard.)

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The release operation by the captain and his crew was conducted without the participation of the veterinarians, the Whale Sanctuary Project team, and the other experts who were caring for Timmy and were scheduled to conduct his safe release into the ocean.

In London, the Guardian newspaper, whose reports we have been following, last wrote that “The 10-metre long calf swam out of the barge and was later observed blowing through its blowhole and swimming freely “in the right direction”, according to Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative.”

And the Associated Press added that “the whale was released 70 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the coast of Skagen, Denmark” and that “Drone footage showed a whale swimming and spouting water near the barge, though it was not immediately confirmed that the animal was indeed Timmy.”

Shortly after the captain and his crew released Timmy, the funders of the rescue effort issued a statement in German. Here is the English translation:

Concerning the events this morning

Karin Walter-Mommert

May 2, 2026

We hereby state that we were neither involved in today’s release operation concerning the whale nor did we actively accompany it. Any consequences resulting from uncoordinated actions this morning concerning and around the whale shall be borne by the owner, the operators, and the crew members of the vessels Fortuna B and Robin Hood known to us.

We hereby expressly distance ourselves from the events and the manner in which the whale was set free. As we are still in the process of investigating, no names will be released at this time. We ask for your understanding.

For clarification: A second release attempt had been scheduled for May 2, 2026, naturally dependent on the whale’s health status.

Our team was to be brought to the barge in the morning, keeping in mind that every kilometer of safe transport in a north-westerly direction would increase the whale’s chances of survival.

Contrary to this arrangement, only one of our team members, Jeffrey Foster, was transferred to the tugboat by the ship crew, but not to the barge; the veterinarians were, for whatever reason, put off with

a promise of a later transfer, which never took place; and Jeffrey’s team members were also not picked up and brought to the barge by the ship crew as planned and scheduled.

On board the barge, none of the measures previously discussed, scheduled, communicated to us, and planned were then taken to get the whale off the vessel; neither was a required inspection by our veterinarians and examination of the whale allowed to take place.

Mr. Jeffrey Foster’s urgent request to have his teammates and the veterinarians brought on board immediately, as previously scheduled, was denied by the ship crew. Likewise, he was forbidden, during the course of these events, to use his mobile phone, under threat that it would be thrown into the sea.

To clarify: Jeffrey Foster did in no way participate in the actions of the ship crew. On the contrary — he tried to prevent the shipping crew from conducting their actions, but was hindered to do so.

Further details will follow after evaluation.

Karin Walter-Mommert
Walter Gunz

We will post further updates as they become available.

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Update April 30th: The rescue team with Jeff Foster and Mike Partica aboard the barge, is progressing toward the ocean. See CNN video here.

Update April 28th: The rescue team (with Jeff Foster in the water) guides Timmy onto the barge. Video courtesy of Bild.

Jeff Foster, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator, with Mike Partica and Kyra Wadsworth, have joined other experts, veterinarians and numerous volunteers in Insel Poel, Germany in the effort to free the humpback whale Timmy, whom local citizens named after nearby Timmendorfer Strand and who is stranded in the Kirchsee, a shallow inlet connected to Wismar Bay, off Poel Island.

The Whale Sanctuary Project’s Whale Aid program provides a global outreach to organizations that need assistance, on behalf of whales in need of rescue or rehabilitation.

The Whale Aid Team was initially contacted for advice on how the stranded humpback could be refloated from sand bars on which he was stranded, and was invited by organizers of the rescue effort to join the effort to help Timmy. The team arrived on-site on April 23rd.

“It is very gratifying when the team that is working diligently to establish the whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia can apply their expertise and experience to help wild whales in need,” Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project, said. “Team members like Jeff, Mike and Kyra have tremendous skills and we have to do all we can to help when the need arises.”

Jeff has extensive experience with whales and dolphins. He managed day-to-day whale training and care during the Keiko Project, which returned the captive whale of “Free Willy” fame back to the ocean from where he had been captured decades earlier off the coast of Iceland.

In 2002, he also oversaw the rehab of Springer, a young orca who had become separated from her family off the coast of Vancouver and was found, emaciated, in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle. Once she was back to good health, Springer was returned to her home waters in the Johnstone Strait and was later seen again swimming with her family. Since then, she has given birth to two calves.

In 2010, Jeff was responsible for the Born Free Foundation’s Tom and Misha Project, in which he and Mike were instrumental in the reintroduction of Tom and Misha, the first bottlenose dolphins successfully released back into the wild. The two wild-born dolphins were being kept in a dirty swimming pool in Hisaronu, Turkey. Jeff and Mike and the team on site worked with Tom and Misha for two years before successfully returning them to the waters of the Mediterranean.

2018: Jeff Foster prepares to take a breath sample from J-50/Scarlet (Photo: Katy Foster)

In 2018, Jeff and his wife Katy coordinated much of the field work when the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) invited the Whale Sanctuary Project, along with several other organizations, to help Scarlet, a young orca who was part of the endangered Southern Resident population in the Salish Sea. Scarlet was emaciated and starving, and sadly, despite efforts to feed her and treat her, she did not survive.

A year later, in 2019, Jeff contributed his expertise to Whale Aid Russia, the biggest whale rescue in history, when, following tremendous pressure from Russian activists, the Russian government invited the Whale Sanctuary Project’s CEO Charles Vinick to bring a small team to Russia to work with the government to return to the ocean 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured illegally for sale to marine entertainment parks in China.

As we post this, Jeff, Mike and Kyra are still working with the team in Germany to do everything they can to free the stranded whale Timmy.

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NEWS RELEASE — PORT HILFORD BAY, NS (April 8, 2026) — As pre-construction and mobilization continue at the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Nova Scotia site, the organization is pleased to announce significant additional donor contributions, including a US $3 million donation. This latest funding provides additional funds for initial construction and adds momentum to the capital fundraising campaign to complete the sanctuary.

The funding will be deployed to support near-term construction activities and the development of key facilities as the sanctuary prepares to receive its first whales.

“This level of support is a clear signal that there is both urgency and belief in building a viable alternative to captivity in marine entertainment parks and aquariums,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “These funds allow us to move forward on critical infrastructure while ensuring we are building the sanctuary to the highest standards of care.”

Awaiting word from France

The announcement comes as the Whale Sanctuary Project continues to await clarity from the government of France on next steps regarding the future of the two mother-and son orcas Wikie and Keijo and the 12 bottlenose dolphins who are being considered for relocation to a habitat at the Beauval Zoo in France.

While no final determination for all 14 cetaceans has been communicated, the Whale Sanctuary Project remains prepared to support responsible outcomes.

“We stand ready to work in partnership with governments to support a safe and successful transition for whales like Wikie and Keijo,” added Vinick. “This is about aligning policy decisions with credible, welfare-first solutions.”

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition has previously identified the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option that meets French legal requirements. The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to prioritize animal welfare, scientific rigor, and long-term care outcomes for all cetaceans who can be retired from entertainment facilities.

“As a new ethic of respect and compassion takes hold, a new model is being created in how to care for animals of all kinds who have spent their whole lives in the small and impoverished environment of a concrete tank,” said Dr. Lori Marino, Founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Successful transfer of any marine mammals to sanctuary requires careful collaboration among the Whale Sanctuary Project and the present management and care teams. This begins with a thorough health assessment by independent veterinary experts and continues with the whales being conditioned for life in an ocean environment. The organization looks forward to collaborating with the government of France and Marineland Antibes to support the welfare of Wikie and Keijo.

Building a global pathway for whales transitioning out of captivity

Completion of the Nova Scotia sanctuary will signal the beginning of a new model for captive cetaceans around the world, as the need for sanctuaries grows more urgent. The Whale Sanctuary Project is closely monitoring developments related to the beluga whales at Marineland Canada, which has also closed to the public and whose 30 surviving beluga whales are in urgent need of care and new homes.

“Public opinion in Europe and the Americas no longer supports the exploitation of whales and dolphins,” concluded Vinick. “We need to develop fully engaged partnerships among governments, organizations, and the marine entertainment industry for whales and dolphins to be retired to more natural environments. Our role is to provide a credible, welfare-first pathway that makes these transitions possible.”

#  #  #

About the Whale Sanctuary Project 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Note: The following is a downloadable pdf copy of the above news release

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The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute has announced that this year’s recipient of its prestigious Drake Award will be Dr. Lori Marino, founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

We’re delighted to learn this. And you may understandably be asking: “But what does the search for extraterrestrial intelligence have to do with whales and dolphins and the Whale Sanctuary Project?”

The answer, in fact, is: “Quite a lot.”

The SETI Institute is best known for the huge arrays of telescopes that watch for signs and signals of intelligent life beyond Earth. Less well-known is that its work involves a lot more than just scanning the cosmos. It requires a basic understanding of the different forms of intelligence that life might take on other worlds. And since the intelligence of whales and dolphins parallels that of us humans in many ways, understanding their highly complex brains and intelligence is a great way to start.

That’s why, to help answer the question of how to look for signs of intelligent life beyond Planet Earth, astronomers at the SETI Institute turn to scientists who study intelligence in our fellow animals.

A neuroscientist and psychologist by training, Dr. Marino is a leader in the field of intelligence in nonhuman animals. In 2001, at the New York Aquarium, she and a colleague demonstrated that bottlenose dolphins showed evidence of self-awareness, which is considered one of the hallmarks of complex intelligence.

She also showed that having an oversized brain is not unique to us humans and our primate cousins. Dolphins have them, too.

But while these findings led many of her colleagues to want to pursue further research on captive dolphins, it led Dr. Marino to the opposite conclusion: that no self-aware being belongs in a concrete tank. Nor, indeed, except for their own wellbeing, in any form of captivity.

And it was this understanding that would lead her, 15 years later, to the founding of the Whale Sanctuary Project and our efforts today to complete the sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

You can browse through some of Dr. Marino’s research into the intelligence of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) on the Whale Sanctuary website here.

One thing that has drawn scientists at SETI to her work is that although, over tens of millions of years, cetaceans and humans have evolved along very different tracks, our two species share much in common in terms of our psychology. They call this convergent evolution. And if it happens in animals who are so distantly related on our own planet, one might reasonably hypothesize that life forms on other worlds might develop similar forms of intelligence, too.

What, then, might the evolution of intelligence on Earth tell us about how life and intelligence might evolve on other planets? And what does this kind of research tell us about how we should relate to the other animals right here on our own planet?

Prior to her work with whales and dolphins, Dr. Marino also worked at NASA in the Space Life Sciences program. And in bestowing this year’s Drake Award on her, the SETI Institute recognizes the importance of advancing our understanding of intelligence on Earth and applying that knowledge to foster meaningful scientific, ethical, and social change. Only once we have accomplished this on our own planet will we be in a position to relate meaningfully and ethically to whatever forms of life we might encounter on other worlds.

Below is a copy of the SETI Institutes announcement of this year’s Drake Award.

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The Whale Sanctuary Project today announced key milestones in its pre-construction mobilization at Port Hilford Bay, marking the next step toward building North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary.

Construction fencing is now installed on the 30-acre property adjacent to the sanctuary waters, and property clearing is now underway, signaling the transition from site preparation to active development. This initial mobilization marks Phase One of the sanctuary’s construction plan, focused on upland infrastructure in the lead up to wharf reconstruction.

Contractor Announced, Commitment to Canadian Materials

As construction begins, the Whale Sanctuary Project confirmed that its priority is to use Canadian materials and suppliers wherever possible throughout the build phase.

This commitment includes sourcing materials domestically when feasible, engaging Canadian engineering and marine specialists, and working with Nova Scotian trades and subcontractors to ensure the project delivers economic participation within Nova Scotia and across Canada.

In line with that commitment, the organization announced that it has retained R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd. as general contractor.

“This is a technically demanding marine build, and we’re confident in our ability to execute it responsibly,” said Boyd MacIsaac, President of R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd. “We know this coastline, we understand its conditions, and we’re committed to delivering infrastructure that meets rigorous environmental and engineering standards.”

Hiring R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd reinforces the Project’s ongoing commitment to keeping the project activity rooted in the local economy.

“We’re committed to delivering infrastructure that meets rigorous environmental and engineering standards.”
The sanctuary infrastructure will be constructed on the 30-acre upland property adjacent to the sanctuary waters, including marine access improvements, operational facilities, and support systems necessary to safely house whales retired from captivity.

“We are now at the stage when all our years of studies, all our detailed engineering analyses, and our site modelling can be applied to final construction,” said Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “That work will ensure the highest standards of welfare for the whales along with safety and operational efficiency for the whale care team.”

Project continues to have significant regional support

As the Whale Sanctuary Project transitions into the construction phase, it continues to receive strong support from across the region.

Since first exploring Nova Scotia as a potential location in 2018, the organization has held more than two dozen public meetings and open houses, established a Community Liaison Committee, and welcomed more than 7,500 visitors to its Visitor and Operations Centre in Sherbrooke. Local volunteers have contributed thousands of hours to outreach, programming, and community events.

The Port Hilford Bay site itself was first suggested by Nova Scotians during early consultations, and local engagement played a central role in bringing the project to the Eastern Shore.

“People in this community stepped forward early, identified the sanctuary location and said they believed this was something Nova Scotia could lead,” said Amy Simon, Community Outreach Coordinator of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Seeing construction begin is a moment many local supporters have been working toward for a long time.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project will continue to provide updates and maintain open communication with residents as work progresses.

# # #

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The purpose of the meeting, Minister Mathieu Lefèvre said, was “to bring together all stakeholders” who are concerned with the future of the orcas Wikie and Keijo and the 12 dolphins at the now-shuttered Marineland Antibes. These stakeholders included “the operator, state representatives, scientific experts, associations, local elected officials, and potential care facilities.”

The Minister emphasized the government’s focus on “guarantees of animal welfare and safety” and “strict adherence to the legal framework established by the 2021 law,” which brings an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity in France for the purposes of entertainment.

Key people at the meeting were:

• Minister Mathieu Lefèvre, his chief Conseiller, Alexis Soiron, former minister Barbara Pompili, and other Ministry officials;
• Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP); along with our President Dr. Lori Marino; Dr. Naomi Rose (senior scientist for marine mammal biology at the Animal Welfare Institute, and WSP board member); and Jeff Foster, WSP Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator;
• Pascal Ferracci, CEO of Parques Reunidos, which is the owner of Marineland Antibes;
• Rodolphe Delord and Delphine Delord, owners of Beauval Zoo in France;
• Martin Böye, scientific director for marine biology at Loro Parque zoo in Tenerife, Spain;
• Muriel Arnal, President of OneVoice France, along with veterinarian David Perpiñan;
• Members of other French animal welfare groups, including C’est Assez and Sea Shepherd France.

Part One: The 12 dolphins

The first part of the three-hour meeting was devoted to the 12 dolphins at Marineland Antibes, whom the owners of the Beauval Zoo are looking to acquire. The zoo is owned by the wealthy and politically influential Delord family, and Rodolphe Delord showed designs of a roughly 30-million-euro dolphin habitat that he portrayed as being akin to a sanctuary, in that there would be no shows. The dolphins would, however, still be on display and subject to breeding, both of which are incompatible with an authentic sanctuary and with the stated principles governing French law. Therefore, most French animal welfare organizations oppose transferring the dolphins to Beauval Zoo.

Part Two: The mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo

The second part of the meeting was devoted to options for the two orcas Wikie and her son Keijo.

The Minister’s introduction included his confirmation and restatement that the whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia is the only option for Wikie and Keijo that is credible and in keeping with French law.

Whale Sanctuary Project CEO Charles Vinick gave a comprehensive presentation about the sanctuary and our four years of environmental studies, along with an overview of the plans for construction of the sanctuary enclosure, sanctuary buildings, bay pens, medical lift, etc. The team then answered questions that were primarily about the water temperature, the environmental studies, and the site’s ability to withstand severe weather events.

The presentation and Q&A were well received by almost everyone present; the main exception being members of the captivity industry, which is opposed in principle to any captive whales and dolphins being retired to sanctuary. The owners of Marineland are pressing for the orcas to go to Loro Parque zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands, which urgently needs to replenish its stock of orcas because four have died there since 2021. But rather than say this outright, they claimed that Wikie and Keijo will have better care at this zoo than at a sanctuary and that the water in Nova Scotia is too cold for orcas.

What is needed now to save these two orcas is the funding to have the sanctuary ready by the end of summer this year 2026.
The claim that the water is too cold is disputed by the fact that Wikie and Keijo are Icelandic orcas. Wikie’s mother and other family members were captured in Icelandic waters and are all adapted biologically and by evolution to a cold-water environment. Dr. Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute and veterinarian Dr. David Perpiñan provided scientific arguments to support our position that, with proper nutrition and conditioning, this will not be an issue. We also presented a statement from Dr. Jim McBain, retired VP of veterinary services for SeaWorld, saying that in his experience orcas adapt well to changes in temperature and that the temperatures of ocean waters in Nova Scotia are within the range that is appropriate for orcas.

Because the captivity industry sees the sanctuary as a threat to its business model, Wikie and Keijo have become the thin end of a potentially very large wedge. Beyond Marineland, Parques Reunidos also owns about 60 other parks and is itself owned by powerful investment groups, whose primary interest is in profit rather than animal welfare. For that reason, they are aggressively trying to keep the two orcas from being transferred to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia and even to prevent this sanctuary from being established at all.

The Minister pressed for Parques Reunidos, the owners of Marineland Antibes, to sit down for discussion with our team. But the owners were unwilling even to engage in discussion with us. And at the end of the meeting, the Minister announced a new deadline, the end of March, when it expects to make a final decision as to where Wikie and Keijo will go.

The Bottom Line: Funding

French law prohibits Marineland Antibes from transferring the orcas to another facility where they may be put on show or used for breeding. And from its first report, October 2024, when the ministry’s General Inspectorate called the Nova Scotia sanctuary “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects,” to its December 2025 announcement that “the park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada,” the government has never wavered in its view that the best outcome for Wikie and Keijo is the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

The challenge is no longer to do with objections that have been raised and fully refuted. What is needed now to save these two orcas is the funding to have the sanctuary ready by the end of summer this year, 2026.

If we can demonstrate that we have a confirmed path to the funding to be able to welcome Wilkie and Keijo by the end of summer, then the Ministry will be able to bring Parques Reunidos (the owners of Marineland Antibes) to the table to meet with us.

If we cannot provide evidence of immediate funding and a path to sufficient sanctuary construction funding to be able to take the orcas, Wikie and Keijo will likely end up in Loro Parque zoo, where they will continue performing and will be fully exploited in the zoo’s breeding program.

The stakes are high and time is short. While we have the funds to begin construction at the sanctuary site immediately, we do not yet have the funds to complete it.

Anything that a visionary donor or foundation can do to close this funding gap by the end of March will make a big difference. The result will not simply be a new life for Wikie and Keijo, but clear evidence around the world that the laws in France and Canada are truly taking effect and that the global exploitation of whales is, at last, an endangered industry.

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NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA [February 17, 2026] — The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) is set to enter the construction phase of its Nova Scotia ocean sanctuary, marking a major milestone as the organization transitions from planning to on-site implementation. 

Pre-construction planning and mobilization activities are underway, including early technical coordination and readiness work to position the site for construction. 

The Whale Sanctuary Project expects to begin construction when weather permits and proceed through a staged build plan toward an initial occupancy in the second half of 2026, with timing aligned to construction progress and capital. Staged milestones will prioritize site readiness, long-term sanctuary operations, and ensuring the facility is appropriately prepared to support the specific care requirements of whales received into sanctuary. 

Initial work will focus on core site mobilization and essential marine and utility infrastructure, as WSP continues to advance its capital campaign and engage potential partners. The start of construction signals a clear shift from planning to physical build-out. 

Each construction milestone brings the sanctuary measurably closer to being ready to safely welcome whales when transfer pathways are finalized.  

“This is a milestone we’ve worked toward for years,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “A coastal sanctuary offers something fundamentally different: a safe, protected environment designed for lifelong care. Our focus now is building the infrastructure that makes a humane retirement possible for whales transitioning out of captivity.” 

WSP Leadership in France as Discussions Continue on Future of Marineland Antibes’ Orcas 

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition continues to view the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical, and welfare-focused option for Wikie and Keijo that meets French legal requirements. 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is committed to supporting a responsible transition process that balances urgency with the preparation required to ensure a safe and successful outcome. 

Ahead of any transfer, the whales will need to receive a thorough health assessment at Marineland Antibes by the Whale Sanctuary Project and independent veterinary experts before being prepared for a safe and successful transition to the sanctuary. 

WSP looks forward to ongoing collaborating with the Government of France and Marineland Antibes for the welfare of Wikie and Keijo. 

Fundraising Campaign Continues 

The sanctuary’s fundraising campaign continues in parallel with this next phase of work, focused on securing the resources required to deliver a permanent, welfare-first sanctuary model for whales retired from captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks. Funds raised will support the infrastructure, animal care capacity, and long-term operational systems required to provide safe, lifelong care in a protected natural environment. 

The campaign reflects a growing international shift away from cetacean entertainment and toward humane retirement solutions. As more governments and institutions confront the long-term future of whales currently held in marine parks, WSP is engaging philanthropic and institutional partners to help ensure a credible sanctuary option exists to support lawful, science-led transitions when opportunities arise. Early-stage capital commitments and active partner discussions are helping advance the project toward full funding.  

The Whale Sanctuary Project remains confident in its ability to secure the funding required to deliver the sanctuary. 

# # #

About the Whale Sanctuary Project
The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. WSP is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks. 

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com 

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The meeting will be hosted by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Matthieu Lefèvre, and will include the Whale Sanctuary Project, the owners of Marineland Antibes, members of Parliament and of the Ministry, the European Association for Aquatic Animals, and several French non-profit organizations.

Regarding the two orcas, Wikie and Keijo, the government is looking to build a consensus around its stated intention for them to be retired to the sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia. In its statement on December 13th, the government wrote:

“The park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada. As a reminder, the Spanish scientific authority has already refused to transfer the orcas to the Loro Parque de Tenerife in Spain, and moreover it would not be understandable for these animals to be exploited for spectacle purposes. The sanctuary’s solution is therefore today the most credible, the most ethical and the only one that complies with the requirements of animal safety and welfare. The transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.”

We understand that the owners of Marineland have not yet agreed to the orcas coming to Nova Scotia and have still been pressing for them to go to Loro Parque. So, the meeting in Paris is a critical next step in the process of retiring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.

The Minister intends to introduce us to our counterparts at Marineland. And we look forward to forging the kind of relationship that will work to the benefit of the whales. Wikie and Keijo have close bonds with their caregivers, and a close collaboration between our two teams will be essential to their future wellbeing.

###

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In the early 1980s, when Kenya the African elephant was four years old, she was transferred from a zoo in Germany to the Mendoza Zoo in Argentina. For the next 40 years, she lived alone in a dusty, barren enclosure, her only companion being a painting of an elephant on the surrounding cement wall.

Argentina began closing its zoos in 2016, and Kenya was the last surviving elephant in the country. The zoo, now renamed Mendoza Ecoparque, agreed to send her to the Global Sanctuary for Elephants expansive natural habitat sanctuary in Brazil (Elephant Sanctuary Brazil.)

When she arrived at the sanctuary, her health was, by any standards, severely compromised. As founder and director of the sanctuary Scott Blais described it:

“All four of her feet had severely overgrown nails, pads, and cuticles, and she had osteomyelitis (diagnosed through radiographs), which can be fatal in elephants (and in humans is usually treated with amputation). She was also coated with thick layers of dead skin, which had accumulated over years due to lack of a proper bath or anything to rub against to exfoliate.”

Although she was responding well to her treatments, Kenya became ill at the end of 2025, had trouble breathing, and a few days later, on December 13th, she died. A full necropsy is being conducted, but preliminary reports, shared with a large animal vet, point to tuberculosis that was very progressed, with granular infiltrates throughout both lungs as well as alveolar collapse. These were chronic issues that she must have been living with for considerable time before coming to the sanctuary.

Elephant Sanctuary Brazil is a 2,800-acre natural property in Brazil, currently home to five elephants rescued from zoos and circuses in South America. They have room to roam, are fed and cared for by expert veterinarians, and can regain their mental and physical health after years of neglect and abuse. With the exception of Guillermina, who is 27, all are older animals, and all over 58 years old.  None of them arrive in good health. But they get to live out their lives in a natural environment that, along with the expert care they receive, plays a large part in the healing process.

From this:

Kenya at the Mendoza Zoo

. . . to this:

Kenya at the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil

And watch her taking a refreshing mud bath at the sanctuary:

Sanctuary as hospice

Part of the role of any sanctuary is to provide hospice care to older animals who have spent most or all of their lives in captivity. Another elephant, Pupy, who had suffered from morbid obesity at the Buenos Aires Zoo before being transferred to the Global Sanctuary for Elephants in Brazil in April 2025, also passed away recently. Her preliminary necropsy, too, revealed a seriously immunocompromised body.

We mourn these deaths, but we understand that their time at a sanctuary, long or short, is a blessing to be treasured, one that helps make up for whatever went before.

But in the wake of Kenya’s death, the anti-sanctuary machine has rolled into action, exploiting her death as “evidence” to promote false claims that the sanctuary is incapable of caring for its residents and, as Scott Blais wrote to me in an email, is killing them. He added:

“Suggesting that the sanctuary causes the deaths of elephants who arrived in compromised health after decades in zoos is as absurd as blaming an elderly care facility for a loved one passing in their 80s, after they were sent there for end-of-life care.”

Nonetheless, a complaint has been filed against the sanctuary, and Scott notes that one of the groups reportedly involved in filing the complaint is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums of Brazil (AZAB), a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), a trade organization for zoos and aquariums. The industry’s false narratives have led to the temporary suspension of the sanctuary’s license to accept new residents until the matter is resolved.

A campaign to sow doubt and mistrust

Developments like these are calculated to sow doubt among those who support wild animal sanctuaries. And those of us who are establishing these sanctuaries are being subjected to increasingly vociferous and aggressive tactics by the corporations that own the parks, the trade associations, the scientists whose livelihoods are supported by the industry, and other groups that are opposed to ethical societal change.

Part of the role of any sanctuary is to provide hospice care to older animals who have spent most or all of their lives in captivity.Here at the Whale Sanctuary Project, we, too, are subject to similar tactics by the anti-sanctuary machine. Most recently, upon learning that the French government intended to work with the Whale Sanctuary Project to bring the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes to sanctuary in Nova Scotia, the European Association for Aquatic Mammals (a pro-captivity organization) released a statement claiming that animal protection organizations are involved in “misinformation, emotional manipulation and coercive lobbying,” calling them “amateur, self‑proclaimed experts.”

In another example, scientists who are considered to be allies of the captivity industry went far beyond the standard peer-review process in trying to block publication of a fully peer-reviewed scientific paper that documents how, even in fully accredited facilities, serious welfare challenges persist for captive cetaceans, especially for orcas and belugas. Other opponents of the growing movement to retire whales and dolphins to sanctuary have resorted to spreading rumors and fake stories on social media. (I personally have encountered the ludicrous claim that, as president of the Whale Sanctuary Project, I am getting so wealthy from my work that I have two – count them! – apartments in Paris.)

Stay the Course

While efforts like these to discredit the sanctuary movement are certainly destructive to the cause, they also indicate that pro-captivity advocates are becoming increasingly desperate. Public opinion is less and less supportive of the exploitation of whales, dolphins, elephants, great apes and other wild animals. The industry is seeing the proverbial “writing on the wall,” and its recourse is increasingly to go low and to go negative.

As a new ethic of respect and compassion takes hold, the Global Sanctuary for Elephants is creating and promoting a model of how to care for elephants who are rescued from life in a small and impoverished enclosure of a zoo. Please visit their website and their social media, learn about their work, and support their cause.

And while we navigate this opposition, we must remember that it means we are, in the long run, winning.  And we are in good company. We have seen the same aggressive tactics with regards to slavery, civil rights, women’s suffrage, gay rights…and so on. There is always resistance to such change. But we will stay the course because the only priority is the health, well-being and dignity of our fellow animals.

# # #

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You have probably already read the French government’s groundbreaking decision for Wikie and Keijo to come to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia in 2026, subject to our raising the necessary funds to complete the sanctuary by the end of summer.

We tell much of their life story – both were born in the small concrete tank at Marineland Antibes where they are still languishing – in their bio here.

Wikie has seen her entire family destroyed as she clings to her life with Keijo.But my work as a neuroscientist at the Smithsonian Institution and at Emory University, where I studied the brains and fossilized remains of hundreds of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), gave me an invaluable understanding of their remarkable evolutionary history: as land animals who returned to the ocean; whose intelligence and brain capacity evolved in ways that both parallel and exceed our own; and as individuals, whose lives are as meaningful to them as ours are to us.

Wikie (born in June, 2001) and Keijo (born in November, 2013) are mother and son. Orca mothers and sons tend to bond closely, and we can only hope these strong ties have fortified them throughout their ordeal. Their story, like all other captive orcas, is one of families being ripped apart, illness, and premature death. And to recognize how much their lives have been ruined by their captivity and the abnormal circumstances they face, we need to understand what their lives would have been like if they had lived undisturbed in the ocean.

Their forebears walked on land

Cetacean ancestors evolved from land-dwelling animals over 50 million years ago. Orcas are, in fact, the largest species of dolphin, growing to 25 feet long and weighing 4-6 tons. After a long pregnancy of 18 months, mothers give birth to an infant who will take more than 15 years to mature.

Males and females can live well into their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and older. They live in strongly bonded family groups called pods. Every pod has its own cultural traditions (dialects, eating habits, etc.) passed on through the generations by learning. Relatives and friends help raise the youngsters, share food, and assist each other when in trouble.

Their brains are over-sized and more convoluted – meaning that they have more surface area and more neocortex relative to the rest of their brain – than we humans have.

Their communication system is so complex that we have yet to decipher it.

They grieve the death of loved ones and live by a code that prohibits them from ever harming a human being in the wild.

The life they might have lived

If Wikie had been born in the ocean, she would have grown up in a close family group, being cared for by relatives and learning their culture, just as we do. As an adult, she would have chosen a time to become a mother and raise her children to become parents, in turn, and to continue the lineage.

Wikie’s two sons, Keijo and Moana, would likewise have been born into this natural community and, as male orcas often do, might have stayed close to their mothers their whole lives, riding the waves together, meeting hundreds of other species, and exploring many landscapes in their travels. They would have all had a sense of identity that provided the emotional foundation of a good life – a life that would have been shaped by their own choices.

But that was not the life that Wikie was fated to live. She would be born in a concrete tank, and the plan was for her to die in that tank.

Her mother, Sharkane, and her father, Kim 2, were captured at different times in Icelandic waters and held for a short time at a small facility in Iceland before being sold to Marineland Antibes. Some of the other whales among the two captured pods were also sold to Marineland. Others were sold to entertainment parks in Japan, the United States and Spain. The close family bonds were shattered.

In 1993, Sharkane would give birth to Shouka, in 1999 to Inouk, and in 2001 to Wikie. In 2002, Wikie’s sister Shouka would be shipped to Six Flags in Ohio and then to Six Flags California, where she would live for 10 years before being transferred to Sea World San Diego, where she is still alive.

Freya, who came from Kim 2’s group and was mated with him, would give birth, during her 12 years at Marineland, to four stillborn calves and to one survivor: Valentin.

Kim 2 would die of pneumonia in 2005 at the young age of 24. Valentin would survive another 10 years. He was Wikie’s half-brother and is generally assumed to have been the father of Wikie’s second son, Keijo, who was born in 2013.

Two years later, in October 2015, Valentin’s life would end horribly when violent storms swept through Southern France, flooding the marine mammal tanks and leaving the whales nowhere to go for protection. Photos showed all five orcas swimming around in muddy waters. The following week, Valentin died, apparently from twisted intestines.

Left to right: Inouk, Keijo, Wikie, Moana, Valentin, Freya.

In 2011, Wikie gave birth to a son, Moana, sired through artificial insemination by Ulises, who lives at SeaWorld San Diego. It was the first artificial insemination of a whale in Europe.

Moana died in 2023, aged 12, from acute bacterial sepsis. And more tragedy was to come. Early the following year, Wikie’s brother Inouk perished from subacute fibrinous enteritis peritonitis, leaving Wikie and Keijo as the sole survivors of their family at Marineland.

Wikie has seen her entire family destroyed as she clings to her life with Keijo. But since the bond between mother and son is exceptionally strong, perhaps his presence is a comfort as this tragic pair pass their empty days together – lone survivors of a destroyed family.

Giving them a better future

The story of Wikie and Keijo and their family is typical of captive whales around the world.  The specific details may differ, but the outcome is always the same: families torn apart, loss of choice, and premature illness and death.

But with the French government’s decision that Wikie and Keijo should come to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, this sad story may have a different ending. Wikie and Keijo now have a chance to experience life in ocean waters, exploring the sea grasses and chasing the birds. It is their one remaining chance for a life that can begin to make up for the suffering they’ve endured.

We shouldn’t need sanctuaries at all, but, for those like this mother and son who have spent their lives in concrete tanks, sanctuaries are the best way we can tell them that we are sorry and that we are working to give every captive whale a new and better future.

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Katina was born in Icelandic waters about 48 years ago and wrenched from her family In October 1978 when she was approximately two years old. She was shipped to Marineland Canada, and then to various SeaWorld theme parks, for a total of 14 transfers ending up at Sea World Orlando in 1984, where she performed for the rest of her life before dying on December 21st, 2025, at age 50.

In the ocean, mothers and daughters spend a lifetime together. At SeaWorld, Katina would give birth to seven calves, most of whom would be taken away from her.

In 1985, she delivered her first calf, Kalina, who was taken from her at age 5 and shipped to another SeaWorld theme park, then transferred back to Orlando two years later, and then transferred yet again. Kalina was only 25 when she died in 2010.

Shortly after she had given birth to Kalina, Katina was impregnated again, and in 1988 she gave birth to a second daughter, Katerina. Mother and daughter had two and a half years together before the youngster was flown to Sea World Ohio in 1991, and from there, three years later, to Sea World San Antonio where, at the very young age of 10, she died of bacterial pneumonia, the most common cause of death in captive cetaceans.

In 1993, Katina gave birth to a son, Taku, whose father was Tilikum. Thirteen years later, when he reached sexual maturity, Taku impregnated his mother, resulting in an inbred calf, Nalani. In the wild, incest among orcas is unheard of. It is as aberrant as it is among us humans, and a behavior that is emblematic of the highly artificial and abnormal conditions imposed on captive orcas.

In 2018, Katina sustained a severe injury to the base of her dorsal fin. The wound was a deep gash that left part of her already-collapsed dorsal fin misshapen, leaving her open to opportunistic infections. The injury was either caused by an aggressive interaction with another orca or by landing on a sharp or hard part of the tank. We will never know.

What we do know, however, is that the captive environment contributed to her injury. In the ocean, orcas can certainly behave aggressively toward each other, but it is minimized because the whales can just disperse as far as they need to in order to dissipate tension. Being confined in a concrete tank, by comparison, leaves little if any opportunity for the orcas to space themselves in order to lessen hostilities. And there are no hard ledges and metal gates in the ocean; only in captivity.

Katina was highly intelligent and sweet-natured. As an orca who had lived in the ocean with her own family, even if only for her first two years, she had learned enough to be able to nurture not only her calves, but also, whenever she was given the opportunity, the other orcas with whom she shared the tank. With her expansive personality, had she not been captured from the wild, she would likely have become the matriarch of her oceangoing pod. Instead, she became effectively the matriarch of the unnatural pod of orcas with whom she lived at SeaWorld Orlando.

Katina was considered a “successful” captive orca by SeaWorld because she spent so many years performing spectacular tricks for audiences. She was used in this way almost every day of her life.

But there was nothing “successful” about Katina and her forced confinement. She was a slave who managed to cope under extreme circumstances – a fact that we should never forget. And rather than allowing her abuse to be glorified, we should use her life as a beacon for action to bring an end to the suffering of whales and dolphins in captivity.

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Kshamenk was captured in the Bahía de Samborombón and taken to the amusement park Mundo Marino in 1992, where he was confined in the smallest orca tank in the world.

For a few years he shared the tank with another orca, Belén. But when Belén died in 2000, Kshamenk was left with just a bottlenose dolphin for company. And it remained that way until his death. He spent much of his time lying on the bottom of a tank that was barely deeper than the length of his body. When he was at the surface, he circled endlessly with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

The ways in which he was exploited went beyond simply being forced to perform. Staff members from SeaWorld were dispatched to Mundo Marino to forcibly collect his sperm so they could breed yet more captive whales. They took what they needed and left him to languish. He had a son, Makani, who survives at Seaworld San Diego, and a daughter, Kamea, who died this year at SeaWorld San Antonio.

There may be no other orca in the world who symbolized the brazen greed of the marine mammal captivity industry the way Kshamenk did. His suffering was palpable and now it has ended – but without even the grace of having a chance to regain a part of what was taken from him: His autonomy. His dignity. His life.

Just as after the deaths of Kiska, Tilikum, Tokitae and so many more, we grieve our inability to help him in time. But his death spurs us onward in the knowledge that the days of forcing these intelligent beings to do our bidding are now numbered.

Rest in peace.

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The Government formalizes decisions on the future of Marineland cetaceans

The Ministry of Ecological Transition is today taking a new decisive step regarding the future of Marineland animals, in order to guarantee their well-being, safety and respect for French law. After several months of technical analysis, inspections and exchanges with experts, the Government presents the following decisions:

The park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada. As a reminder, the Spanish scientific authority has already refused to transfer the orcas to the Loro Parque de Tenerife in Spain, and moreover it would not be understandable for these animals to be exploited for spectacle purposes. The sanctuary’s solution is therefore today the most credible, the most ethical and the only one that complies with the requirements of animal safety and welfare. The transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.

Marineland dolphins are not intended to be transferred to Spain. This option does not provide sufficient guarantees in terms of animal welfare and also exposes animals to a risk of commercial exploitation contrary to the spirit of the 2021 law. The dolphins will be kept temporarily on site, in basins deemed compatible with a temporary reception, pending the opening of the future ZooParc de Beauval center.

These decisions are based on DREAL inspections, scientific expertise and a clear legislative framework to protect cetaceans from exploitation. They also include the situation of the carers, who will benefit from business continuity, in particular through the project carried out by the ZooParc de Beauval.

“The state is acting responsibly and consistently,” said Mathieu Lefèvre, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature, in charge of the Ecological Transition. “After reviewing all the options, we are now making the necessary decisions to ensure the welfare of the animals. Dolphins will not leave for Spain, where they could be exploited again. As for the orcas, their place is at the sanctuary of Nova Scotia: it is the only ethical solution, credible and in accordance with the law. Our role is to protect these animals and to lay the foundation for an exemplary model of transition to marine sanctuaries.”

The ministry will continue in the coming months to implement the necessary administrative steps, in close collaboration with state services, the scientific community, NGOs and the site operator.

(To view pages in the pdfs below, click on arrows in the bar at the bottom of each page. And click on + or – to zoom in or out.)

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This follows in the wake of the Ministry of Ecological Transition reaching out to us, last week, to begin discussions about this possibility.

Over the past year, we have been working to help cetaceans in France, Canada and South Korea, where marine parks are being required by law to bring an end to having captive whales on display for the purposes of entertainment. Likewise, nonprofit organizations like One Voice in France and World Animal Protection and Animal Justice in Canada are advocating for cetacean sanctuaries. And we will continue to do everything we can to help the whales in all these situations and any others that arise.

To welcome any whales in 2026, we will need to have completed the necessary construction work by the end of summer. This is because the whales will need a few months to adapt to their new home before the onset of winter.

To accomplish this, we will need to adhere to a precise timetable that requires having the necessary funding at each stage. Right now, we have the funds to begin construction of the sanctuary, but we do not yet have the funds to complete it.

Accomplishing the goal of welcoming whales before the end of next summer will depend on a collaborative effort on the part of all parties: government agencies, owners, sanctuary, and benefactors and donors.

Together, we can make this happen!

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This approach comes a year after the entertainment park Marineland Antibes closed its doors to the public and the government began working with Marineland to find a solution for the two mother-and-son whales.

The need to retire Wikie and Keijo from public performance was first prompted in 2020, when Minister Barbara Pompili announced a plan to bring an end to keeping cetaceans in captivity for the purposes of entertainment. In 2024, Minister Agnès Pannier‑Runacher ruled against Marineland Antibes sending the whales to an aquarium in Japan. And early in 2025, the Spanish government foreclosed the possibility of Marineland sending them to the Loro Parque zoo. Any possibility of finding a suitable location in Europe has now apparently also faded.

We appreciate the government reaching out to us, and we have responded that we will help in any way we can and will work with them to see if the Nova Scotia sanctuary can be a solution for Wikie and Keijo. Any such plan will require close collaboration among the Whale Sanctuary team, the government, and the care team at Marineland Antibes, with all three working together to do what is best for the whales.

We are currently in direct contact with the new Minister of Ecological Transition with a view to seeing if the Nova Scotia sanctuary can be a solution for the whales.

For more information and background:

Spain Rejects Plan to Transfer Orcas to Zoo in Canary Islands – April 2025

Whale Sanctuary Project Offers Help in Providing Solution for Orcas Feb 2025

Ministry Rejects Application to Bring Orcas from Antibes to Sanctuary – Jan 2025

French Minister Opposes Transfer of Wikie & Keijo to Aquarium in Japan – Nov 2024

French Government Prioritizes “Well-being” of Captive Orcas Wikie & Keijo – Oct 2024

Whale Sanctuary Project is “Most Credible Innovative Solution” – Oct 2024

= = =

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By Lori Marino

One afternoon in 1861, 11-year-old Sally Putnam wrote of an incident she witnessed in Boston in her diary:

“I went again to the Aquarial Gardens and there we saw the whale being driven by a girl. She was in a boat and the whale was fastened to the boat by a pair of rains [sic], and a collar, which was fastened ‘round his neck. The men had to chase him before they could put on the collar.”

What Sally had witnessed that day was one of the first beluga whales to be captured and put on display in the United States by entertainer and businessman Phineas T. Barnum. The whales came from the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada, and while most of them did not survive more than a few days, this didn’t bother Barnum. Whales were so plentiful that he only needed to keep a good enough supply penned up in the river to be able to load more onto a train bound to Boston or New York as needed.

Beluga whales have large, complex brains and sophisticated communication capabilities. In the ocean, they live in strongly bonded social groups of mothers, offspring, relatives and friends. In summer they can congregate by the thousands to socialize, mate, give birth, nurse their calves and educate them, including passing down migration routes and communication skills from each generation to the next.

Barnum’s beluga business didn’t last long. In July, 1865, a fire at his American Museum in New York brought the entire five-story exhibit hall of curiosities and animals, including two newly arrived whales, crashing to the ground. Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), called out Barnum for his treatment of his captive creatures. And by the turn of the century, many aquariums were closing.

Henry Bergh, founder of the ASPCA, called out Barnum for his treatment of his captive creatures. And by the turn of the century, many aquariums were closing.
In the late 1950s and 60s, however, the captive dolphin and whale industry began to revive. A new generation of marine zoos and circuses, including SeaWorld, Marineland Canada and the Vancouver Aquarium, found ways to capture whales and dolphins and keep them on display. Today, around the world, close to 3,600 cetaceans are being held captive, mostly in concrete tanks, for entertainment. Whatever the incremental improvements in their welfare, the question remains: Can it ever be possible for captive whales and dolphins to thrive in concrete pools?

In a new peer-reviewed paper in the journal PeerJ, six animal welfare scientists and experts, including myself, bring together what we know from all the available peer-reviewed literature to reach three conclusions.

First, the amount of space in any concrete pool is woefully inadequate to provide for the physical and mental needs of wild animals that, in the ocean, can travel hundreds of kilometres every day. Second, the environment at any theme park or aquarium is impoverished and highly predictable, leading to extreme boredom and chronic stress. And third, orcas and other captive cetaceans exhibit stereotypies, swimming in circles and banging their heads and bodies on the sides of the pools, along with other activities that indicate distress, like chewing on concrete surfaces. They also suffer from opportunistic infections and short lifespans.

The best captive facilities provide good food, veterinary care and clean water. And owners point out that the animals don’t have to suffer from predators, pollution, ship strikes and fishing nets. But while the modern captivity industry has had enough time to demonstrate that they can provide a significantly better environment for these megafauna than PT Barnum’s attempts, they have still failed.

Increasingly, public opinion is calling for an end to this outdated form of entertainment, and governments are responding. In 2019, Canada banned the capture, breeding and public display of these animals. Marineland Canada has closed its doors and is looking to sell its property. But in accordance with the law, the government has denied Marineland permits to export the whales to a theme park in China that has one of the most dismal animal-welfare records.

For decades, zoos and circuses have been working with sanctuaries to give a better life to captive elephants, great apes, big cats and other land animals. The time has come for animal-protection organizations, marine parks, aquariums and governments to work together to retire whales and dolphins to sanctuaries and other more enriching environments where they can truly thrive.

Lori Marino is the president and founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project. She teaches about captive wild animal welfare at New York University.

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Marineland Antibes in France has closed and leaves several bottlenose dolphins and two orcas languishing in crumbling tanks.

Marineland Canada has gone out of business as well and has no plans for what to do with 30 beluga whales (plus other animals) at their facility except to threaten to kill them all.

The Dolphin Company’s recent filing for bankruptcy may necessitate the re-homing of 295 bottlenose dolphins from their 25 facilities across seven countries.

The responsibility for the predicament that cetaceans find themselves in lies solely with the captivity industry itself.And now there is the challenge of where captive dolphins and whales should spend the rest of their lives if and when they are retired from entertainment parks and zoos. Sanctuaries are the obvious answer, but the sanctuary movement is still in its early days and cannot provide for the 3,600 cetaceans held in captivity around the world.

The captivity industry and its followers want to pin this problem on those of us who are against keeping cetaceans in concrete tanks. They want to control the narrative by claiming that it is the fault of the “animal advocates” that there is no place for retired cetaceans to go. They argue that advocates are putting the lives of dolphins and whales at risk by working to get them out of concrete tanks.

But let’s get the narrative straight. The responsibility for the predicament that cetaceans find themselves in lies solely with the captivity industry itself. They alone captured and bred these animals into confined impoverished settings for entertainment. They alone profited from this. They alone want to maintain the status quo. And they alone are still exploiting these animals for their own gain.

Animal welfare advocates, governments, the general public, and the media should reject the narrative that they are to blame for the current problems facing captive dolphins and whales. These problems were caused by an original wrongdoing whose only solution now is for us all to work together to set it right.

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A newly published peer-reviewed paper in the journal PeerJ shows that, despite some limited improvements for bottlenose dolphins in accredited facilities, serious welfare challenges persist for captive cetaceans, especially for orcas and belugas.

The paper provides the most comprehensive review to date of the challenges faced by captive cetaceans. While acknowledging species-specific variations and some areas of progress, the authors present clear evidence that captivity continues to compromise the health and welfare of all cetaceans held in marine parks and aquariums.

“The current state of captive cetacean welfare shows that, while incremental improvement can be made, there are some aspects of marine park and aquarium living that remain incompatible with well-being and flourishing,” stated lead author Dr. Lori Marino.

The findings echo growing concern among scientists and the public, who increasingly question the ethics of confining such intelligent and socially complex animals for entertainment and display. The authors conclude that cetaceans are fundamentally unsuited to life in captivity – both ethically and practically.

The paper was co-authored by six animal behavior and welfare experts:

Lori Marino, Ph.D., neuroscientist and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project,
Catherine Doyle, M.S., Director of Science, Research, and Public Policy, Performing Animal Welfare Society,
Heather Rally, D.V.M. medical director, ThriveWild,
Lester O’Brien, Palladium Elephant Consulting,
Mackenzie Tennison, M.A., University of Washington,
Bob Jacobs, Ph.D., neuroscientist and emeritus professor at Colorado College.

Note: While Dr. Lori Marino is the lead author of this paper and also President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, this paper is not a publication of the Whale Sanctuary Project but of the six scientists personally.

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In 1861, the American showman PT Barnum captured two beluga whales off the coast of Labrador and shipped them to the American Museum in New York where they died a day or two later. Barnum discounted these deaths as not posing a problem since there were thousands more to be found and captured in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

When a fire destroyed the Museum and killed the animals, this put a temporary halt to Barnum’s spectacles. But Barnum’s efforts had already ignited interest among entrepreneurs to create more cetacean aquariums and circuses.

A beluga whale shipped by PT Barnum from the St. Lawrence Seaway, Canada, to Newcastle, England, in 1903

A hundred years later, in 1961, an orca was captured off the coast of California and taken to Marineland of the Pacific, where she died two days later. Four years later, Shamu, a calf captured in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle, went on show at SeaWorld San Diego. And August 1970 saw the start of the infamous Penn Cove massacres, which began with 70 orcas being herded into nets in Puget Sound. Those who survived this brutal invasion were put on show. The Southern Resident orcas never recovered and are now officially listed as an endangered population.

While we cannot erase these appalling crimes against nature, we can certainly bring an end to the continuing capture, breeding and exploitation of these psychologically complex, sensitive animals.

The creation of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia is the first step toward our vision of a world in which all cetaceans are treated with respect, and where none are confined to concrete tanks for our entertainment.

Thank you for helping to bring this vision to fulfillment.

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The creation of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia is an essential step in the larger mission of bring an end to the use of cetaceans as a form of entertainment.

What will it take to build a comprehensive solution – a global movement – that can bring an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity?

Coastal sanctuaries for cetaceans are orders of magnitude more complex and expensive to establish than land-based sanctuaries. That’s why the Whale Sanctuary Project is collaborating with other sanctuary efforts: specifically, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which is working to retire its dolphins, and the Sea Life Trust beluga sanctuary in Iceland.

Global Federation: These three pioneering efforts are paving the way for many more sanctuaries to come. And building on our joint experience in these and earlier projects (see Whale Aid section below), this collaboration has already produced guidelines and best practices that have been adopted and published by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries for all future cetacean sanctuaries.

Cooperation with other sanctuary efforts

We will demonstrate what this global movement can become by sharing our operational plans and forming partnerships with other organizations. Beyond our collaboration with the National Aquarium and Sea Life Trust, we have established an extensive network of collaborations with NGOs in Canada, the United States and globally.

Collaborative efforts will be key to building a global sanctuary movement.
Rehoming whales and dolphins to sanctuary also necessitates working with the entertainment parks and aquariums that are the legal owners of the whales and dolphins, and with the caregivers, trainers, veterinarians and other staff who have close, positive relationships with the animals.

Collaborative efforts like these will be key to building a global sanctuary movement. And close working relationships with other NGOs are also essential to creating solutions for the hundreds of captive whales and dolphins.

Whale Aid programs

Members of our team have over the past several decades pioneered successful rescue and rehabilitation efforts, and we plan to continue expanding this effort globally. Past efforts include:

• In 2019, our Whale Aid Russia team worked successfully with local NGOs and with the Russian government to return to the ocean 98 orcas and belugas who had been captured illegally for sale to theme parks in China;
• In 2018, under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Whale Sanctuary team members Jeff Foster and Katy Laveck Foster joined an emergency effort in the Pacific Northwest to try to save the life of the young orca J-50, known as Scarlett.

Other Experience

• Whale Sanctuary CEO Charles Vinick and Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator Jeff Foster served respectively as Director of the highly publicized Keiko Project and as Director of Field Operations and Research for Keiko.
• In 2022, Charles Vinick and Pritam Singh co-founded Friends of Toki with the mission to return Tokitae, the orca also known as Lolita, from the failing Miami Seaquarium to an ocean habitat in her home waters in the Pacific Northwest. (Toki died in 2023 from lung infections and a longstanding kidney condition after 51 years of captivity.)
• Jeff Foster also oversaw the successful capture, rehabilitation and reintroduction of Springer, an orphaned killer whale found in Puget Sound. Jeff also led the rehabilitation and release of Tom and Misha, two formerly captive bottlenose dolphins, back into the wild in the Aegean Sea, in what is considered the first successful reintroduction of its kind. And he led the humane capture and rescue of sea otters during the Exxon Valdez oil spill and was recognized for his rescue work following the 2005 tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina. Throughout his career, Jeff has led and coordinated transports of many cetaceans.

Next: Righting an “Original Wrong”

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Bringing the whales to the sanctuary falls into essentially three phases:

Health & behavior 

In coordination with the on-site care staff, we will be conducting health and behavior evaluations, treatment, rehabilitation and conditioning at the marine park or aquarium where the whales are currently located. This work is to ensure that they are healthy enough for both transport and relocation, and to facilitate a smooth transition from their former facilities to the sanctuary waters.

The initial health & behavior evaluation must be conducted by independent veterinarians, who will also supervise any treatments that are indicated.

Once the whales’ behavioral baselines are understood, they will receive individually tailored rehabilitation and training programs. These will include activities that promote bonding with new caregivers while they are still at Marineland since they will have developed close bonds with the people who have been caring for them for many years, some of whom may join us on the team at the sanctuary. Every effort will be made to include in our conditioning efforts aligning pool temperatures to be closer to that of the sanctuary waters and introducing acoustic elements and other stimuli they will experience in the sanctuary.

Conditioning for transport will involve activities that allow the whales to gain comfort and familiarity with the transport process, like practicing being guided into and out of the stretchers used during transport.

Transport

Transporting the whales to sanctuary entails loading the whales (in their stretchers) into their transport boxes that are filled with water, loading the boxes onto a truck at the original captive care facility, truck transport to an airport, air transport, and then truck transport to the sanctuary site.

Throughout the process, whales will be closely monitored by veterinary and animal care team staff.

Care of the whales at the sanctuary

Upon arrival at the sanctuary, whales will be introduced to a bay pen so they have time to familiarize themselves with the space and the feel of the ocean. Veterinarians and animal care staff will always be working with the whales and closely monitoring their wellbeing.

Once the whales are released into the wider sanctuary space, veterinary and animal husbandry teams will manage their continuing care, including feeding and enrichment, as well as regular medical care.

Next: Toward a Global Sanctuary Movement

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In this post, we break down the sanctuary construction process and its estimated costs, as well as the process and estimated costs for rehabilitating and transporting the first whale residents.

The capital (i.e. onetime) costs are estimated to be in the range of $12-15 million USD. Beyond construction of the sanctuary itself, these costs will include rehabilitating, conditioning, and transporting the whales. Monthly costs during the construction process will likely be in the low seven-figure (USD) range.

Note that at this stage, construction costs are estimates. The precise costs of specific works will be finalized as we receive bids from various contractors.

Similarly, costs of whale conditioning, rehabilitation and transport to the sanctuary cannot be determined until specific candidate whales are identified and initial veterinary evaluations have been conducted. Based on our team’s experience, we will then have rough estimates as to what these costs will be. They will include, but are not limited to:

• number of whales to be cared for and transported from the marine park or aquarium;
• number of staff required on site at that facility;
• location of the whales’ current facility and cost of housing staff there;
• duration of the rehabilitation and conditioning process.

Work already completed:
Basic bay pen design and engineering,
facilities design,
anchoring engineering,
indigenous impact study,
environmental site assessments.

The timetable below assumes the best possible case of having all necessary capital funds in hand to complete each phase. At time of posting this timetable, we do not yet have these funds.

Months 1 to 3: Wharf reconstruction
Mobilization (setting up equipment, staff, and infrastructure),
Removal of old wharf and buildings;
New wharf construction; floating dock; dredging; geotechnical; construction management;
Power, potable water and septic system;
Final building design & engineering;
De-mobilization (removing all resources after the job is done).

Months 4 to 5: Site remediation & net fabrication
Includes capping old mine areas;
Net pen and perimeter net fabrication (off-site).

Months 6 to 8: On-site construction and marine infrastructure installation

The operating (i.e. continuing annual) costs. While capital costs remain rough until we have the funds in hand to get precise, in-time estimates from contractors, we can say, based on known costs in today’s market, managing the sanctuary and caring for the whales once they are on site will amount to approximately $1.5 to $2 million USD per year.

Next: Care of the Whales Before and After Coming to the Sanctuary

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We are often asked questions like “Do you have all the permits you need?”, as though a project like this one simply needs a set of permits before embarking on all the work. However, that’s not quite how it happens. So, the following is a brief outline of some of the key interactions between the project and the various departments and levels of government.

The Order in Council: When the Nova Scotia government issued its Order in Council on October 21st, 2025, to confirm the recommendation of the Minister of the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables to issue the lease to the Whale Sanctuary Project for the Crown lands comprising the Whale Sanctuary, this did not include or necessitate a permit. It was a confirmation that we had met the requirements of the Department’s Offer of Lease and a directive to the Department to issue the lease.

Environmental tests, permits & conclusions: Some of the requirements for the Lease involve demonstrating that the sanctuary environment will not pose a risk to future whale residents and that the whales, in turn, will not pose a risk to the local flora and fauna. When we conducted three years of environmental testing, this was not for the purpose of receiving a permit. The only actual permit we needed was to collect core samples from the seabed for analysis. (For details on these, go here.) When we had completed all the necessary tests, third party independent experts prepared a Marine Environmental Risk Assessment (MERA), which concluded that the site in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, poses negligible risks to future whale residents and that the whales, in turn, will pose no risk to their new environment and the many species who call it home. The details of the tests and the conclusions of the experts are laid out in this 437-page document.

Construction permits: Now that we are entering the construction phase of establishing the sanctuary, we will apply for building permits for each of the buildings and the construction work as needed in the zone that the municipality of St. Mary’s has designated in their master plan as the Whale Sanctuary Zone. This is all standard operating procedure for a construction project, and in some cases it is the contractors themselves who submit a specific application – anything from placement of a septic tank to connection of electricity to the buildings.

License to transfer whales: When it comes to transporting the whales, we will require an Introduction or Transfer License to move aquatic organisms within a province or between provinces from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) for each individual whale.

We cannot know which individual whales we will be seeking permits for until each of them individually has been evaluated by a team of independent veterinarians. As part of this process, we will want to ensure that no family bonds or social bonds are broken up – e.g. that mothers and daughters are not separated, as routinely happens when whales and dolphins are transferred from one theme park to another.

Next: Sanctuary timetable

The post What “Permits” Are Needed? appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

With a clear path ahead, we can now advance the capital fundraising campaign for construction.

Work completed to date

Over the first three years of the Whale Sanctuary Project (2017 to 2020), we reviewed 130 potential sites before announcing Port Hilford Bay as our preferred site for the sanctuary. We then began a four-year program of environmental site assessments (ESAs), biodiversity surveys, weather and acoustic monitoring, and more. In 2024, independent expert consultants who reviewed this work concluded that:

• the site represents a healthy long-term habitat for future whale residents;
• the whales, in turn, will have no deleterious impact on the native flora and fauna;
• the water column in the sanctuary’s water space is clean, and metal remnants from gold mining that ended in the 1930s are sequestered in the site’s submerged soil and therefore pose negligible risk to future whale residents and the ecosystem.

The legal and regulatory requirements that span federal, provincial, local and tribal agencies and include ESA reports, risk management plans, and benthic impact reports have been submitted to the appropriate agencies.

We have conducted further geotechnical surveys to determine layout and design details for landside and water-based infrastructure. Additional infrastructure will provide power for the bay pens and medical systems, marine operations and animal care building, and a staff/administrative building.

Next steps

The bay pens: As the centerpiece of veterinary and animal care, the bay pens serve a number of critical functions. They include the medical lift for treating whales who need special care; they serve as a reception center where newcomer whales can adapt to life in their ocean environment; and they are the facilities where whales can be housed whenever they need to be in smaller, contained areas.

Our initial plan was to build a single large offshore bay pen: a large floating structure in the middle of the sanctuary’s water space, accessible only by boat, and particularly well-suited to orcas. However, the new inshore design will make animal care processes more efficient, accessible and safe, and with the dramatic global rise in commodity prices the inshore design will be far more cost effective.

Refurbishing the site’s old wharf

The existing wharf, which has served the needs of local fishers for decades, needs complete renovation. The new wharf and adjacent land will be the hub of sanctuary operations. It will support the development of inshore bay pen systems, including the medical lift. It will also include a boat launch and provide access to sanctuary waters for the daily care and feeding of the whales, along with maintenance of the environment and perimeter net.

Next: What “Permits” Are Needed?

The post Progress at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Whales

We are focused on helping the orcas and beluga whales who have been dominating the news over the last year. They are Wikie and her son Keijo at Marineland Antibes; the 30 beluga whales at Marineland Canada; the belugas Bella at LotteWorld Aquarium and LuVi at Aquaplanet in South Korea.

The urgent need of these whales was precipitated by governments in Canada, France and South Korea passing laws and regulations bringing an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity as a form of entertainment. These laws are, of course, very positive and welcome developments. However, if there are no sanctuaries to which the animals can be retired, their present owners are understandably going to be pressing to send them to entertainment facilities in countries that still permit their use.

The only way forward is a collaboration among all parties – owners, non-profits and governments – to work together toward solutions.

Marineland Canada

Photo of beluga whales at Marineland Canada by Sasha Rink / World Animal Protection Canada

After the latest reported beluga death at Marineland Canada at the end of August, there are now reported to be 30 surviving beluga whales there. Most or all of them are believed to be in poor and worsening condition. The park has closed, and the property is for sale. Many, but not all, of the hundreds of animals have been transferred to zoos.

On October 1st, we learned that the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) had denied Marineland permits to export their 30 surviving beluga whales to a theme park in China. Marineland subsequently threatened to kill the whales unless the government either reversed itself on the permits or paid Marineland to care for them in their concrete pools.

Marineland threatened to kill the 30 beluga whales unless the government either reversed itself on the permits or paid Marineland to care for the whales.This was greeted with public outrage, and the Whale Sanctuary Project has joined with other Canadian humane organizations to press Marineland to release as many as possible to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia and identify appropriate solutions for all of them. This may include placing some at aquariums in Canada and the United States and caring for others temporarily on site at Marineland until permanent homes can be identified.

We have heard that Marineland Canada is considering sending the surviving whales to theme parks in China. But the Whale Sanctuary Project is pressing Marineland to release as many as possible to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, and we are working with other Canadian humane organizations to put in place a solution for the remaining belugas. This may include placing some at aquariums in Canada and the United States and caring for others temporarily on site at Marineland until permanent homes can be identified.

Marineland Antibes

Since January 2025, when Marineland Antibes closed to tourists, mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo have been languishing in a small, dilapidated pool with nothing to do but swim in circles.

Photo of Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes by One Voice

Marineland’s plan had been to send Wikie and Keijo to an aquarium in Japan, where they faced the possibility of being separated from each other and used for breeding. The French government foreclosed that option but agreed to Marineland sending the pair to Loro Parque zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands. However, at the last minute, the Spanish government stepped in and rejected the transfer.

In 2024, in its review of the various options for Wikie and Keijo, the Inspectorate of the French Ministry of Ecology had concluded that the Whale Sanctuary Project was “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.” But early in 2025, the government began considering sanctuary locations in the Mediterranean. Veterinarians and other experts, however, have warned that Mediterranean waters are too warm for orcas, especially Wikie and Keijo, who are Icelandic orcas.

While the sanctuary in Nova Scotia remains the only validated option for this mother-and-son family, the government is still investigating other solutions in Europe.

LotteWorld and Aquaplanet in South Korea

LotteWorld has signed a Letter of Intent with the Whale Sanctuary Project to transfer the lone beluga whale Bella to the Nova Scotia sanctuary as soon as we can be ready to receive her. We are also approaching Aquaplanet with a view to retiring the beluga LuVi.

The common factor in all of these situations . . .

. . . is that they have been precipitated by laws and regulations that are bringing an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity for the purposes of entertainment. But while these regulations are enormously encouraging in themselves, they do not offer solutions for the future of the whales.

So, there is an urgent and immediate need not only for us to complete and open the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, but also for non-profit organizations, the marine parks, and the governments that regulate them to work together to provide retirement homes for the hundreds of captive whales and dolphins.

Next: Progress in work at the sanctuary.

The post The Whales Who Are Candidates for the Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On October 21st, 2025, the Nova Scotia government issued an Order in Council, confirming the report and recommendation of the Minister of Natural Resources, to issue the lease to the Whale Sanctuary Project for the Crown lands comprising the Whale Sanctuary for a term of 20 years with an option to renew for a further 20-year term.

This means we now have a clear path to begin construction and to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome the first whales.

In this series of posts, we explain what the Order in Council means and what are the three major aspects of what comes next:

• The whales who are prospects for coming to the Nova Scotia sanctuary;
• Recent progress at the sanctuary and how you can support the capital costs of construction; terms & conditions; permits; health and behavior evaluations and medical care of the whales at their present locations; transportation and introduction to their new home; continuing care at the sanctuary;
• How the growing collaboration among non-profit organizations, marine parks and aquariums, and governments at all levels is paving the way for a global effort to bring an end to the captivity of whales and dolphins and to retire them to sanctuary.

Next page: The Whales.

The post Nova Scotia Sanctuary – Status Report Fall 2025 appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Here is the full text of the Order in Council, which you can also view here:

October 21, 2025

The Governor in Council on the report and recommendation of the Minister of Natural Resources dated October 10, 2025, and pursuant to clause 16(1)(a) of Chapter 114 of the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1989, the Crown Lands Act, is pleased to approve the Minister of Natural Resources:

(a) issuing a lease to The Whale Sanctuary Project, an extra-provincial corporation incorporated in the United States with an office in Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, or its successors, trustees or permitted assigns, for submerged and terrestrial Crown lands containing approximately 83.32 hectares (205.89 acres), as shown outlined in bold line on the plan marked Schedule “A” attached to and forming part of the Report and Recommendation, for the purpose of operating and maintaining a seaside sanctuary, including all related infrastructure, for a term of 20 years, with an option to renew for a further 20-year term; and

(b)  executing such documents as may be necessary to achieve the purposes of this Order.

The government’s Order in Council means that the Whale Sanctuary Project now has a clear path to begin construction and to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome the first whales.

We are grateful to the Nova Scotia government and the Minister of Natural Resources. This is a great day for the Whale Sanctuary and for the whales. We look forward to pressing ahead in every way to establish the Whale Sanctuary.

Over the coming days we will update you on the three primary aspects of our work going forward:

• The whales who are prospects for coming to the Nova Scotia sanctuary;
• Recent progress at the sanctuary and how you can support the capital costs of construction; health and behavior evaluations and medical care of the whales at their present locations; transportation and introduction to their new home; and their continuing care at the sanctuary;
• How the growing collaboration among non-profit organizations, marine parks and aquariums, and governments at all levels is paving the way for a global effort to bring an end to the captivity of whales and dolphins and to retire them to sanctuary.

Thank you for your support of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Your donation, large or small, is the key to completing this work and welcoming the first whales. Please contribute what you can and encourage others to do the same.

Together we can do this.

The post Government Clears Path Forward for Nova Scotia Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We are updating this page regularly with news items from major media to keep you informed about this crisis while we work with ally organizations in Canada to create solutions for the 30 surviving beluga whales at Marineland Canada.

October 23rd, 2025: Ontario Solicitor General claims Marineland’s 30 beluga whales are not in the province’s jurisdiction. Presses federal government to approve permits for some of the whales to go to China and adds that “maybe some can go to Nova Scotia [sanctuary].”

October 18th, 2025: Ontario NGO Animal Justice files complaint with the Niagara Regional Police, calling for intervention to ensure Marineland does not kill the surviving belugas and warning that killing them one by one would cause the others profound psychological suffering. They present a detailed action plan to ensure a better future for the whales.

October 16th, 2025: Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says it has reviewed the situation of the beluga whales at Marineland and is calling for a staged, veterinary-led triage and emergency-care plan for individuals beluga to determine what is in the best interest of each animal.

October 15th, 2025: Animal lawyers urge the Ontario government to use its power under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS) to intervene and protect the 30 beluga whales at Marineland who could potentially be “on death row.” Colin Saravanamuttoo, executive director of World Animal Protection Canada, notes that Ontario has primary jurisdiction and that “This game of chicken between Marineland, the province and Ottawa is totally unacceptable.”

October 14th, 2025: A former trainer at Marineland, who was fired earlier this year, speaks out about the conditions that the beluga whales are living in. She tells the Canadian Press that the tanks “are in desperate need of repair with their painted walls peeling and concrete chunks falling into the water” and that the water system breaks down regularly.

October 11th, 2025: Marineland representatives have told Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls that the company has restructured and borrowed money to continue to buy food for the belugas, dolphins, sea lions, seals, deer and bears — but it’s only a matter of time before it runs out. Ultimately, the mayor says, Marineland and the provincial and the federal governments will need to work together to come up with and agree on a solution.

October 9th, 2025: Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls (where Marineland is located) says the federal government needs to “help us find a solution … We need all hands on deck, everyone needs to row the boat, we all take responsibility for the soft landing of these whales … to work expeditiously to make sure that they get to a sanctuary.” (Video here.)

October 7th, 2025: Marineland appears to pull back from its threat to kill the belugas if the government will not provide funding. The National Post quotes this statement that it received from the company: “Marineland is actively working with the provincial government to find a suitable solution that ensures the health and wellbeing of our 30 beluga whales. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to do so.”

October 6th, 2025: In response to Marineland Canada repeatedly pressing the Government for a permit to export their beluga whales to China or to pay for their care, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson writes: “The fact that Marineland has not planned for a viable alternative despite raising these whales in captivity for many years does not place the onus on the Canadian government to cover your expenses.”

October 3rd, 2025: Marineland Canada says it is running out of money and that without financial support from the federal government, it will have to kill the 30 beluga whales at its shuttered park. (See the full letter here.)

The introduction of orcas, belugas, and dolphins in the 1970s transformed Marineland into one of Canada’s top tourist attractions. At its peak, the park reportedly drew hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, generating substantial revenue from ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. When, in February, Marineland succeeded in its bid to sever its entertainment park from the rest of its property, the park positioned itself to sell its very large swath of land near Niagara Falls, which is considered to be some of the most valuable real estate in Ontario.

(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with ally organizations to press for life-affirming options that must begin with on-site independent health evaluations for each individual whale.)

October 1st, 2025: The federal government has denied a request from Marineland to send its remaining beluga whales to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom aquarium in China. In a statement to the press, Minister Joanne Thompson of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans said that the government’s decision is consistent with the 2019 law (Bill S203, the Ending Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act) that bans whale and dolphin captivity for the purposes of entertainment and forbids breeding. “To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” she said.

“All whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for entertainment purposes,” she said, adding that she was “looking at other decisions that really speak to the health and well-being of the whales.”

(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with our community partners and government to move the sanctuary forward.)

September 26th, 2025: The situation at Marineland is “terrible,” says Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “They have a responsibility to take care of these whales. They need to make sure that they’re healthy.”

September 4th, 2025: Another beluga whale and a harbor seal have died at Marineland. This means a total of 20 beluga whales and the orca Kiska have died there since 2019.  The CBC reports that a group of trespassers apparently “stirred the belugas into a frenzy, the sources said, which led to several younger belugas attacking an older one. The older beluga died a few days later despite efforts by Marineland staff to treat the whale.”

June 17th, 2025: Marineland Canada has begun selling all of its rides. Rides Plus LLC confirmed it is helping to sell the rides that remain in the park. A press release from Amusement Today says the rides are available to be bought by amusement operators, entertainment companies and other qualified buyers.

June 5th, 2025: Marineland Canada says that with the busy summer tourist season approaching, it hasn’t decided if it will re-open this year. “As Marineland has repeatedly publicly stated, we continue to be actively engaged in a sale process and transition to new ownership,” says the statement. “The long-term health and welfare of the animals remains Marineland’s priority in the transition process.” But the CBC reports that “As of Tuesday, [Marineland’s] main phone number wasn’t working, its Facebook page was taken down and its website made no mention of its reopening date.”

February 18th, 2025: At a public hearing, Marineland asks the City of Niagara Falls for permission to divide its property so that it can secure third-party financing that “requires the owner to remove the marine animals from the property expeditiously.” Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, also addresses the meeting and lays out the urgency of finding new homes for all 31 whales, including transferring as many as possible to the sanctuary that the WSP is establishing in Nova Scotia.

February 5th, 2025: Another beluga whale has died at Marineland. The company says it euthanized Eos, a seven-year-old beluga whale, after its “hard-fought battle with multiple medical conditions.” The following week, Member of the Provincial Parliament Wayne Gates calls for the provincial and federal governments to “make sure the animals at Marineland are taken care of, that they’re safe, and that they’re transported where they have to go.”

January 14th, 2025: As news of an impending crisis at Marineland Canada starts to spread around the world, the British newspaper The Guardian reports that “over the past few years, the park has taken a decidedly dark turn as there has been a string of deaths among the world’s largest captive beluga population. Last year, five belugas died at the facility bringing the total number of whales and dolphins to die there since 2019 to more than 20.” The paper notes that journalists say it is “impossible to get a clear sense of why so many whales have died in such a short period of time.” And it notes that Marineland has said publicly that it is actively looking for a buyer.

The post Updates on the Beluga Whales at Marineland Canada appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Dr. Goodall’s discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees make and use tools rocked the scientific world and redefined the relationship between humans and animals.

On learning of her evidence that we humans are not the only creatures capable of making and using tools, the preeminent paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey famously remarked: “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute to advance her work around the world for generations to come. Throughout the 1970s she made known her opposition to capturing wild chimpanzees for display in zoos or for medical research. And in the years that followed, she made the same case for scores of other megafauna.

“She was able to get to know chimpanzees because she approached them with the respect they deserved,” says Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “She had an innate understanding of how she needed to relate to them, which was that she was in their home. She followed their lead, and she let them tell her when they were ready to take the next step. And that’s what they responded to.”

She followed their lead, and she let them tell her when they were ready to take the next step.Much is being said about Dr. Goodall’s extraordinary life and work. But we must take special note here of her recent work for whales and dolphins. She consistently spoke out against the confinement of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in marine parks and aquariums, emphasizing the psychological and physical harm caused by captivity.

A year after passage in Canada of Bill S-203, The Ending the Captivity of Whale and Dolphins Act, she lent her name to a second bill, The Jane Goodall Act, to strengthen the provisions of S-203 and expand protections to elephants, great apes and other wild animals in captivity.

In January 2023, she issued a video message urging the Flemish Minister for Animal Welfare to end dolphin captivity and breeding at Boudewijn Seapark.

A year later, in February 2024, as the plight of the mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo became known to the public, she wrote to the French Minister of Ecology recommending that they be retired to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia: “A sanctuary environment will provide them with their first-ever opportunity to live out their lives in a stimulating environment where they have the space they need to swim and dive, and, most importantly, to begin to have a level of autonomy and choice in how they spend their days. I recommend that the Ministry do all possible to ensure that these orcas can be moved to the cetacean sanctuary in Nova Scotia.”

While she was clear-eyed about the harm that we humans are inflicting on our fellow animals, Dr. Goodall always believed that young people today can be a force for change – just as she was at their age. In 1991, in Tanzania, she launched Roots and Shoots, an organization that began with 12 students and has grown to become a global movement to empower youth to use their voices and ideas to address issues that matter most to them in their own communities.

In honoring her work, we can perhaps best simply echo the words of her colleagues at the Jane Goodall Institute in saying that “She blazed the trail … the rest is up to us.”

The post In Memory of Dr. Jane Goodall appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This morning, the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) denied Marineland Canada’s application to export their 30 surviving beluga whales to a marine entertainment park in China. DFO Minister Joanne Thompson said that she could not “in good conscience” approve the export and that “to approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment.” The Whale Sanctuary Project fully supports this compassionate decision.

In 2019, Canada passed legislation to bring an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity as a form of entertainment. The law also mandates that the Minister can issue an export permit only if it is for the purpose of conducting scientific research or if keeping a cetacean in captivity elsewhere is in the best interests of its welfare.

“The first step is for independent veterinarians to conduct comprehensive health evaluations of each beluga.”
Other governments around the world have been taking similar action in response to the growing public outcry against the exploitation of these cognitively complex animals whose intelligence and emotional sensitivity rivals our own. It is time to bring an end worldwide to the capture, breeding and use of whales for entertainment

What will happen now to the whales and dolphins at Marineland?

“The first step is for independent veterinarians to conduct comprehensive health evaluations of each beluga, as well as the dolphins at Marineland,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It is only with the knowledge of each individual’s health and welfare that responsible decisions can be made about what is best for them. These belugas have entertained millions of people and earned millions of dollars for Marineland’s owners. These whales deserve a dignified, supportive and compassionate retirement.”

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The paper describes the growing need for ocean-based sanctuaries for captive cetaceans in response to increasing concerns about the welfare of these animals in marine parks and aquariums.

It proposes that ocean-based sanctuaries for cetaceans, which more closely mirror the natural environment to which cetaceans have adapted over millions of years, are a better option than concrete tanks for governments and organizations seeking to re-home captive whales and dolphins who cannot be released into the ocean.

These characteristics distinguish science-based sanctuaries from commercial operations that call themselves sanctuaries but are engaged in exploitation.The Whale Sanctuary Project, National Aquarium and Sea Life Trust, who are all engaged in establishing sanctuaries for whales and dolphins, worked together to produce the first foundational document for defining and implementing authentic cetacean sanctuaries and science-based professional accreditation guidelines.

These guidelines were formally adopted by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) in 2023 and can be viewed here.

Valerie Taylor, executive director of GFAS, writes: “As public attitudes continue to shift and dolphin and whale exhibits close around the world, there’s an urgent need for real alternatives – places that offer not just exemplary care, but space, choice, and a more natural life. True seaside sanctuaries can provide all of that, and now we have a way to recognize and support them.”

The paper describes three signature characteristics of authentic cetacean sanctuaries: place, principles, and practices. These characteristics distinguish science-based sanctuaries from commercial operations that merely call themselves sanctuaries but are engaged in exploitation.

• Fundamental to place is a natural environment. Authentic sanctuaries, for all wild animals, are places designed to not only allow the residents to survive, but, more importantly, to flourish.
• The foundational principle for all sanctuaries is to prioritize the well-being and autonomy of the residents. Sanctuaries free the residents to spend their days largely unfettered by human interests.
• And practices are consistent with traditional marine parks in terms of providing high quality veterinary care, regular health assessments, food, and safety. However, an important distinction is that in authentic sanctuaries breeding is prevented in order to bring an end altogether to keeping wild animals in captivity.

The creation of these standards advances accountability and transparency about what constitutes an authentic sanctuary and heralds a new stage in our understanding of and relationship to these highly intelligent, complex mammals.

The Whale Sanctuary Project, the National Aquarium, and SEA LIFE TRUST are all currently engaged in different phases of establishing accredited cetacean sanctuaries. The paper’s authors (Lori Marino, Charles Vinick, Katy Foster, Jeff Foster, Rob Hicks, Graham McGrath, John Racanelli, Janesse Brewer), all experts in the field of cetacean science at the forefront of the sanctuary movement, are proud to see their work made available through a publication as distinguished and respected as PLOS Biology. They share the collective vision of authentic cetacean sanctuaries becoming the standard of care for captive dolphins and whales until no healthy cetaceans are kept in any form of captivity.

About PLOS Biology: PLOS (Public Library of Science) Biology, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of biology, is designed to advance science and the communities who depend upon it and to transform research communication to fit the research process. Evolving article types and policies empower authors to share the full story behind their science with a global audience of researchers, educators, policy makers, patient advocacy groups, and the public.

The post Peer Reviewed Paper Calls for Accredited Cetacean Sanctuaries appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

At the end of last week, the Spanish government rejected what appeared to be a firm plan to transfer orcas Wikie and Keijo from Marineland Antibes to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands.

Marineland Antibes, which closed its entertainment park in January, had been preparing to transfer Wikie and Keijo to the Spanish zoo this week. Following this announcement, however, French Minister of Ecology Agnès Pannier-Runacher ordered Marineland to care for the animals at its facility in France until another solution can be found.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work with the French government, with Marineland Antibes, and with any and all other organizations to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia.

Last September, in its formal recommendations to the French government, the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Ecology called the Whale Sanctuary Project the best sanctuary solution for Wikie and Keijo.

It remains the only viable solution. And we remain ready to work with the French government and with Marineland Antibes to bring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.

While we press ahead to complete construction at the sanctuary site, we remain committed to collaborating with our colleagues at One Voice,  with the management and caregivers at Marineland Antibes, and with other NGOs to assist in caring for Wikie and Keijo in their concrete pools.

In its 52-page report to the Department of Ecological Biodiversity, the French Inspectorate stated with respect to the Whale Sanctuary Project:

“The solidity of the team and the dossier [they filed], the fact that the project was initiated several years ago, well before the sole question of the future of the orcas at Marineland in Antibes, the medium and long-term projection, make it the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.”

And after reviewing all the plans that were submitted, the Inspectorate concluded:

“Concerning orcas, [the Inspectorate] considers that only the Nova Scotia sanctuary project, supported by the Whale Sanctuary Project, meets the criteria of the [government’s Call for Expressions of Interest] in terms of technical quality, feasibility on time and financial sustainability, even if the project is experimental in nature and carries an inherent share of risk.”

The decision of the Spanish government to reject Marineland’s plan to send Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo is late in coming. But it is the right decision. And it brings ever greater urgency for all of us – government, marine parks, nonprofit organizations, and benefactors – to work together to give these highly intelligent, social and emotionally sensitive beings the immediate care they need and then to retire them to sanctuary as soon as possible.

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Chief Tamara Young states, “Every living species is important to the Mi’kmaq. Respecting and caring for them are part of our traditional understandings and long-held cultural beliefs … If we can have a role in helping to move whales out of captivity into a more natural and freer environment, then we will certainly do that.”

The release adds, “(T)he Assembly support these animals living out the rest of their lives in a natural ocean environment on the unceded and traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has been participating in consultation with the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia since we first arrived in Nova Scotia. “We see tremendous parallels between Mi’kmaw values and knowledge systems and the mission of the Whale Sanctuary Project,” says our CEO, Charles Vinick. “We look forward to working with the Council of Chiefs going forward and incorporating Mi’kmaw teachings and knowledge in our programs throughout Nova Scotia.”

Here is the Assembly’s full statement, followed by a plain text version:

Doors Open for Discussions About Establishing a MOU on the Whale Sanctuary Project

For several years a group of dedicated individuals have been working toward establishing the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) – the first seaside sanctuary for marine mammals in North America – to be located in Wine Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn ¹ was first notified about the WSP’s lease request through the Terms of Reference for a Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia–Canada Consultation Process in October 2021. Since that time, discussions have been ongoing with the Nova Scotia government and the team at the WSP about this important project.

Since its inception, the WSP has been working to bring whales and dolphins currently held in captivity to a seaside sanctuary they are looking to create in the waters off Nova Scotia.

“Every living species is important to the Mi’kmaq.  Respecting and caring for them are part of our traditional understandings and long-held cultural beliefs.  Opening discussions to work alongside the WSP is something that we are all very intrigued by,” said Chief Tamara Young, Co-Lead of Environment, Energy and Mines with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Assembly).

The marine mammal market does not align with Mi’kmaw principals and the Assembly support these animals living out the rest of their lives in a natural ocean environment on the unceded and traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq.

“If we can have a role in helping to move whales out of captivity into a more natural and freer environment, then we will certainly do that,” continued Chief Young. “We understand that WSP has a lot more work to make the sanctuary happen, but the issue was too important for the Mi’kmaq not to be involved with and to express our support for.  These marine animals are not just resources, they are spiritual beings with a purpose and must be respected”.

It is hoped in the coming weeks, discussions will continue so that an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) can be established between the WSP and the Assembly.

“We share similar values with WSP when it comes to protecting these marine animals, such as respect, reciprocity, sharing and stewardship. WSP has made strong commitments to incorporate and amplify Mi’kmaw values and knowledge systems throughout its operations and we appreciate that. We look forward to seeing where these discussions go and to help bring an end to the exploitation of whales living in captivity and finding ways to protect them in our shared oceans”, said Chief Young.

¹ Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn is an initiative that represents the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia in discussions with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada regarding the implementation of their rights and treaties. It operates under the direction of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs and focuses on rights implementation and protection of Mi’kmaq interests. The initiative was developed by the Mi’kmaq for the Mi’kmaq, emphasizing self-determination and community involvement in decision-making processes.

The post Mi’kmaq Nation & Whale Sanctuary Work Toward Official Relationship appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

At a special hearing in the city of Niagara Falls on February 18th, we learned that Marineland Canada is transitioning to new ownership, that any potential sale of the park has not yet been completed, and, according to a lawyer who represents Marineland, that the company needs a loan “to maintain the property and the mammals.”

The “mammals” needing to be “maintained” do not, however, include the “marine animals”, among whom are a large number of beluga whales confined to small tanks. The reason they are not included, the lawyer explained, is because the financing that Marineland has secured “requires the owner to remove the marine animals from the property EXPEDITIOUSLY.”

Marineland remains something of a black box. We know that at least 18 beluga whales, one dolphin, and the sole remaining orca Kiska have died since 2019. Thirty-one whales are still alive, but we don’t know the state of health of any of them. (A Canadian Press reporter and photographer who last visited the park in 2023 were banned from entering the property after their report was published.)

At the hearing, the chairman of Niagara Falls Committee of Adjustment kept emphasizing that the sole purpose of the hearing was to consider the minor legal question of whether Marineland could temporarily divide its property into separate parcels in order to secure the loan.

But since the committee could not prevent the public from voicing their concerns, several representatives of animal protection organizations rose to make the case that Marineland should simply not be allowed to remove any whales, dolphins and other marine mammals “expeditiously.”

And however much the chairman kept claiming that the hearing had nothing to do with the welfare of the whales, it was beyond obvious that “removing the marine animals from the property expeditiously” had everything to do with the welfare of the whales, especially considering that it is widely believed that the owners of a Chinese aquarium are positioning themselves to purchase the Marineland belugas.

The first speaker to address the committee about the marine mammals was Dr. Lori Marino, president of the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP), who laid out the urgency of finding new homes for all 31 whales, including transferring as many as possible to the sanctuary that the WSP is establishing in Nova Scotia. Here is the text of her remarks:

Melissa Matlow, campaign director for the Canadian chapter of World Animal Protection, spoke to the fact that attitudes toward the exploitation of cetaceans has changed greatly in recent years. “We are very willing partners to help with an emergency solution for the animals,” she added, “and would be happy to meet with Marineland and other important stakeholders … to transfer these animals to sanctuaries.”

Ms. Matlow also submitted this letter for the record:

And retired Senator Wilfred Moore, who, in 2016, introduced the Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act to Parliament, reminded the committee that a key element of the law is “to provide for the best interests of the cetaceans’ welfare.”

Hon. Moore, who is also a board member of our Canadian charitable entity, reminded the committee members that their responsibility for taking the welfare of the whales into consideration “is not something that can be lightly dismissed.”

He pointed out that the law provides for the committee to act in the best interests of the cetaceans, which does not mean simply moving them from one facility to another.

The law provides for the committee to act in the best interests of the cetaceans.
“I don’t think we should let a money-driven requirement be used as an excuse to move these smart, intelligent roaming social communicative creatures out of one tank into another,” he said. “This is a federal law. It’s the will and the intent of the Parliament of Canada. It can’t be dismissed lightly.”

The committee responded to this by asking the lawyer representing Marineland for his opinion – not exactly an objective one! – on whether the committee could impose conditions on its approval of his client’s request.

The bottom line was that the committee had clearly already decided to approve the division of the property. And that’s exactly what it did.

According to the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, these animals can only be sent to another facility for their own welfare or for research purposes. In 2021, Marineland was granted a permit to export five whales to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut for “research” purposes. Three of the five died – two within a few months of being transferred.

Even though it is technically within the law for Marineland to export whales to a theme park under the “research” provision, once the whales have left Canada, there’s nothing to stop a theme park from doing whatever it wants. And any maneuver of this kind is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of the law.

Right now, the Whale Sanctuary Project is talking with people in government, with other NGOs, and with people in the media about how these whales could be considered a national priority. This would ensure that the Department of Fisheries & Oceans does not summarily issue a permit for Marineland to export them.

A decision of this kind would put a hold on transferring the whales anywhere until:

a) the whales can be examined by a team of independent veterinarians who can assess their health and determine what kind of care they need and who among them can be safely transferred;

b) the Whale Sanctuary Project has completed raising the funds needed to finish construction at the sanctuary site in Nova Scotia;

c) options have been fully explored for the whales who cannot be transferred to the sanctuary.

Over the 64 years since 1961, when Marineland first put whales and dolphins on show, these animals have entertained millions of people and made many millions of dollars in profits. It is beyond time to acknowledge that we owe those who are still alive a humane retirement.

The very notion of a city planning committee in Niagara Falls voting to deprioritize their welfare speaks to concerns about the way we treat our fellow animals in today’s world.

It’s time for zoos and aquariums, marine entertainment parks, animal welfare organizations, government agencies and Marineland all to work together to address the crisis facing the animals there.

The post Marineland Canada Seeks to Remove Whales “Expeditiously” appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes: In our blog post on February 16th, we reported that the French government had rejected our proposal to retire the mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo from the entertainment park Marineland Antibes, which closed in January, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The reasons given by the Minister of Ecology were that a “panel of experts” had told her that the sanctuary waters would be too cold for the orcas – a point which we swiftly refuted with scientific evidence – and that the sanctuary would not be ready in time to accommodate the fact that Marineland Antibes now wants to transfer Wikie and Keijo out of their facility immediately.

While Marineland’s intent is to send the two whales to another commercial facility, the Minister posted on Instagram that she wanted to create a sanctuary “in collaboration with Italy, Spain and Greece.” We responded to this by pointing out that all available data on the temperature ranges suitable for orcas indicate that Mediterranean waters will be too warm for Wikie and Keijo. We added that, regardless, we would still offer our assistance to any viable sanctuary solution and collaborate with any other organization that can provide an alternative to the whales being consigned to another tank environment.

We have heard nothing further from the government, and sources in France believe that Marineland Antibes is expected to send Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands as soon as can be arranged.

The 31 beluga whales at Marineland Canada: Meanwhile, a similar situation is unfolding across the Atlantic, where the future of Marineland Canada (no relation to Marineland Antibes) remains uncertain. The management is looking to consign all 31 belugas, along with dolphins and other marine animals to another entertainment park or aquarium as quickly as possible.

We are in urgent discussions with other animal welfare organizations and legal experts with a view to a hold being placed on any of these animals being exported to other facilities while we explore how many we might be able to accommodate at the Nova Scotia sanctuary and how best to provide for the care of the others.

We will update you on this as soon as we have further news.

The post The Two Marinelands appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Today, February 16th, 2025, the Whale Sanctuary Project issued the following statement regarding the French Ministry of Ecological Transition’s expression of interest in creating a sanctuary in collaboration with Italy, Spain and Greece as a possible solution to the plight of the orcas Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes:

To move to the next page, hover over the embedded pdf and click on the arrow.

We also sent the following related letter to Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher:

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The post Whale Sanctuary Project Offers Help in Providing Sanctuary Solution for Marineland Antibes Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In a letter to the Whale Sanctuary Project, dated January 16th, 2025, and received on Monday,  January 20th, Mme. Célia de Lavergne, Directrice de l’eau et de la biodiversité at the Ministry of Ecological Diversity, writes that the government has decided not to accept our application, submitted in April 2024 as part of an official Expression of Interest, to retire the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The Director writes that our application was evaluated by a panel of scientific experts. However, not one member of this panel ever reached out to us to discuss any concerns they might have had. And we cannot help but question why the Ministry would reject the relocation of Wikie and Keijo to a natural seaside sanctuary without discussing any of this panel’s concerns with us.

(Richt-click or use cmd+ on Mac or Ctrl Ctrl in Windows to magnify these images.)

Our proposal also provided enough time for independent veterinarians to conduct an essential assessment of Wikie and Keijo’s health – physical, mental and emotional – and to treat any conditions. During that time, we proposed that the Whale Sanctuary team would complete the fundraising needed to be ready to welcome the whales while engaging in a collaborative relationship with the orcas’ current caregivers and preparing the whales for their transport.

We also welcomed the opportunity for some of Wikie and Keijo’s current caregivers to travel with them and to continue their caregiving work as part of our team in Nova Scotia.

However, crucial time was lost in the nine months that the Ministry allowed to elapse before replying to our application. On the day that we received the Ministry’s letter, January 20th, 2025, we requested a call to learn more about the timeframe requested by Marineland, the scientific issues raised about the water temperature in Nova Scotia and its suitability for orcas, and the scientific experts who reviewed our Expression of Interest.

The Ministry responded in an email, saying simply:

“After careful review, we regret to inform you that your project could not meet the scheduling requirements of Marineland, which ceased its operations in January 5, 2025. This timeline constraint made it impossible to align with the necessary conditions for the project to proceed.”

This nine-month delay in responding to our Expression of Interest foreclosed the option of retiring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary.

Through subsequent phone conversations with our contacts at the French government, we have learned that the only remaining option for Wikie and Keijo is to be sent to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands, Spain. We were told that under French law, the government can prevent the whales from being sent to Japan, but they cannot prevent a permit to send Wikie and Keijo to another park in the European Union (EU) that meets the regulatory and welfare laws in the EU, of which France is a member. The French government would have to develop another legal reason for preventing the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo.

We have asked the French government to consider organizing a meeting with the owners of Marineland Antibes, or even Loro Parque, so that together we can all identify a solution that best serves the welfare of Wikie and Keijo. We have offered to cover the costs of care for Wikie and Keijo to remain at Marineland Antibes while we complete fundraising and construction at the sanctuary. But, per our sources at the French government, Marineland refuses to consider any agreement with a sanctuary. Marineland is aware of our offer but prefers to move the whales out on a timeline that is as fast as possible.

Loro Parque has a history characterized by poor husbandry decisions, lack of transparency, imprudent practices regarding orca breeding and infant care, and an overall inability to provide enough space or enrichment for adequate orca welfare. (See our white paper, Report on Orca Welfare at Loro Parque: Past and Present, here.) Given the poor welfare record of Loro Parque, it would be a tragic mistake for the Ministry to dismiss the opportunity the sanctuary holds for Wikie and Keijo to lead healthier lives.

It is not too late for the French government to convene all of us – the government, Marineland Antibes, and the Whale Sanctuary Project – to do what is best for Wikie and Keijo.

In the best interests of Wikie and Keijo, we urge the Ministry to reconsider its decision.

The post Ministry of Ecological Transition Rejects Application to Bring Orcas from Marineland Antibes to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The results of these analyses are presented in the PDF document below. Based on the analyses and expert recommendations, we have concluded that sanctuary’s chosen site in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, poses negligible risks to future whale residents and the whales, in turn, will pose no risk to their new environment and the many species who call it home.

The report below focuses specifically on the research and analyses to determine potential risks posed to the sanctuary’s residents and the native marine ecosystem. It includes the following contents:

I. Summary of Whale Sanctuary Site Marine Environmental Analyses (PDF p. 3)

• Environmental Site Assessments (PDF p. 4);
• Marine Ecological Risk Assessment Conclusions (PDF p. 5-6);
• Scientific Literature Review (PDF p.7);
• Marine Expert Consultation (PDF p.8);
• Consultation and Analyses with Arsenic Expert Dr. Ken Reimer (PDF p. 9-10);
• Conclusions (PDF p. 11).

II. Marine Ecological Risk Assessment (MERA) conducted by Dillon Consulting Limited (PDF p. 12-427)

• Marine Ecological Risk Assessment (PDF p. 13-136);
• Appendices (PDF p. 137-437).

III. Assessment of Potential Arsenic Impacts by Dr. Ken Reimer (PDF p.428-437).

Here is the complete report:

The above work represents just one aspect of a much larger and comprehensive array of studies undertaken over the past several years. These have included:

• acoustic studies of the marine environment;
• water quality and water temperature analyses throughout all seasons;
• impact assessments during hurricanes;
• seasonal wave, tide, and current measurements;
• hydrodynamic modeling of the sanctuary waters;
• migratory bird analyses; flora and fauna review;
• eel grass productivity and location analyses;
• an archaeological resource impact assessment (ARIA);
• terrestrial and marine geotechnical surveys.

Findings of these reports are discussed in posts on our website as follows:

A Deep Dive into Environmental Analyses

Diving into the Final Environmental Site Assessment

Site Geography and Environmental Analyses

The post Conclusions of Marine Environmental Site Analyses at the Whale Sanctuary Project Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Here’s a shoutout to just a few of the hundreds of people and organizations who have made a difference to the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project in 2024:

Muriel Arnal and her team at One Voice, France, have been working for many years to give whales and dolphins a chance to be retired to sanctuary. In addition to their legal and advocacy work in France, their advice and support have been key to the possibility of retiring Wikie and Keijo, the mother-and-son orcas at Marineland Antibes, to sanctuary.

Hyung-Ju Lee, the founder of AWARE in South Korea, reached out on our behalf to LotteWorld Aquarium, which led to our signing a joint Letter of Intent “to enter a dialogue concerning the relocation of the beluga whale known as Bella” to the sanctuary.

The Honourable Wilfred Moore has been a guiding hand in much of our work to establish the sanctuary in Nova Scotia since his retirement from the Canadian Senate in 2017. Hon. Moore is best known for having introduced the bill that went on to become the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which became law in 2019.

Muriel Arnal, Lori Marino & Hyung-Ju Lee, Wilfred Moore, Jane Goodall, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sylvia Earle, Schluter School students.

Dr. Jane Goodall, in her letter in February 2024 to the French government, strongly endorsed the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for the relocation of the orcas Wikie, Keijo and Inouk from Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia. (The death of Inouk, just a month later, only added urgency to the need for Wikie and Keijo to be retired to sanctuary.) Many thanks, too, to Dr. Sylvia Earle and Jean-Michel Cousteau for their support of the outreach to the French government.

The 4th-Grade Students at Schluter Elementary School in Haslet, Texas, were featured by NBC TV news when they sent handwritten pleas to the Minister of Ecology in France. Their letters and drawings explained why the orcas Wikie and Keijo should go to an ocean sanctuary rather than to a zoo in the Canary Islands or an aquarium in Japan. Their teacher, Rachel Friend, has been championing the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project for the past few years through her Wild for Whales learning program.

The Volunteers in our local town of Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, contributed more than 1,400 hours of their time, energy and incredi­ble passion for whales this year. From welcoming people to the Operations & Visitors Centre to setting up and running the booths at street fairs and other events across the province, they are an integral part of establishing the sanctuary.

Representatives of the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) are forming a working group with us. It is intended to foster ongoing collaboration and cultural exchange through the sanctuary’s future Interpretation Centre.

Local Fishers, Luna Sea Solutions, and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq planned and supported the successful deployment of the Wine Harbour Buoy, the first near-real time wave buoy on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. Part of a growing network of buoys around Nova Scotia, the Wine Harbour Buoy provides environmental data that is key to our monitoring of the sanctuary site and improves the quality and availability of marine weather information for fishers, oceanographers and the many other communities who live, play and work on the water.

And to all of you who support the Whale Sanctuary Project – whether with major grants to the capital campaign or with your regular donations, large or small. Every donation matters. We greatly appreciate them and together they make this work possible.

Many thanks, too, to the volunteers and advocates of all ages and backgrounds. Your support of this pioneering work has been at the heart of all the progress this year in the myriad of steps that go into the development of the sanctuary.

Thank you again, and a healthy, happy and successful New Year to all.

The post 2024: A Team Effort to Help the Whales Who Need It Most appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On Friday, November 22nd, Loro Parque Zoo reported “the loss of our beloved 29-year-old male orca Keto.” The previous day on social media, they had warned that he had been seriously ill for several weeks.

In a brief eulogy, the zoo wrote: “For the Loro Parque family, Keto was not just an ambassador of his kind, but an irreplaceable being who left an indelible mark on our hearts.”

And in the wake of Keto’s death, the zoo may be able to replenish their diminishing collection of orcas with the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes: Wikie and her son Keijo.

Keto’s history as an “ambassador”

While Loro Parque Zoo’s statement that Keto’s death was a blow to his caregivers was undoubtedly true, we have to ask what it means to say that a captive orca is, or can ever be, an “ambassador” to the audiences who come to see him perform.

That is especially, and tragically, true for Keto, in that the single “message” that Keto ever delivered to the world beyond his tank is that a stressed, aggressive orca in a concrete tank is a bomb waiting to go off. And on  December 24th, 2009, that bomb exploded when the 6,600-pound orca dragged his trainer, Alexis Martínez, to the bottom of the pool and killed him.

More on that in a moment. But first, what does the death of Keto mean for Wikie and Keijo, the surviving mother-and-son orcas at Marineland Antibes in the south of France?

What it could mean for Loro Parque Zoo to acquire Wikie and Keijo

For Loro Parque, with the death of yet another orca – the fourth in the last three years – Wikie and Keijo could represent an opportunity to replenish their “stock.” And given the whales’ relatively young ages, Wikie and Keijo could make good breeders for the zoo.

And since French law is bringing an end to displaying whales and dolphins in France, the zoo might be able to obtain a new pair of “beloved ambassadors.”

What drove Keto to kill his trainer?

Writing in Outside Online after Keto had killed Alexis Martinez in 2009, journalist Tim Zimmerman noted that for several months before the attack, Martínez had been telling his girlfriend that all was not well at the zoo’s Orca Ocean exhibit, telling her “there was a lot of aggression between the killer whales and that they sometimes refused to obey commands, disrupting training and the shows.”

The young novice was feeling especially concerned about the upcoming Christmas show. “My job is especially risky, and I really need to be well rested and ready,” he’d said. “With everything that is going on, something could happen at any time.”

And just a short time later, it did happen.

Keto at Loro Parque Zoo

Born in 1995, Keto had spent his life being shuttled among entertainment parks: from SeaWorld Orlando to SeaWorld San Diego, and then to SeaWorld San Antonio before being sent to Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands.

Now aged 10, he had arrived on a wide-body transport plane along with Tekoa, a young male from SeaWorld San Antonio, and two young females, Kohana and Skyla, who had been separated from their mothers at SeaWorld Orlando for the move. Zimmerman writes:

“The four Loro Parque killer whales also struggled to adapt to one another. In the wild, most killer whales live in family groupings, or pods, with a well-organized matriarchal structure. Keto, Skyla, Kohana and Tekoa were all bred and born in marine parks, but they had been removed from their established social structures at SeaWorld San Antonio and SeaWorld Orlando.

Keto was already stressed and angry. He dragged Martinez to the bottom of the pool and killed him. “Without the ties of family or language, marine park whales have to sort out an ad hoc social pecking order, often through bullying and aggression, which sometimes results in a relatively stable grouping and sometimes not. The social structure was likely complicated at Loro Parque because there was no mature and clearly dominant female to establish order.”

In 2009, as Loro Parque hurried to open its new Orca Ocean exhibit, experienced SeaWorld trainers from the United States were being rotated in and out of Loro Parque to help train the new staff. Among them was Dawn Brancheau, who formed a close friendship with Alexis Martinez during her visit from SeaWorld Orlando.

But Keto was already stressed and angry, and soon after Brancheau returned home to the U.S., Keto dragged Martinez to the bottom of the pool and killed him.

Even more tragically, just a few months later at SeaWorld Orlando, the stressed and depressed orca Tilikum would kill Brancheau. And while her death would spark shock around the world, Loro Parque managed to prevent the death of Martinez from being widely reported.

But if Loro Parque could keep the death of one its trainers under wraps, they could not hide the death of the orcas: Victoria, a 10-year-old female, in 2013; Skyla, a 17-year-old female, in 2021; Ula, a 2-year-old female in 2021; Kohana, a 20-year-old female in 2022; and now Keto.

In the wake of all these deaths, Wikie and Keijo represent potential new “ambassadors.” (On its website, the zoo is now calling itself the “Loro Parque Animal Embassy.”)

The options now for Wikie and Keijo

Until recently, the French government was considering three possible options for Wikie and Keijo: the Kobe Suma aquarium in Japan (with which Marineland Antibes had already entered into a contract), Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands, or retirement to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

On November 25th, the French Minister of Ecology took the Kobe Suma aquarium off the table when she announced that she would not permit them to be shipped to an aquarium in Japan.

That leaves two choices for their future: to be put on display at Loro Parque Zoo, where Wikie could also be bred, or to retirement to the true, natural “orca ocean” of the Whale Sanctuary.

Our ability to demonstrate that we can raise the remaining funds needed to complete the sanctuary and to care for the whales could help tip the scale in favor of the Whale Sanctuary.

That’s why, as we approach the end of 2024, we are laying out the full picture of the options for Wikie and her son Keijo.

Your donation of whatever size – large or small, one-time or sustaining – is what it will now take to demonstrate that we can complete the sanctuary and welcome these two surviving whales.

Your urgent and immediate Holiday gift can be the gift of a new life for them beyond their wildest imagining.

Thank you for your continued support.

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The post What Kind of “Ambassador” Was the Orca Keto at Loro Parque Zoo? appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

“I have heard the warnings from NGOs about the future of the two orcas at Marineland. Japanese parks are subject to legislation that is less protective of animals than in Europe. In addition, traveling 13,000 kilometers would obviously be dangerous for their health.

“So, I have decided to oppose the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Japan.”

This is good news for the whales, and Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher clearly appreciated all the messages from NGO’s, global leaders and children.

Going forward, this decision presents two options for Wikie and Keijo: Retirement to the Whale Sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia; or transfer to Loro Parque Zoo at the Tenerife tourist resort in the Canary Islands.

Our team is working on all fronts to welcome Wikie and Keijo in mid-2025: from diplomatic efforts with government officials and collaboration with other NGOs, to finalizing design and engineering plans and readying the site for development.

The decision between sanctuary and marine park now likely hangs on whether the Whale Sanctuary Project can raise the remaining funds to be ready to welcome Wikie and Keijo in mid-2025. This fundraising effort for Wikie and Keijo must demonstrate we can actualize our plan as soon as possible.

We invite everyone who cares about this mother and her son to spread the word about their story and to donate what you can to give them a new and better life in an ocean sanctuary.

Thank you for supporting this work.

The Whale Sanctuary Project
https://whalesanctuary.org
info@whalesanctuary.org

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Bella has been alone for the last five years. Originally, she shared her small tank with two other belugas. They had all been sent to LotteWorld Aquarium soon after their capture from Russian waters in 2013. But Bella’s tankmates, Bello and Belli, both died young: Bello at just 5 years old in 2016, and Belli at age 12 in 2019.

Bella is close to 20 feet long, and her tank is about 45×36 feet and 24 feet deep. All day, she experiences ambient loud music, along with people taking selfies and children banging on the glass window to get her attention.

Sensitive to the urgent need to improve Bella’s quality of life, in 2019 LotteWorld Aquarium pledged that it would release Bella. But the problem was, where would she go? Some argued for her to be returned to the ocean from where she was captured. Others responded that even though she was born in the ocean, Bella would have a hard time surviving as a solitary whale.

In February 2021, the Whale Sanctuary Project was introduced to Hyung-Ju Lee, the CEO of the Korean animal welfare organization AWARE, by one of our board members, Naomi Rose. AWARE conducts research programs and cooperative investigations to help create a society where the quality of life is guaranteed for animals of all kinds. In April 2022, with Hyung-Ju’s help, the Whale Sanctuary Project began direct discussions with LotteWorld Aquarium about the possibility of Bella coming to the sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

What Does a Letter of Intent Mean for Bella?

Photo of Bella by Hot Pink Dolphins.

For any captive whale to have a chance at life in sanctuary, the first step is a willingness on the part of their current owners to consider a collaborative effort with our organization. This Letter of Intent is that first critical step toward the possibility of a new life for Bella. The Letter of Intent is not yet a contractual agreement and does not confirm Bella’s retirement to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, but it does demonstrate the desire LotteWorld Aquarium has to work with our team to secure a better future for Bella.

The Letter of Intent is the first critical step toward a new life for Bella.We are also aware of another beluga, known as Ruby, on display at Aqua Planet Yeosu on the south coast of the Korean peninsula. In December 2023, the government of South Korea announced that aquariums would be banned, effective immediately, from purchasing any new cetaceans for display. Ruby may also soon need a new home, and our team is interested in exploring a similar collaboration with Aqua Planet that might provide for Ruby’s future.

We still have critically important funds to raise to complete the first phase of sanctuary construction, and as we press ahead on a daily basis, your donations, large or small, regular or one-time, are the lifeblood of this work as we seek to give a new life to captive whales.

Thank you for your love and commitment to these magnificent animals.

In our next post in this Giving Tuesday series, we’ll write about the 30 still-surviving beluga whales at Marineland Canada. And after that, we’ll discuss how we can divide the 100-acre space of the sanctuary to include both orcas and beluga whales, should that opportunity present itself. Our organization is uniquely equipped to respond to whales in need and, taken with the urgency facing each individual whale, we must pursue every opportunity to help.

The post South Korean Aquarium Signals Intent to Send Beluga Whale to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

For a helpful parallel, we asked Scott Blais, the founder of Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, what it was like for Guillermina, an elephant who had been born in a concrete pit at a zoo and had lived there for 24 years – all alone most of that time – before being rescued and brought to their sanctuary.

Elephants are the largest of all land animals. And in the wild, a family of elephants walks tens of miles every day. (In the ocean, a pod of whales can travel a hundred miles a day.) Built to walk many miles, but with nowhere to go, Guillermina had simply paced around her cell in small circles. Round and round; over and over.

You might think, then, that she’d be thrilled to run into the fields and forests of an elephant sanctuary. But at first, Scott told us, Guillermina didn’t want to go anywhere. She just wanted to walk in small circles, just like she’d done for years in the concrete pit at the zoo where she’d been born 24 years earlier.

Scott wasn’t surprised by Guillermina’s behavior. After all, she’d never even witnessed the sun rising or setting on the horizon. She knew nothing of the expanse of the world beyond. Her whole universe was that concrete pit.

How had she survived psychologically in a world for which nature had not equipped her? In the face of solitary confinement, year after year, Scott speculates that she might have come to imagine one of the rocks in the wall as her imaginary friend. We humans are known to do things like that when we’re held in solitary for long periods. Had she constructed a kind of alternate reality – a reality that had helped her survive in that cell? And when she was taken out of the pit, might she even have worried at first about losing the only world she’d known?

“Everything was new to her,” Scott says. “The sand, the grass, the mud, the space, the views, the other elephants. So, at first, she just did circles, as she’d always done in her cell. And then figure eights. And then bigger circles. And then two-acre circles. And then ten-acre circles. And finally, she doesn’t do circles anymore.”

A dynamic world of tides and waves with sand and sea grass and creatures crawling around whom they’ve never even imagined, let alone lived with.Just like an elephant in a pit, whales do circles, too, in a concrete tank. For a whale who was born in a tank, what will it be like at first, arriving in an ocean environment? No longer the still, silent world of a barren pool; instead, the dynamic world of tides and waves and wind. And with sand and sea grass and creatures crawling around whom they’ve never even imagined, let alone lived with. It could be scary, at first, just as the forest was to Guillermina at her sanctuary.

That’s why, when whales come to the sanctuary, we won’t just be dropping them into the huge 100-acre world of Port Hilford Bay. Instead, they’ll spend time, as long as they need to, in the secure and comfortable space of a bay pen until they are ready to head out into the much larger space of the full sanctuary.

The bay pen we’re designing and engineering is the first of its kind. Situated within the bounds of the mile-long perimeter net, it will be the size of a football field, much larger than the concrete pool the whales will have lived in for so long. It will be a contained space from which, as soon as they’re ready, they will be able to come and go as they please. And there will be people – the only other animals they’ve ever known – who are close by at all times.

Scott says that with each day that passes, he and his team can see the veil lifting and a glimpse of Guillermina’s true personality shining through. “To see her explore the sanctuary with all it has to offer,” he says, “knowing this is the beginning of the rest of her life, is truly magnificent.

We can all look forward to watching a similar transformation for each of the whales who comes to the sanctuary we’re establishing for them in Nova Scotia.

Photos of Guillermina by Global Sanctuary for Elephants

The post How to Welcome a Whale to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In the kind of world we want to see for all whales and dolphins, the orca Wikie would have been born among her family in the North Atlantic Ocean. She, in turn, would have raised her own sons, Moana and Keijo, with the help of her mother, her aunts and her sisters. And all of this would have been the great joy of her life.

In reality, though, that’s not what happened. Wikie’s mother and father would be captured and sold to Marineland Antibes in the South of France. And Wikie, in due course, would give birth to two children, not in the ocean but in the same concrete tank in which she’d grown up.

It seemed that Wikie and her offspring would never know life in the ocean. But right now, in the wake of the French government’s decision to bring an end to the use of whales and dolphins as entertainment, Wikie and her surviving son Keijo have a chance to live at the ocean sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

For that to happen, decisions have to be made by France’s Ministry for Ecological Diversity and by the owners and staff of Marineland. And funding has to be secured by the Whale Sanctuary Project for the completion of the work being done to prepare the sanctuary for the whales

Life at the sanctuary will be as close as is possible to what they would have experienced growing up in the ocean. It will be a new life that will make up for so much of what went before.

If, however, they are sent to another theme park or zoo, it will be the same kind of life in a concrete tank that Wikie and her whole family have known over the last 40 years. What follows is a brief history of those years:

Wikie’s family tree

The history of Wikie and her extended family, since they came into captivity, is a tangle of broken relationships and inbreeding.

Her mother Sharkane and her father Kim 2 were captured at different times in Icelandic waters and were sold to Marineland Antibes in the South of France. Some of the other whales among the two pods were also sold to Marineland and some were sold to entertainment parks in Japan, the United States and Spain.

In 1993, Sharkane would give birth to Shouka, in 1999 to Inouk, and in 2001 to Wikie. In 2002, Wikie’s sister Shouka would be shipped to Six Flags in Ohio and then to Six Flags California, where she would live for 10 years before being transferred to Sea World San Diego, where she is still alive.

The sanctuary is the only way forward that meets all the French government regulations.Freya, who came from Kim 2’s group and was mated with him, would give birth, over 12 years at Marineland, to four stillborn calves and to one survivor: Valentin.

Kim 2 would die of pneumonia in 2005 at the young age of 24. Valentin would survive another 10 years. He was Wikie’s half-brother and is generally assumed to have been the father of Wikie’s second son, Keijo, who was born in 2013.

Two years later, in October 2015, Valentin’s life would end shockingly after violent storms swept through Southern France, flooding the marine mammal tanks. Photos showed all five orcas swimming around in muddy waters. The following week, Valentin died, apparently from a sudden twist in his bowels.

In 2011, Wikie had given birth to a son, Moana, sired by Ulises through artificial insemination. It was the first artificial insemination of a whale in Europe. Ulises had been captured from the same Icelandic waters as Freya and Sharkane and had been sold to the Rioleon Safari Park in Spain and then to the Barcelona Zoo before being shipped in 1994 to SeaWorld San Diego. As of this writing, he is still living there.

Inouk, Keijo, Wikie, Moana, Valentin and Freya in a performance at Marineland Antibes.

Moana died in 2023, aged 12, from acute bacterial sepsis. Among orcas, the bond between mother and son is exceptionally strong. So, perhaps the presence of her second son, Keijo, would have been a comfort to Wikie. But more tragedy was to come.

Early the following year, 2024, her brother Inouk perished from subacute fibrinous enteritis peritonitis, leaving Wikie and Keijo as sole survivors of their family at Marineland.

It is to the great credit of the French government that the recommendations of the General Inspectorate favor sending Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia over sending them to another entertainment facility.

A fork in the road

And so it is that Wikie and Keijo are approaching a fork in the road where their fate comes down to two options:

If the final decision is for mother and son to go to an entertainment park – whether that be the Kobe Suma SeaWorld in Japan or Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands – they will find themselves in yet another concrete tank and with whales they don’t know and may not be able to communicate with. It is also likely that Wikie will be used for breeding, which would be contrary to the French decree that’s designed to bring an end to keeping whales captive.

The other option is for the Ministry to approve the recommendation of the government’s Inspectorate and for Wikie and Keijo to come to the sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia. That decision will need the full cooperation of Marineland Antibes and its staff. And it also depends on our securing the necessary funding to complete the first phase of sanctuary construction: the installation of a bay pen and land-based facilities.

The sanctuary is the only way forward that meets all the French government regulations and gives Wikie and Keijo the kind of life where they are cared for in a dynamic, stimulating ocean environment filled with plants and animals, and given as much autonomy as possible. They will never be used for breeding. They will never be separated.

These two orcas have surely faced lives of trials and tribulations. But if their stars finally line up – with a collaborative relationship among Marineland Antibes, the government and the Whale Sanctuary Project, along with the funding to complete the sanctuary – their future can be bright indeed.

Your donation, large or small, brings us ever closer to the day we welcome them to their new home.

It will be a home and a future that will make up for so much of what went before.

The post For Wikie and Keijo, a Fork in the Road Ahead appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of the Honourable Murray Sinclair. The Anishinaabe former senator, judge and leader in Canada’s justice system has passed away at the age of 73. His legacy is one of empathy, justice and compassionate action for human and non-human societies.

Beyond his work leading Canada’s landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he was a beacon of change for animals with his work in Parliament on Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.  Originally introduced in 2015 by Sen. Wilfred Moore, the bill took nearly four years to work its way through Parliament and was voted into law in 2019.

Taking Bill S-203 further, in 2020 Senator Sinclair partnered with Dr. Jane Goodall to introduce the Jane Goodall Act to create some of the strongest protections for animals in captivity in the world. The bill also aims to phase out the captivity of elephants and great apes in Canada.

Here is an excerpt from Sen. Sinclair’s speech about Bill S-203 in 2018. (You can watch the full speech here.):

“We need to remember what this bill is really about: whether whales, dolphins and porpoises should be kept in captivity. When thinking about this, the bottom line is let’s not forget the creatures living in the concrete tanks, and let’s not forget the wild cetaceans who may yet face violent capture from their family groups for the purpose of display for human entertainment. That’s what this bill is about and why it matters so much.

“We are all related. Not just you and I, but you and I and all life forms of creation”

“Given the scientific knowledge presented by experts about the biological characteristics and needs of cetaceans during the study of this bill, it is evident that it is cruel to keep cetaceans in captivity. We, I believe, do not want to be cruel. We should not allow others to be either.

“In my community, the Anishinaabe recognize that we are all related, not just you and I, but you and I and all life forms of creation. As living things, we are connected to each other. We depend upon one another. Everything we do has an effect on other life forms and on our world. That is why we use the term “nii-konasiitook,” all of my relations, when addressing each other.

“So bear in mind why we are here. We are here to take care of our nation, to take care of our land, to take care of the people and to take care of all that is part of this Creation.

“So n’gwamazin: Be strong and steadfast in your beliefs. Nii-konasiitook: Take care of all of our relations.”

Rest in peace.

The post The Honourable Murray Sinclair: 1951-2024 appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

It was a crisp morning on October 23rd, when a crew that included members of the Whale Sanctuary team steamed several miles offshore to deploy the Wine Harbour Buoy – the first near-real time wave buoy on the Eastern Shore.

The new buoy is part of a growing network of connected buoys around Nova Scotia that will improve the quality and availability of marine weather information and will benefit the many communities who live, play and work on the water.

Building and maintaining a coastal sanctuary for whales requires constant monitoring of the environment in and around the sanctuary site. What, for example, do we need to know when a storm is brewing offshore? How might rises in global temperatures and sea levels affect the sanctuary and its inhabitants over the long term? Accurate environmental information is essential to the safety of the whales and the people caring for them.

And so, as part of developing the Whale Sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, we’re grateful to have a collaborative effort with the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, which owns the buoy; with Luna Sea Solutions, which collects and communicates reliable oceanographic data straight from the ocean to a mobile app; and with the local fishing community with whom we’ve been working over the last four years.

Click on the image above to open the Luna Ocean app. Then use the search bar (near top right) to enter “Wine Harbour buoy” (be sure to use correct Canadian spelling of “Harbour”) and view environmental info live from the local region. And zoom in and out to see all the wave buoys off the coasts of North America.

The Wine Harbour Buoy will fill a critical data gap between Halifax Harbour to the south and Chedabucto Bay to the north since, before now, the nearest wave buoys were several hundred kilometers away.

You can use the app to monitor wind, wave and temperature data yourself.The buoy is already active, capturing wave, wind and temperature data every half hour. It updates a website/app every hour by satellite connection and it calculates in-depth marine forecasts so users can anticipate oceanographic conditions up to a week in advance.

For the sanctuary team, working with the First Nations community, the oceanographers, and the local fishers who took us all out on their boat had a further significance in the shared common interest that brings us together. We’re grateful to our partners for the generous donations of their time and expertise that went into making this deployment a success.

To stay in touch with the near-real time data and forecasts offshore, visit https://lunaocean.app where access to reliable ocean data is free and available to everyone.

The post Whales, Waves & Buoys appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

18 October, 2024

Mme Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister
Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Energy, the Climate and Risk Prevention
246 Boulevard Saint Germain
75007 Paris
France

Madame Pannier-Runacher,

We wish to commend the French government for conducting a rigorous Inspector General analysis regarding the different options for the future of the two orcas and 12 bottlenose dolphins currently held at Marineland d’Antibes, in line with French law that no more animals be kept in dolphinariums by 1 December 2026.

We applaud the Inspector General’s release of its report in late September 2024 and its findings that the best option for the orcas and dolphins is for them to be relocated to seaside sanctuaries, which offer them the strongest chances for a successful future.

We further applaud the specific recommendations that the two orcas (Wikie and her son Keijo) be relocated to the Whale Sanctuary Project’s facility in Nova Scotia and the 12 bottlenose dolphins be relocated to the Ionian Dolphin Conservation Sanctuary.

We fervently hope that the Ministry will proceed to adopt these recommendations. We fully support such a decision and believe it will be a landmark step forward for captive cetaceans and animal welfare standards.

Sincerely,

Jane Goodall
Sylvia Earle
Jean-Michel Cousteau

FRENCH VERSION:

Le 18 octobre 2024

À l’attention de Madame la Ministre Agnès Pannier-Runacher
Ministère de la Transition écologique, de l’Énergie, du Climat et de la Prévention des risques
246, boulevard Saint-Germain
75007 Paris
France

Madame la Ministre,

Nous tenons à féliciter le gouvernement français pour l’analyse rigoureuse de l’Inspecteur général des différentes options concernant l’avenir des deux orques et des 12 grands dauphins actuellement prisonniers du Marineland d’Antibes, conformément à la loi française stipulant qu’aucun animal ne doit plus être détenu dans les delphinariums d’ici le 1^er décembre 2026.

Nous saluons la publication du rapport de l’Inspecteur général fin septembre 2024 et ses conclusions selon lesquelles la meilleure option pour les orques et les dauphins est de les transférer dans des sanctuaires marins, lesquels leur offrent les meilleures chances futures de s’épanouir.

Nous saluons également les recommandations visant à placer les deux orques (Wikie et son fils Keijo) dans les installations du Whale Sanctuary Project en Nouvelle-Écosse, et les 12 grands dauphins dans le Ionian Dolphin Conservation Sanctuary.

Nous espérons vivement que votre ministère adoptera ces recommandations. Nous soutenons pleinement une telle décision, dont nous pensons qu’elle constitue une avancée majeure pour les cétacés captifs et les normes en matière de bien-être animal.

Veuillez agréer, Madame la Ministre, l’expression de notre très haute considération,

Jane Goodall
Sylvia Earle
Jean-Michel Cousteau

The post Jane Goodall, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sylvia Earle Endorse Sanctuary for French Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Well-being of the animals is the primary concern

The report opens with a clear statement of the government’s overriding purpose:

“The law of November 30, 2021, aimed at combating animal mistreatment and strengthening the bond between animals and humans provides, with regard to cetaceans, for an end to shows and a ban on their reproduction in captivity.

And in its general principles, it states:

“Animal welfare being the main reason why the legislator voted to close captive cetacean presentation centers to the public, the guarantee of this welfare must be a cardinal criterion in the choice of destination for Marineland’s cetaceans.”

The well-being of the animals is the reason for this law and their well-being should therefore be the primary consideration in any provisions made for their future:

“The main factor in well-being is the maintenance of social bonds between individuals in the same pod. This is essential for Keijo, Wikie’s son, who needs to be kept with his mother, even more so after the disappearance of the group’s two other orcas.” (Those two other orcas were Wikie’s brother Inouk and her first son Moana, both of whom died in the last year.)

Therefore, in the transfer of whales or dolphins to a new situation:

“It is essential to maintain the social structure of the group and, as far as possible, the relationship with the caretakers, at least temporarily, as these are social animals with a superior psyche, having developed very close relationships with their caretakers.”

The report adds that the well-being of the whales and dolphins should not depend on subjective opinions, but on “scientific monitoring based on protocols validated by a committee of wild and captive cetacean specialists, covering the fields of animal welfare, veterinary health, zootechnics and ethology.”

The Inspectorate concludes that for Wikie and Keijo, the mother-and-son orcas at Marineland Antibes in the South of France, the Whale Sanctuary Project offers “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.”

Over and over again in the report, the Inspectorate emphasizes that the well-being of the whales and dolphins is the primary consideration in its recommendations to the Minister for Ecological Transition, who will make the governmental decision as to where these cetaceans should go.

Seeking a Collaborative Relationship with Marineland

Earlier this year, we were advised that Marineland had told the government that it would follow the government’s recommendations, whatever they might be.

“The guarantee of this welfare must be a cardinal criterion in the choice of destination for Marineland’s cetaceans.”

But it was also public knowledge that Marineland was making plans to send Wikie and Keijo to Kobe Suma SeaWorld, an entertainment park in Japan, where many think they would likely be separated from each other and used for breeding.

This clearly goes against the entire purpose and spirit of the law. And animal protection groups in France were outraged. Their anger is supported by public opinion, and they are challenging any plan that will compromise the well-being of the whales.

The Inspectorate’s #1 recommendation to the Minister is to “Ensure full cooperation with Marineland in the transfer project.” And the Whale Sanctuary team fully endorses this principle.

Right now, we remain on schedule to be able to welcome Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia in the summer of 2025. And we are ready to engage in a cooperative relationship with Marineland Antibes in providing for the well-being of Wikie and Keijo at every phase of their retirement to sanctuary.

We have also made it clear that meeting this deadline is contingent on having raised the funds needed to complete the construction of the sanctuary and to provide for the whales’ long-term care. 

Your donation is greatly appreciated and is critical to our being able to inform the government that we can welcome Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary according to their schedule.

Thank you.

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The French government’s General Inspectorate of the Environment & Sustainable Development has just released its formal recommendations regarding whales and dolphins who are in captivity at theme parks and aquariums in France.

There are two orcas – Wikie and Keijo – at Marineland Antibes, and 23 bottlenose dolphins at Marineland and another marine park. The Whale Sanctuary Project has proposed to the French government that Wikie and Keijo be brought to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

In its 52-page report to the Department of Ecological Biodiversity, the Inspectorate states with respect to the Whale Sanctuary Project:

“The solidity of the team and the dossier [they filed], the fact that the project was initiated several years ago, well before the sole question of the future of the orcas at Marineland in Antibes, the medium and long-term projection, make it the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.”

Here’s some background:

France decrees no more whale and dolphin shows

In November 2021, the French government issued a law that will bring an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity except at refuges and sanctuaries or for scientific research purposes.

Accordingly, entertainment parks and aquariums must make suitable arrangements for their whales and dolphins by the end of 2026.

Wikie and Keijo – the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes

A year ago, in September 2023, there was a family of four orcas living at Marineland Antibes. They were Wikie, her brother Inouk, and her two sons Moana and Keijo.

In October 2023, 12-year-old Moana died of acute bacterial septicemia. And in March 2024, 25-year-old Inouk died of peritonitis, leaving only Wikie and her second son Keijo. (In the ocean, male orcas can live into their sixties or longer.)

Early this year, we learned that to comply with the law, Marineland was planning to send Wikie and Keijo to the Kobe Suma Sea World park in Japan. However, at Kobe Suma, they would be in an even smaller concrete tank than they have at Marineland. And even though all that this mother and son have now is each other, they could well be separated and used for breeding.

When this plan became known, animal protection groups in France were outraged. They protested to the government, saying that such a move would violate the entire purpose and spirit of the law.

The Whale Sanctuary in Nova Scotia as an option

Meanwhile, we at the Whale Sanctuary Project had begun discussions with the General Inspectorate about the possibility of Wikie and Keijo being retired to the sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

Other organizations then also proposed creating sanctuaries for the whales. And so, in April 2024, to review all possible options, the Secretary of State for the Sea and Biodiversity issued a public “Call for Expressions of Interest for a sanctuary project that could accommodate the two orca specimens currently housed at the Marineland of Antibes.”

The Expression of Interest we submitted was a 92-page plan detailing every aspect of what would be involved in retiring Wikie and Keijo to a sanctuary and caring for them for the rest of their lives.

Having now reviewed all the plans that were submitted, the Inspectorate has published a comprehensive report to the Department of Ecological Biodiversity. Their report concludes:

“Concerning orcas, [the Inspectorate] considers that only the Nova Scotia sanctuary project, supported by the Whale Sanctuary Project, meets the criteria of the [government’s Call for Expressions of Interest] in terms of technical quality, feasibility on time and financial sustainability, even if the project is experimental in nature and carries an inherent share of risk.”

While this is the Inspectorate’s recommendation, the final decision will be made by the Department of Ecological Biodiversity, under the responsibility of the new Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who has just been appointed by the new prime minister of France, Michel Barnier, following the recent national elections.

The “share of risk” that is noted in the Inspectorate’s recommendation relates in part to the fact that we have yet to raise the remaining capital funds to complete construction. With the decision in the hands of the French ministry, we cannot guarantee that Wikie and Keijo will be retired to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

But we can, and must, continue to forge ahead on all fronts. As the only sanctuary option available to these individuals, we can demonstrate to the French government that the sanctuary will be able to receive Wikie and Keijo. With the necessary funding, we will be able to complete sanctuary construction in time.

The bay pen and other sanctuary facilities

A central feature of the sanctuary facilities will be the bay pen, where every whale who comes to the sanctuary will live for a period of acclimatization to their new, natural environment.

The bay pen is considerably larger than any concrete tank at any entertainment park in the world. It will also be engineered and fully equipped to handle all aspects of veterinary and routine care for the whales.

We’ll be exploring the bay pen more in future posts.

Raising the funds to complete the sanctuary is now a primary objective

Inclusive of major donor commitments, we are about halfway to having all the funds needed to complete the first phase of the sanctuary and welcome the first whales – be they Wikie and Keijo or other whales in urgent need of retirement.

Your donation, large or small, monthly or one-time, works with others as we press ahead toward completing the sanctuary and welcoming the first whales.

And if you’re in a position to join with others who are making an “angel donation” toward the capital costs of construction, please contact us directly.

The full report in French by the General Inspectorate of the Environment & Sustainable Development Department can be viewed here. An English translation by Deepl can be viewed here.

The post For Wikie & Keijo, Whale Sanctuary Project Is “Most Credible Innovative Solution” appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Photo of Hvaldimir by marinemind.org

Hvaldimir was wearing a leather harness when he first approached a fishing boat in April 2019. The harness had a camera mount and the words “Equipment St. Petersburg” on the buckle. It seemed likely that the whale was a military conscript from the Russian navy who had somehow gone AWOL.

When one of the fishermen got into the water, the 14-foot, 2,700-pound whale allowed him to remove the harness and then followed another boat to the fishing and tourism town of Hammerfest.

He quickly made a new life for himself along the Norwegian coast.Most captive whales are born in captivity and have never learned how to survive in the ocean. But Hvaldimir was different. He had clearly been born and raised by his family in the ocean. And once free of his captors, he quickly made a new life for himself along the Norwegian coast, often dropping in on harbors, sometimes taking off for days or weeks by himself. And while there were some people who wanted to relocate him further north to where there are many more ocean-going belugas, or to net off a fjord and keep him in it, scientists and other whale experts advised simply leaving him be. He had, after all, made it clear how he wanted to lead his life, and he was quite capable of feeding himself.

But on September 2nd, we learned that Hvaldimir had been found dead in Norway’s Risavika Bay, near the historic town of Stavanger.

The police have stated that the preliminary results from the veterinary institute indicate a 35 cm long stick was found in Hvaldimir’s mouth. He had no food in his stomach, and his internal organs were degraded.

We are awaiting the full report from the veterinary institute. We are aware that extensive samples have been taken and sent for further analysis and we anticipate that the laboratory and histopathology results will help identify all the factors that contributed to his death.

During his life, Hvaldimir touched the hearts of thousands of people around the world who recognized the dignity and courage of someone who made his own choices in life and lived every minute to the fullest.

Rest in peace.

For a full recounting of the story of Hvaldimir, see the feature article “The Whale Who Went AWOL” by journalist Ferris Jabr in the New York Times Magazine on February 12th, 2024.

The post Hvaldimir – Beloved Whale Is Found Dead appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The costs of establishing the sanctuary generally fall into two categories: the capital costs of building the sanctuary facilities and the operating costs of the day-to-day work of our staff to manage all aspects of developing the sanctuary and advocating broadly for cetacean sanctuaries.

For the capital costs, we are seeking significant donations from major donors as well as from all donors who want to support construction of the state-of-the-art bay pen, perimeter net, the land-based facilities and infrastructure, etc. From one major donor we have $5 million pledged for when we complete the remaining requirements for permitting. From another, we are receiving $1 million toward construction of the bay pen.

And we are seeking $10 million more to cover these capital costs.

Operating costs also fall into two categories: First, our operating costs during site selection and development which began with the search for the most suitable sanctuary location and then included a three-year series of environmental studies in and around the bay, along with the many other requirements for permitting, and established an operations & visitors center in the small nearby town of Sherbrooke. Once the first whales arrive at the sanctuary, operating costs will be focused primarily on their care.

We are now seeking funds for both the capital expenditures for construction of the sanctuary and the operations to get the job done.

In the above video, Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, outlines the costs involved in creating the sanctuary and providing for the whales over time.

Currently our funds are being channeled into three major efforts:

* Work by site professionals and civil engineers to determine precisely how the land-based portion of the site needs to be prepared for the building foundations, parking areas and foot paths, as well as where best to locate our land-based infrastructure, including potable water, septic systems, and power.

Your donation is the key to completing the sanctuary.
* The design and engineering of the large bay pen that will be the initial home for all whales coming to the sanctuary. The bay pen will serve as an essential physical and psychological introduction to what will ultimately be an ocean environment that’s orders of magnitude larger than any space these animals have ever encountered. It is a key element in our accelerated plan to welcome Wikie and Keijo, along with other whales whom we may be able to bring to the sanctuary before the perimeter net is fully installed and permanent sanctuary facilities for all staff functions are completed.

* The diplomatic efforts to negotiate bringing the whales to the sanctuary. These include ongoing meetings with French government officials, NGOs, veterinarians and other organizations and stakeholders. Our team is also laying the groundwork for the months of work that will be necessary for an onsite team at Marineland Antibes, beginning with comprehensive health and behavior analyses by independent veterinarians, along with medical treatment and other rehabilitation, and then preparation and rehearsals for their journey to Nova Scotia.

Looking ahead to the time when the sanctuary has welcomed its first whales and has completed the perimeter net and permanent facilities, operating funds will provide for the care of the whales who will live there.

Every stage of preparing the sanctuary to be ready to welcome the first whales according to our accelerated plan has a cost attached to it. This means that we need to have raised the necessary funds before we can begin each stage of the necessary work.

We cannot take the next steps without you.

Your donation, large or small, and whether as a monthly sustaining donor or as a one-time contributor, is the key to bringing this project to fruition.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

The post What It Takes and How You Can Help appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Last year, 2023, the Whale Sanctuary Project, National Aquarium, and Sea Life Trust delivered accreditation guidelines for cetacean sanctuaries to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), which was looking to publish what would be the first ever set of best practices for cetacean (whale and dolphin) sanctuaries.

Standards for sanctuaries that care for land animals – including elephants, great apes and big cats – have already been in place for many years. And now, with public opinion pressing for an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity for the purposes of entertainment, it is clear that the world is in the early days of coastal sanctuaries being established for their retirement.

Here at the Whale Sanctuary Project, and with so many whales and dolphins in captivity around the world, we have always approached the establishing of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia from the viewpoint of it being a potential blueprint for many more to come.

So, for the past few years, the Whale Sanctuary Project has worked with two other organizations that participated in formulating new guidelines for the GFAS: the National Aquarium, located in Baltimore, which is creating a sanctuary in the Caribbean for its six dolphins; and Sea Life Trust, which had completed Phase One of a sanctuary on the coast of Iceland for two beluga whales from an entertainment park in China that had been purchased by Merlin Entertainments.

The end product of this pioneering collaboration was a set of standards that were adopted and published by the GFAS. They require that to be awarded GFAS accreditation, an organization must meet rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards that are confirmed by a site visit. And they must adhere to ethical and operational principles so that the general public, along with donors and grantors, can recognize them as true sanctuaries.

A sanctuary is, by definition, a place where the wellbeing of the residents is always the priority. And so, while the guidelines are quite detailed, we identified four fundamental tenets for accreditation. They are based on four simple and basic questions regarding any facility that advertises itself as a sanctuary:

• Does it engage in performances, demonstrations or displays?
• Are visitors allowed access to the animals for commercial purposes like rides, petting pools and up-close photos with the animals?
• Does it allow breeding?
• And overall, does it have any priorities other than the well-being of the animals?

If the answer to any of those questions is “Yes,” then it’s not an authentic sanctuary.

This year, we have been in contact with several groups and organizations that are seeking to create cetacean sanctuaries. And, together with the National Aquarium and Sea Life Trust, we look forward to sharing knowledge and experience toward establishing authentic sanctuaries with the common goal of bringing an end altogether to the exploitation of whales and dolphins.

Next: What It Takes and How You Can Help

The post A Global Movement Is Born appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Fourth in a series of posts about our work in the first quarter of 2024. 

For 10 years, at a shopping center at the foot of the world’s sixth-tallest skyscraper in the heart of Seoul, a beluga whale named Bella has been living in a small pool where thousands of people walk by each day.

But recent laws in South Korea prohibit the importing of whales and dolphins and the building of new aquariums for the display of whales and dolphins. And as public opinion favors bringing an end to keeping cetaceans in captivity, the owners of the mall have indicated their interest in retiring Bella to a sanctuary. The Whale Sanctuary Project is in discussion with them about the possibility of Bella coming to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Bella is just one of hundreds of beluga whales in aquariums and entertainment facilities around the world. Another theme park that may be coming close to bringing an end to keeping whales and dolphins on display is Marineland Canada (no relation to Marineland Antibes). The company recently announced that its extended property is preparing for “redevelopment under new ownership.”

No word yet on who the new owners might be and what plans they or the current management may have for the 34 beluga whales and five dolphins, along with scores of other animals, at Marineland. But in a radio interview in 2023, the mayor of Niagara, where Marineland is located, said that if the facility were to close, his priority would be the welfare of the animals. “It’s run its course and it’s time to change direction,” Mayor Diodati told CBC Hamilton. “I’d like to see them move right away from animals.”

Marineland Canada has announced that its extended property is preparing for “redevelopment under new ownership.”Four years ago, shortly after the Whale Sanctuary Project announced its plan to establish a coastal whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia, we began discussions with Marineland Canada about the possibility of retiring some of the whales there. Later in the year, however, when the Niagara police charged Marineland with cruelty to animals, the company broke off discussions.

In 2019, Canada passed Senate Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which bans the further breeding or importation of cetaceans for the purposes of entertainment. In 2021, Marineland transferred five beluga whales to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut three of whom have since died of what were likely long-term health and welfare issues.

In early 2024, observers at Marineland said they could count 34 belugas. What will happen to them and to the many other animals when Marineland Canada comes under new ownership will be a major priority for animal protection organizations in Canada.

“We remain hopeful and open to conversations with Marineland Canada or whoever the new owners are,” says Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “We will be looking to work in a collaborative fashion for as many of those beluga whales as we can.” With 100 acres of sanctuary space, the waters can be partitioned to accommodate both orcas and belugas, and we can be as responsive as possible to whales in need.

There are, of course, many more whales and dolphins in crisis at theme parks around the world than there are sanctuaries to house them. That is why, as a key component of our mission, the Whale Sanctuary Project is working to build strong relationships with other NGOs that want to establish sanctuaries for cetaceans.

Next: A Global Movement Is Born

The post The Urgent Need of Beluga Whales around the World appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Since selecting Port Hilford Bay as the location for the sanctuary in 2020, we have conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative studies to ensure the site represents a suitable long-term habitat for whale residents.

Here is an overview of that work. It has included, but is not limited to:

• Acoustic studies of the marine environment;
• Water quality and water temperature analyses throughout all seasons;
• Impacts assessments during two hurricanes;
• Seasonal wave, tides and current measurements;
• Hydrodynamic modeling of the sanctuary waters, including with LIDAR, a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the Earth;
• Migratory bird analyses;
• Flora and fauna review;
• Eel grass productivity and location analyses;
• Sediment sampling and analyses on land and in the marine environment.

In the video above, Charles Vinick, Executive Director, gives an overview of the additional environmental work and land management plan.

Water Quality

Studies conducted from 2020-2023 indicate that the water column above the seafloor is clean throughout the bay. Most recently, as part of our final round of environmental testing (ESA III), water samples were collected at select locations immediately above the seafloor and by a private diving contractor. Because of the historic gold mining that took place at the site in the 19th and early-20th centuries, these samples were analyzed by an independent laboratory for total metals concentrations relative to the Canadian Council on Ministers of the Environment’s Guidelines for the Protection of Marine Aquatic Life. Metals concentrations very slightly exceeded the limit (by 0.001μg/L) in only one of the 21 samples tested. Independent environmental consultants hired to obtain and interpret the data reported that these mercury concentrations were unlikely to be related to the former gold mining activity that took place at the site. Rigorous water testing will continue in perpetuity to ensure the environment remains clean and safe for the animals.

Sanctuary Lands Onshore

Samples taken by independent environmental consultants found that the area on land around an old stamp mill has levels of heavy metals for which the standard mitigation procedure, as recommended throughout Nova Scotia, will be to cap any area that may be used for team activities, buildings, parking, etc. with a layer of soil, gravel or paving.

Submerged Soils in the Seabed

Laboratory analyses found similar levels of heavy metals sequestered in the soils underwater (not in the water column in which the whales will swim). Preliminary discussions indicate that – given the metals are and have been sequestered for over a century – leaving the environment undisturbed will likely be the best approach.

Invertebrates

Independent environmental consultants conducted toxicological studies for heavy metals concentrations in clams, mussels and rock crabs in the sanctuary area. There were no clams found in any parts of Port Hilford Bay where whales could contact them. Mussels tested acceptable for human consumption. Rock crabs tested with arsenic levels slightly above Nova Scotia guidelines for human consumption.

The orcas will be provided a satiating and nutritionally supportive well-rounded diet, similar to the diet which they have been accustomed to eating at land-based captive facilities. Any consumption of live marine creatures within the sanctuary will most likely be limited to novel experimentation (as captive whales have no experience with live crustaceans or other live potential prey), making chronic long-term exposure unlikely.

Veterinary and toxicology expert opinion, as well as an exhaustive, in-depth scientific literature review, revealed the following:

• No published evidence of arsenic tissue toxicity in cetaceans;
• No diseases in cetaceans commonly associated with arsenic toxicity in humans and other mammals;
• Different species metabolize heavy metals in different ways and arsenic levels above those safe for human consumption may not be relevant to consumption by cetaceans;
• Satiated whales are unlikely to ingest crabs on a regular basis if at all;
• Cetaceans may have effective mechanisms to mitigate potential negative health impacts of arsenic toxicity. These mechanisms appear to include highly efficient metabolic and excretion pathways, which may be adaptations to the naturally elevated levels of heavy metals in the deep ocean and marine food chain (the primary route of exposure, to which both wild and captive cetaceans are exposed);
• One study found that ninety percent of the arsenic typically found in rock crabs is arsenobetaine, a nontoxic form found ubiquitously in the ocean.

Water Temperature

We measured water temperature directly using temperature loggers located at various locations throughout the sanctuary site’s waters and at different depths starting in March 2020 and continuing through August 2022, with a few interruptions due to the need to replace equipment.

Average daily temperatures ranged from:

• spring 2020 (17 March to 21 May) -0.2 to 5.2°C
• summer 2020 (24 July to 22 October) 4.6 to 19.8°C
• winter 2020 (23 October 2020 to 15 April 2021) -0.3 to 13.4°C
• spring 2021 (15 April to 16 July) 1.8 to 17.1°C
• summer 2021 (16 July to 26 October 2021) 6.6 to 21.6°C
• winter 2021 (26 October 2021 to 27 March 2022) 0.1 to 13.7°C
• summer 2022 (16 June 2022 to 11 August 2022) 6.8 to 11.2°C

The Shellfish Water Classification Program of Environment and Climate Change Canada monitored the area from 1993 to 2012, including summer surface water temperature at various sites around the bay. These data showed a range from 6.5 to 23°C. The Centre for Marine Applied Research monitored the area from 2018 to 2020, including water temperature at varying depths in the bay. These data showed a range of -2.3 to 20.3°C.

Note: In cases where whales come to the sanctuary from warmer environments (e.g. the orcas Wikie and Keijo from Marineland Antibes), temperature ranges in Nova Scotia extend lower than the range to which they may be accustomed. However, we are confident that the whales will adjust well to the water temperature of their new home for several reasons, including:

• Our team’s experience relocating Keiko – the orca from the film Free Willy – serves as a clear precedent. Keiko moved from the warmth of a tank in Mexico to the temperate weather of Oregon to the frigid waters of Iceland. He acclimated to the waters of Iceland and thrived in that environment;
• Although Wikie and Keijo were born in captivity, they are of Icelandic descent; their bodies evolved a phenotype able to withstand and thrive in cooler water temperatures;
• As part of our conditioning plan for whales like Wikie and Keijo, we will acclimate them to cooler water temperatures before transporting them;
• We will further acclimate them to the Nova Scotia environment by bringing them to sanctuary during summer months, when the water is warmest, so that they have time to adjust to the decreasing temperatures of fall and winter.

Ice Conditions

The location, amount and thickness of ice was assessed using information from the Canadian Ice Service, satellite images, regular site visits, and the marine forecast. Ice forms in the waters of the sanctuary site infrequently and, in recent years, only in small amounts by the shoreline. Furthermore, no pack ice was observed and the only ice found was slob ice (slushy sea ice) near the shore.

Photograph from standardized area (45.07843° -61.82626°) looking toward the mouth of the Bay/Barachois Island on 2020-02-17 showing small ice chunks along the western shore of the bay during the period of greatest ice cover.

Underwater Acoustics

We assessed the baseline underwater noise levels in the sanctuary site waters and the surrounding area to determine whether there are any sound levels that could interfere with echolocation and communication or otherwise cause any form of stress or discomfort for the sanctuary’s whale residents.

Broadband noise levels had an overall median of 92.57 dB re 1 µPa (range 89.03-146.77 dB re 1 µPa), with the ambient noise level at 89.78 dB re 1 µPa. Boats were present 13.6% of the time with a median of 97.42 dB re 1 µPa.

Orcas hear best between 4 and 100 kHz. For comparison, humans hear best between 32 Hz and 16 kHz. Noise levels were therefore weighted according to the hearing abilities of mid-frequency cetaceans (including orcas) to determine the broadband noise levels as they would be perceived by the sanctuary residents (overall median 86.24 dB re 1 µPa; ambient 85.85 dB re 1 µPa; boats present 87.04 dB re 1 µPa).

Temporary threshold shift (i.e., temporary hearing impairment) in mid-frequency cetaceans like orcas is thought to occur at 178 dB re 1 µPa, and permanent threshold shift at 198 dB re 1 µPa. Behavioral reactions can occur at lower levels, with 120 dB re 1 µPa being a common criterion for testing.

In sanctuary waters, underwater noise was typically within the 100 Hz to 1 kHz frequency range, at which orcas are less sensitive, occasionally extending to the lower (<100 kHz) and higher (>1 kHz) frequencies, which could be caused by environmental conditions such as wind/waves and rain. The amplitude of weighted broadband noise levels ranged from 85.72 to 132.17 dB re 1 µPa. Broadband weighted broadband noise levels exceeded 120 dB re 1µPa 0.03% of the time (total of 6 minutes out of 350 hours).

The above data indicate that the sanctuary waters present an excellent acoustic environment for orcas and would provide Wikie and Keijo the opportunity to explore their natural home through echolocation with little interference.

Hydrodynamic Model & Topography

A hydrodynamic model integrates information about a specific water body to create a dynamic picture of water velocity and direction throughout the water column. It is important to have this information to understand the environmental conditions that the whales will experience, to provide physical oceanography data for sanctuary design and net placement, and to calculate water transfer rates to understand how storm debris and whale waste will move in the marine environment.

The results of a hydrodynamic model created by the Whale Sanctuary Project indicate:

• The sanctuary area is well flushed and will maintain a clean environment for the whales;
• There is a maximum water depth between 16-18 meters (52-60 feet);
• Land-based topography protects the sanctuary site from southeasterly storms.

Bathymetry with 2m contours calculated from multibeam survey (sanctuary perimeter net outlined in red).

Wave, Storm and Coastal Protection

Although the sanctuary site is on an ocean coastline, it is well protected from hurricanes and other high-magnitude storms. With storms that travel in a northwesterly direction (including most of the historic hurricanes that have reached the area), Barachois Island acts as a strong buffer against high winds and waves. Similarly, the high topography of the land area to the northeast of the site protects the sanctuary’s water space from the heaviest weather traveling from the northeast.

Data and evidence gathered before, during and after two recent hurricanes (Hurricane Teddy in September 2020 and Hurricane Fiona in September 2022) support these conclusions. During periods of heaviest storm activity, wave height was consistently lower in the sanctuary’s waters than in the open ocean.

In our experience relocating Keiko to Iceland, Keiko actively enjoyed experiencing the Icelandic storm weather, which was significantly rougher than the weather patterns along the Nova Scotian coast.

While some debris reaches the bay during and after storms, the bay pen and perimeter net are designed and constructed with materials (like 30–36-inch HDPE pipe) that can withstand such debris.

Marine & Land Ecosystems

Additional multi-year surveys of the site and its surrounding region’s flora and fauna further indicate that this is an optimal environment for a marine sanctuary with no endangered plants or animals who would be impacted in the vicinity.

Dive surveys have found a richness of over 63 marine species, including 25 plants and algae, 29 invertebrates and 3 fishes. An overwintering bird survey identified 22 species.

Of note is the abundance of eelgrass in the sanctuary site’s waters. Eelgrass is a common bioindicator of ecological health demonstrating that the sanctuary constitutes a vibrant ecosystem with clean waters.

Biodiversity at the sanctuary site (Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia)

Next: The Urgent Need of Beluga Whales

The post Site Geography & Environment Analyses appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Given the urgency of the situation facing Wikie and Keijo, earlier this year we adopted an accelerated approach to complete the sanctuary on a timeline that will enable them to be brought to the sanctuary in mid-2025. The plan involves expedited construction of a large bay pen in advance of the completion of the full sanctuary.

On April 30th, we submitted to the French government our extensive “Expression of Interest”, detailing the mission and history of the Whale Sanctuary Project; the location of the sanctuary site, including the results of environmental studies required by regulatory agencies; infrastructure and facilities; a complete operational plan for every stage of transferring the whales to the sanctuary; financial plan; and regulatory and government engagement.

While the French government continues their assessment of the best future for Wikie and Keijo, we are pressing ahead with our plan to be able to welcome whales as soon as possible. Regardless of the outcome of the government’s decision, everything in this plan can be applied to any orcas or beluga whales coming to the sanctuary from anywhere in the world.

In the video above, Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, describes how the team is constructing a bay pen to accommodate whales being retired from entertainment parks.

The bay pen: The key element in this plan is a large bay pen that will be installed within the 100-acre water space of the sanctuary as the initial home for the orcas while the full one-mile perimeter net that surrounds the 100 acres is completed. Once the perimeter net is complete and the orcas have acclimated to their new environment, they will be released into the wider sanctuary space.

The design for the bay pen. (Note: The area of the bay pen will be more than four times the space they have at Marineland Antibes.)

The bay pen is a net-sided structure, 400 feet by 150 feet, that will consist of two octagonal enclosures joined together to form a figure eight, with a medical lift in the center. This configuration allows for the partitioning of portions of the overall pen when needed, such as during the initial introduction to the space. But other than when the medical lift is in use, the gates on either side of it will remain open so that Wikie and Keijo can freely roam the entire pen area.

The area of the bay pen will be more than four times the space they have at Marineland Antibes. Current specs for the net are that it will be made of 8-inch stretch mesh net, fabricated of Dyneema, an extremely strong, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. It will be held in place vertically in the water by high-density polyethylene (HDPE) flotation pipes expressed on the surface with an integrated walkway on top of the pipes and heavy chain at the base of the net, where the net contacts the sea floor.

An additional horizontal lead line woven into the lower portion of the net will serve to keep the net taut through changes in daily tides.

In the diagrams below, you can see the approximate size of the bay pen as compared to the total area of space that Wikie and Keijo have at Marineland Antibes. And the 100 acres of overall sanctuary space will be more than 260 times the space they have there.

The size of the bay pen (the black disk) compared to the space that Wikie and Keijo have at Marineland Antibes (the gray disk).

The 100-acre sanctuary space compared to the 0.85-acre space they have at Marineland Antibes.

The middle sections of the bay pen contain platform areas, including a slide-out, for the daily care of the whales and the medical lift. The platforms also include storage space for equipment, food, overnight staff bunk space, and toilet facilities. There are also two isolation pools for medical care. The integrated walkway around the perimeter of the bay pen provides staff with access to the orcas from all sides and provides for multiple feeding stations.

Regarding the permanent land-based facilities, we are currently assessing whether we can complete them all on the schedule for the whales or whether temporary facilities may be needed.

With this plan, Wikie and Keijo can have a new home at the sanctuary in 2025 while the perimeter net enclosing the full 100 acres of sanctuary waters and all infrastructure are being completed.

And once Wikie and Keijo have moved out of the bay pen into the full sanctuary area, the bay pen will be used to welcome other whales to give them time as needed to adapt to their new home, along with regularly scheduled husbandry and medical care as needed for any of them.

Next: Site Geography and Environmental Analyses.

The post The Accelerated Plan and Bay Pen appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In the late summer of 2023, just as we were completing three years of required environmental studies at the Whale Sanctuary site in Nova Scotia, we heard about the plight of a family of orcas at the entertainment park Marineland Antibes in the south of France.

At that time there were four of them, all members of one family, and all born at Marineland Antibes: Wikie, Keijo and Moana (Wikie’s two sons), and Inouk (Wikie’s brother, and Keijo and Moana’s uncle).

Since then, Moana and Inouk have died.

Because of the deep concern that’s being voiced by animal protection groups in France and indeed around the world, we have been in discussions with the French government with a view to working collaboratively with the government and with Marineland Antibes to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

This unprecedented, ground-breaking project needs your urgent support. Your donation, large or small, will help ensure that whales like Wikie and Keijo can have a new life in an ocean environment.

The whales and their story

Wikie was born tail-first in 2001 – the cetacean equivalent of a human baby having a breech birth. Her parents had been captured in Icelandic waters and brought to Marineland Antibes. She spent the first 18 months of her life in a tank separate from her mother, Sharkane, who was very disturbed and unable to give her the care she needed. (In the ocean, young orcas always have their mother, aunts and other close family members close by to support them and are never left on their own.) Without that support and upbringing, Wikie was likely left emotionally damaged.

Inouk was born in February 1999 and was Wikie’s brother. Over the years, he ground his teeth to the pulp biting the edges of the tanks. He suffered from gum ulcers, frequent throat infections, yeast infections on his tongue, and acid reflux. In March 2024, we learned that Inouk had died from subacute fibrinous enteritis and peritonitis and from ingesting a metallic foreign body.

Moana was born in 2011 and was Wikie’s first son. He never met his father, Ulises, who had been captured off the coast of Iceland, taken to an aquarium in Iceland and from there to two zoos in Spain before being sent to SeaWorld San Diego in California. Wikie had been artificially inseminated by Ulises to give birth to Moana. But because of her emotionally scarred state, she was unable to bond with her newborn. Last October we learned that Moana had died of acute bacterial septicemia.

Keijo: Meanwhile, and all too soon after the birth of Moana, Wikie had found herself pregnant once again. In the wild, orcas space out their pregnancies over many years to give themselves a chance to properly raise their children. Worse yet, Wikie had been made pregnant by her half-brother Valentin. In November 2013, she gave birth to Keijo. And again, she had difficulty bonding with the newborn. But she has since become a very attentive mother.

There were other members of the family: Wikie’s older sister Shouka had been shipped to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Cleveland, Ohio, then to  Six Flags Marine World in California, and from there to SeaWorld San Diego, where she is living today.

And Valentin, who was Keijo’s father, died from twisted intestines one week after a violent storm hit Marineland Antibes and severe flooding in the park reportedly contaminated the water of the whale tanks. Two other members of the family were stillborn.

The future for mother and son

Wikie and Keijo remain at Marineland Antibes, and their situation is clearly precarious.

Meanwhile, following a decree from the French government that keeping whales captive for entertainment must end by 2026, Marineland Antibes has been in discussion with an aquarium in Japan about sending Wikie and Keijo to an aquarium there, where they may be separated and used for breeding.

Orcas in the wild live in strong, vibrant extended families. That is why we call Wikie and Keijo “a family in distress.”

And it is why we have proposed to the French government and to Marineland Antibes that, rather than this mother and son being sent to Japan, we should all work together to retire them to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Note: At the time of posting this and having submitted our “Expression of Interest” to the French government, we are awaiting word from the government on what it considers to be the best option for Wikie and Keijo. Marineland Antibes has indicated that it will follow the government’s recommendation. We, in turn, are committed to offering our assistance and expertise as appropriate if the government favors a different solution.

Meanwhile, there are, of course, many more whales in urgent need of retirement to sanctuary, including 36 at Marineland Canada and two in South Korea. We have held discussions with the owners of these facilities, and our current plan will be adjusted to suit whichever whales become available.

Next post: The plan to have the sanctuary ready to accept whales in 2025.

Hero image of Inouk, Keijo, Wikie, Moana, Valentine and Freya via InherentlyWild.co.uk.

The post Hope for a Family in Distress appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

While the Whale Sanctuary Project team is hard at work to complete the sanctuary and welcome its first whales, I lead our enthusiastic group of local volunteers who tirelessly spread the word about the project by putting on local events and maintaining the operations of our Visitors Centre. This past Saturday, June 1st, the Whale Sanctuary Project and St. Mary’s Municipality co-hosted the first-ever St. Mary’s Ocean Day Celebration.

As part of World Ocean Day, Saturday’s event celebrated all things ocean, including science, conservation, and community. Close to 500 people gathered in and around a big blue tent at the Whale Sanctuary Visitors Centre in Sherbrooke. There were ocean-themed games and face painting, artifacts to explore and ocean experts to meet. There was also giant walkable map of Canada’s seafloor and an immersive 360-degree video experience where visitors could experience the sense of walking underwater.

With St. Mary’s being a coastal community, the ocean plays a big role in our own lives as well as the lives of the whales we seek to help. While we continue our work to complete the sanctuary, our local team of volunteers will keep on spreading the word at events like Ocean Day.

Ocean Week Canada takes place from June 1-9. The Whale Sanctuary Project will have team members and volunteers at other Nova Scotia events in Halifax and Antigonish on Saturday June 8th. For more information and attendance details, visit https://oceanweekcan.ca/events/.

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Dr. Jane Goodall

In a letter to the French Government on February 29th, 2024, Dr. Jane Goodall strongly endorsed the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for the retirement and relocation of the orcas Wikie, Inouk and Keijo from Marineland Antibes, a marine theme park in the south of France, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The death of Inouk, just a month later on March 28th, only underscores the urgency of transferring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary.

Since the beginning of this year, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been in discussion with the French government about the future of this family of orcas. Three years ago, the government banned the importing or breeding of whales and dolphins and set in motion a ten-year plan to end keeping them in captivity at all.

The French government’s decree was very good news for all cetaceans, but it did leave open the question of what would happen to whales who are currently on display in France. And while Marineland’s plan to send the orcas to an aquarium in Japan complies with the letter of the government’s decree, the prospect of the whales being simply moved from a concrete tank in one country to a concrete tank in another is very troubling and not in keeping with the spirit of giving captive whales and dolphins a better life.

The Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal continues to be that Marineland Antibes join with us and with the French government in a unique collaboration to retire the remaining two orcas, Wikie and Keijo, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Goodall’s letter to the French Inspection Générale de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable only adds further urgency to this effort.

Here is the text of Dr. Goodall’s letter, and a pdf of the letter follows this text:

29 February 2024

Mr Olivier Robinet
Inspecteur Général Milieux, ressources et risques |
Inspection Générale de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable
France

Dear M. Robinet,

Endorsement of the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for relocating Orcas from Marineland Antibes to a suitable location

I am writing to you in support of the proposal being made by the Whale Sanctuary Project to transfer the three orcas Wikie, Inouk and Keijo from Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary the organization is establishing in Nova Scotia.

Having spent my life studying and working with mammals of all kinds, I am persuaded that it would be harmful for the orcas to be sent to another entertainment facility – this one in Japan – and that the Nova Scotia sanctuary offers them the opportunity to spend the rest of their lives in a natural setting while still receiving human care.

Much of my own focus has been on chimpanzees, who are highly intelligent, social animals who need a complex environment. When I set up sanctuaries in Africa for chimpanzees, critical voices said this could not be done. However, nowadays the Jane Goodall Institute cares successfully for some 200 chimpanzees in sanctuaries in Africa. Orcas, too, are intelligent, emotionally sensitive, and highly social. They cannot thrive in a setting that deprives them of the ability to explore a natural environment and choose how to spend their days without being burdened by having to entertain human audiences. Demanding orcas to perform day after day the same circus tricks for dead fish is no longer keeping up with our values and standards of animal welfare. Not only I, but many people agree that this must stop globally.

A sanctuary environment will provide them with their first-ever opportunity to live out their lives in a stimulating environment where they have the space they need to swim and dive, and, most importantly, to begin to have a level of autonomy and choice in how they spend their days. I recommend that the Ministry do all possible to ensure that these orcas can be moved to the cetacean sanctuary in Nova Scotia. My staff work closely with the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we fully support their high professional standards of animal care.

Sincerely,

Dr, Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace.

A pdf of the letter is embedded below:

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We heard, this morning, that Inouk, one of the three surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes, has passed away. Our hearts and our thoughts go out to his sister Wikie and to his nephew Keijo. They are a family that has already suffered greatly in captivity, and today they can only be in ever-deeper distress.

Inouk was born at Marineland Antibes in February 1999. His mother, Sharkane, and his father, Kim 2, had been captured in Icelandic waters. Both of his parents died when he was four years old. His older sister, Shouka, was transferred to SeaWorld in the United States. In 2015, his cousin Valentin died after polluted water from a storm flowed into his tank. And last year, his nephew Moana (Wikie’s first son) also died.

Shockingly, it is less than a day since we posted a brief update here on the website about the possibility of bringing Inouk, Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Photo of Inouk courtesy of @noemieg_photo.

We have known all along that Inouk suffered from some possibly serious health concerns. Most noticeably, he had ground his teeth to the pulp biting the edges of the tanks. Experts explained that this made his mouth painful and caused gum ulcers, frequent throat infections, yeast infections on his tongue, and acid reflux. His dorsal fin showed traces of bites and was weak on the right side.

While it is hard to know exactly what Wikie and Keijo will be experiencing in the wake of their loss, we do know that the bonds among a family of orcas are especially strong. In 2018, the world watched, transfixed, as 20-year-old Tahlequah, a member of the “J” family pod of the Southern Residents, carried her dead calf for 17 days across a thousand miles of the Pacific Northwest coast. It was an unprecedented display of mourning on the part of a grief-stricken mother accompanied by her extended family.

Such a ritual of mourning will not be possible for Wikie and Keijo. Inouk will likely have already been removed from the small tank in which he spent the entire 25 years of his life.

An unprecedented display of mourning on the part of a grief-stricken mother accompanied by her extended family.The three orcas were the three surviving members of their family at Marineland Antibes, and together they would have been the last orcas to be on display there. That’s because in 2020, the French Minister of Ecology, Barbara Pompili, announced her decision to bring an end, over the next 10 years, to keeping whales in concrete tanks at entertainment parks.

In response to the ruling, Marineland Antibes had been planning to send the three orcas to an aquarium in Japan. And in response to the company’s plan, there has been an outcry amongst the French public and other NGOs.

As a result, the French government has stepped in to consider alternatives to sending the whales to Japan. And over the last two months, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been in continuing discussions with the French Ministry of Ecology and Biodiversity as they assess the Nova Scotia sanctuary as a preferred option for the welfare of these orcas.

The death of Inouk comes just two days before the three orcas were due to be put on display for the spring season of performances. Marineland Antibes has announced that “the resumption of orca shows has been postponed.”

Most urgently now, looking forward, will Wikie and her son Keijo be given the chance for a new life in a natural ocean environment? It is surely the least that we can do for them.

We greatly appreciate the heads-up from One Voice and their sources this morning, later confirmed by the AFP and in a brief press statement from Marineland Antibes.

The post The Passing of Inouk appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In response to the urgent need of three orcas held in Marineland Antibes, a French marine entertainment park, the Whale Sanctuary Project has developed an accelerated plan that would bring the whales to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia in early 2025.

The three whales Wikie, Inouk & Keijo are a genetic family – a mother and her son and her brother – who have been slated to be shipped to a Japanese aquarium, where they will be used for breeding purposes and potentially split apart among different facilities. Such a move would be traumatic for these three orcas, animals known for their cognitive and emotional complexity and deep family bonds. The move would also be inconsistent with legislation recently passed in France to ban the keeping of cetaceans in captivity.

There has been an outcry against this news amongst the French public and other NGOs, and the French government has stepped in to consider alternatives to sending the whales to Japan.

We are fast-tracking sanctuary development with an accelerated plan.Given the urgency of this situation, we are lending the Whale Sanctuary Project’s expertise in rescue, sanctuary and international diplomacy to this effort. We are in ongoing discussions with the French Ministry of Ecology and Biodiversity as it assesses the Nova Scotia sanctuary as a preferred option for the welfare of these orcas.

Jane Goodall has written a letter to the ministry advocating for this sanctuary as the best possible solution for these whales.

We understand that the whales can probably not be moved before early 2025. While the French government’s assessment continues, we are moving forward to be ready to receive these whales at the earliest possible time.

We have already completed much of the necessary work and are fast-tracking sanctuary development with an accelerated plan that includes the design and fabrication of a large bay pen to house the whales prior to the completion of the full perimeter net and the construction of temporary land-based facilities to accommodate staff until full construction is complete.

(Photo courtesy of  ppa_Inherently Wild.)

The post Bringing Wikie, Keijo & Inouk to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Last week, the world lost a visionary advocate for the animals. Steven M. Wise, the founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project, was a groundbreaking legal scholar whose historic cases on behalf of captive chimpanzees and elephants have changed the face of legal advocacy.

Steve’s work gained worldwide attention in 2013 when he filed a series of first-ever lawsuits on behalf of nonhuman animals (in this case captive chimpanzees), arguing that as cognitively complex, autonomous beings, they should be recognized as “legal persons” with the fundamental right to bodily liberty.

Thanks to Steve’s work, courts are now having to grapple with the fact that these highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive animals can no longer be treated simply as pieces of property that exist for the benefit of humans.

In 2018, when New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, denied Steve’s case on behalf of two chimpanzees, Tommy and Kiko, one of the judges Judge Eugene M. Fahey nonetheless wrote in his opinion:

“Does an intelligent nonhuman animal who thinks and plans and appreciates life as human beings do have the right to the protection of the law against arbitrary cruelties and enforced detentions visited on him or her? This is not merely a definitional question, but a deep dilemma of ethics and policy that demands our attention.

“To treat a chimpanzee as if he or she had no right to liberty protected by habeas corpus is to regard the chimpanzee as entirely lacking independent worth, as a mere resource for human use, a thing the value of which consists exclusively in its usefulness to others. Instead, we should consider whether a chimpanzee is an individual with inherent value who has the right to be treated with respect.”

Steve often said that he would likely not live long enough to see the day when the legal wall that separates us humans from all other animals would finally crumble. But he lived long enough and worked hard enough to see the first major cracks appearing in that wall. His work has demonstrated that the time has arrived for courts to recognize that certain animals must be recognized as having legal rights appropriate to their species, like the right to bodily liberty and bodily integrity.

He enjoyed remarking that “all my clients are innocent.”Steve won significant legal precedents that are the foundation of the future work of the Nonhuman Rights Project and all legal advocacy for animals. He had the moral courage to stand up for real-world legal rights for animals and argue for them in courts of law all over the United States and in the face of heavy opposition from industries that depend on the exploitation of animals. He was a brilliant writer and committed teacher who helped develop the field of animal law globally.

Before founding the Whale Sanctuary Project, I had the pleasure and privilege of working with Steve to provide the scientific basis for the first suits he filed on behalf of four chimpanzees. And on a personal level, I will remember him for his warmth, his unassuming wit (he enjoyed remarking that “all my clients are innocent”) and, perhaps most of all, for his commitment.

All of us who have known him and loved him will miss him dearly. But his work will continue, here at home and around the world.

The post Remembering Steven M. Wise appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In a significant move toward marine conservation and animal welfare, the SWIMS Act has been reintroduced to the United States Congress by Representatives Adam Schiff, Ron Wyden, Jared Huffman and Suzan DelBene. This legislation aims to put an end to the future capture and breeding of whales for public display.

Over the last 15 years, public opinion has changed considerably regarding keeping whales in concrete tanks for the purposes of entertainment. The reintroduction of the SWIMS Act reflects this evolution and is a critical step forward in addressing these concerns.

Re. Adam Schiff (D. Calif)

In the news release from Rep. Schiff’s office, the lawmakers say that the legislation reflects a shared commitment to animal welfare and marine conservation.

“Whales should be living free in the ocean, not the confines of a concrete tank,” Rep. Schiff notes. “The SWIMS Act would protect these magnificent creatures from lives trapped in captivity and prevent the cruel practice of breeding whales for public display.”

And Rep Huffman adds: “The science and tragic real-life experiences have shown us time and again that marine mammals suffer from being in captivity – often being exploited and abused. But our laws and practices don’t reflect that. We must finally make the humane changes that have been needed for decades.”

The legislation emphasizes the need for a more humane approach to the treatment of captive whales, highlighting the detrimental impact on their physical and psychological well-being.

“Whales should be living free in the ocean, not the confines of a concrete tank.” Rep. Adam SchiffThe SWIMS Act also specifically allows exemptions for animals being transported to a sanctuary setting or released to the wild, requiring that Section 102 of 26 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 be amended to make it “unlawful to export any orca, beluga whale, false killer whale, or pilot whale except for the transport of such species to a marine mammal sanctuary with a determination by the Secretary that the transportation to such sanctuary is in the best interest of the individual marine mammal; or for release to the wild.”

And it adds that “the term ‘sanctuary’ means a place of refuge where marine mammals live in a captive setting as close as possible to their natural environment; are prioritized individually with respect to well-being and autonomy; and are not used for profit or breeding for the purpose of public display.’’

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), which has played an important role in advocating for the SWIMS Act, notes that the SWIMS Act represents a crucial step toward ending the public display of captive whales and acknowledging the inherent cruelty and ethical concerns associated with keeping these intelligent beings in confinement.

“Science increasingly supports the conclusion that we cannot provide conditions in a concrete enclosure to accommodate the size, wide-ranging nature, and physiological and social needs of these four species,” says Dr. Naomi Rose, AWI’s marine mammal scientist and a member of the board of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “The SWIMS Act would compel marine theme parks and aquariums to focus on educational and conservation opportunities that do not perpetuate the unnecessary suffering of these animals.”

The reintroduction of the SWIMS Act represents a collaborative approach toward a more compassionate and sustainable future for these highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive animals.

The post Bill Reintroduced to U.S. Congress to Bring an End to Public Display of Captive Whales appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

A joint press release to French media from One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project, February 1st, 2024.

The French animal defender organization One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project, a U.S. non-profit organization, have agreed to work together toward Inouk, Wikie and Keijo, the three orcas at Marineland Antibes, being retired from commercial display and transferred to a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The agreement comes in the wake of the judicial court of Grasse calling for a pause on the transfer of orcas from Marineland Antibes to Japan pending an independent expert assessment and the Ministry of Ecological Transition launching a consultation process to study non-commercial solutions for captive whales. In light of these initiatives, our organizations now propose a collaboration with Marineland and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.

“The Whale Sanctuary Project is the only current sanctuary project that can accommodate orcas,” said Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice. “We have cooperated on projects for several years and are now working together in offering to partner with Marineland to retire the whales to a more natural environment that will be most beneficial to their health and welfare.”

Wikie, Inouk and Keijo at Marineland Antibes. Copyright Nikola Krtolica

Collaboration an essential ingredient

The Whale Sanctuary Project emphasizes that the success of retiring the orcas to sanctuary will depend on a fully collaborative effort among the staff and management of Marineland, the Whale Sanctuary team, One Voice and other partners, along with government agencies.

This approach is modeled on earlier collaborative ventures. In 2019, the Whale Sanctuary Project worked with the Russian government, Russian animal protection groups and One Voice to successfully return to the ocean 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured illegally for sale to marine entertainment parks in China.

“Organizations that in the past might have been working against each other can successfully work together with shared values of respect and care for the animals.” And in 2023, members of the Whale Sanctuary team worked hand-in-hand with Miami Seaquarium staff through Friends of Toki, in a joint effort to return the orca Toki (also known by her display name Lolita) to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, from where she had been captured in 1970. (Sadly, Toki died from chronic conditions including renal disease and pneumonia before she could be moved.)

“The impact of what was a first-ever, formal collaboration between a marine entertainment park and the animal protection community to care for a whale on site at a marine park cannot be underestimated,” said Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It demonstrated that different organizations that in the past might have been working against each other can successfully work together with shared values of respect and care for the animals.”

Whale Sanctuary Project lease area, Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia

The sanctuary

The coastal sanctuary that the Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing is situated in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia. This protected bay will offer its resident whales more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of water space with depths up to 18 meters, allowing the whales to swim, dive and experience a natural seaside environment. They will be able to explore the seafloor, chase birds on the surface and spend their time in nature while benefiting from human care for the rest of their lives.

It will also ensure that the family group stays together. “Orcas are highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and socially bonded animals,” said Dr. Lori Marino, founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “In the ocean, they live in strong family groups and their emotional and behavioral health is intimately connected with their social group.”

“They will not be stressed by being confined in a small space with orcas with whom they have no relationship.
A sanctuary will provide the best chance they have for a successful life.”Transporting whales to a new situation inevitably causes stress. But any such stress is multiplied exponentially when their destination is another entertainment facility where they must try to accommodate to living long-term in a concrete tank with orcas with whom they are entirely unfamiliar.

“By contrast, at an authentic sanctuary like at Port Hilford Bay,” Dr. Marino explained, “they will be able to stay together as a unit and not be stressed by being confined in a small space with orcas with whom they have no relationship. A sanctuary will provide the best chance they have for a successful life.”

Sanctuary standards

The sanctuary is being designed according to standards prepared jointly by the National Aquarium, Sea Life Trust and the Whale Sanctuary Project, and published by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

The National Aquarium is currently establishing a sanctuary in the Caribbean for its six dolphins, and Sea Life Trust operates a sanctuary in Iceland for two beluga whales who came from an entertainment park that was acquired by its founding partner Merlin Entertainments Group. Merlin Entertainments has a policy of not using cetaceans at any of its marine entertainment parks.

An accelerated plan

Given the urgency facing Wikie, Inouk and Keijo, the Whale Sanctuary Project has developed an accelerated approach to provide the absolutely necessary elements for accommodating the whales before completing the full sanctuary plan.

Phase One of the accelerated plan will include the engineering, fabrication and installation of a bay pen of approximately 6,500 square meters, along with temporary staff quarters and facilities, so that the orcas can be moved to sanctuary. In Phase Two, permanent sanctuary facilities are installed, along with the perimeter net surrounding the 404,000 square meters (100+ acres) of sanctuary water space.

Environmental studies

Over a three-year period since announcing the selection of Port Hilford Bay, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been conducting comprehensive environmental studies to ensure the suitability of the site for whales – and equally to be sure that the presence of the whales will not be detrimental to the local flora and fauna.

One of these studies is specific to Nova Scotia because of historical gold mining that took place across the province from the 1880s through the 1930s. Analyses of soil, water and invertebrate species at the site concluded that while the water throughout the bay is clean, the area onshore where there was once a stamp mill will need to be capped with soil, gravel or concrete at any places that may be disturbed by construction. There are also levels of arsenic sequestered in a small area of the seabed and in some samples taken from invertebrates that inhabit the seabed. We are engaged in consultations with scientists and other experts to determine whether mitigation is required.

A global sanctuary movement

Over recent years, public opinion has fueled a global movement to bring an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity for the purpose of entertainment.

There are already hundreds of first-class sanctuaries all over the world for land animals, including for elephants, big cats, bears and great apes who had spent their earlier lives in zoos (both public and private) and circuses. In working cooperatively and in collaboration with the entertainment industry, we look forward to a time when cetaceans are no longer confined to concrete tanks and have all been retired to authentic sanctuaries.

Contact : Jessica Lefèvre-Grave
presse@one-voice.fr

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Appendix A

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

Mission: We work to transform the way people relate to whales and dolphins by bringing an end to their exploitation and by creating seaside sanctuaries, assisting with international marine mammal rescues, and advancing whale and dolphin science.

Website: https://whalesanctuary.org

Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder, is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence.

Formerly on the faculty of Emory University, she is internationally known for her work on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales. In 2001, she co-authored the ground-breaking study that offered the first conclusive evidence for mirror self-recognition in bottlenose dolphins.

Charles Vinick, Executive Director, is known for his work as director of the Keiko Project, a pioneering effort that marshaled public and media support to reintroduce to the wild the captive orca made famous through the Free Willy films.

For 25 years, he worked closely with Jean-Michel and Jacques Cousteau (during his lifetime), managing the work of The Cousteau Society and Ocean Futures as well as serving as director of Parc Océanique Cousteau in Paris.

About One Voice

Mission: Through its in-depth work, which is submitted to the authorities, and its advocacy, One Voice has forged close links with the French Ministry of Ecology and members of parliament, and in recent years has obtained a ministerial decree and then a law aimed, among other measures, at bringing an end to dolphinariums in France. The association remains vigilant, beyond announcements and good intentions, to ensure that animals remain at the center of concerns.

One Voice also organizes rescues, such as the release of six dolphins captured in Haiti to be sold to dolphinariums, in cooperation with the Haitian government. It proposes solutions, notably by financing shelters and the creation of sanctuaries for animals that it has taken to court.

Muriel Arnal is the founding president of One Voice. She saw the suffering of exploited animals from a very young age when she discovered small circuses and zoos. Her admiration of the fight to save the gorillas and their natural habitat led by Dian Fossey as well as her meeting with Théodore Monod, who would be a supporter of the association, led her to create One Voice in 1995 for the ethics of animals and the planet. Having lived abroad, the participation of the association in big international coalitions was obvious to her: on animal experimentation (ECEAE), on fur (Fur Free Alliance), on dolphinariums (Dolphinaria-Free Europe). One Voice defends individuals, with a vision of uniting in our fights: for the animals, for humans, and for nature.

Website: https://one-voice.fr/

Contact

For more information and to schedule interviews with the Whale Sanctuary Project or One Voice, please contact:
Jessica Lefèvre-Grave
presse@one-voice.fr 

Appendix B

Background Notes re. the Whale Sanctuary Project

Whale sanctuary 100+ acres net placement – artist rendering

The Whale Sanctuary Team

The Whale Sanctuary team comprises experienced staff who have designed, built and installed sanctuary systems and bay pens. Out team provided special care for the orca Toki (also known by her display name Lolita) at the Miami Seaquarium and has been involved in cetacean rescue and rehabilitation work around the world.

The team’s executive director Charles Vinick is known for having directed the Keiko Project, a pioneering effort in the late 1990s that marshaled public and media support to reintroduce to the wild the captive orca made famous through the Free Willy films. His earlier work also included 25 years with Jean-Michel and Jacques Cousteau during which he managed the work of The Cousteau Society and Ocean Futures as well as serving as director of Parc Océanique Cousteau in Paris.

Our staff and advisory board include renowned cetacean scientists; orca trainers and veterinarians experienced in orca transport and conditioning; consultants and contractors who have fabricated and installed net enclosures and related infrastructure; and a network of contacts in government, the scientific community and environmental organizations who are available to help evaluate all aspects of developing and operating a whale sanctuary.

Site search and development

Selection of Port Hilford Bay as the most suitable location for a whale sanctuary came at the end of a three-year search that examined more than 130 sites on both sides of the North American continent and focused on three main factors: the essential physical criteria of land and water; potential impacts on and from local wildlife; and community interests, including concerns of local residents and commercial and recreational interests.

Port Hilford Bay was the one location that met – indeed exceeded – all three criteria when, in 2020, the citizens of nearby Sherbrooke approached the site selection team with its recommendation of the bay as a prime location.

Site development began with a host of environmental studies that included water levels, temperatures, tidal flows and water pressure through all seasons, acoustic doppler current profilers, multibeam sonar, a benthic survey, a complete hydrodynamic model of the region around the sanctuary, and a study of soil and water samples to see what mitigation measures might be necessary regarding heavy metals that are routinely found in tailings from historic gold mining in Nova Scotia (per press statement above).

More about the accelerated plan to meet the needs of Wikie, Inouk and Keijo

Phase One of the accelerated plan will include the engineering, fabrication and installation of a large bay pen, along with temporary staff facilities, so that the orcas can be moved to sanctuary while permanent sanctuary elements are installed.

The bay pen is a netted enclosure of approximately 6,650 square meters, that can be separated into two distinct spaces. It includes a medical lift in the middle section of the bay pen for veterinary care. It has net sides and is anchored to the sea floor providing the whales with enriching access to the flora and fauna on the bottom and introducing them to their ocean environment.

The bay pen includes a perimeter walkway and is structurally engineered so that boats and floating structures can be moored to it.

Phase Two calls for the full perimeter net to be installed encompassing the full 100-acre sanctuary waters and permanent sanctuary facilities to be constructed. The bay pen will then become an isolation area for necessary animal care, veterinary care and a facility for new arrivals before they are released into the full sanctuary.

Permits, leases and funding

The Whale Sanctuary Project has received and executed an Offer of Lease from the Canadian government’s Department of Natural Resources & Renewables. The Offer of Lease makes available a total water space of 201 acres that includes the 100-plus acres for the whales; the space needed for the anchoring system, a small island that provides shelter to the waters during storms, and a security zone. The lease will take effect after all permits have been issued.

A purchase agreement is in place for 30 acres of sanctuary lands, and the requisite funds are being held in a dedicated escrow-type fund pending completion of permitting.

The Wendy McCaw Foundation has pledged $5 million to be released upon completion of permitting. These funds will be used for construction of the sanctuary or for care of the whales over a ten-year period. We are in the process of securing further pledges contingent upon knowing that marine entertainment facilities are willing to work in partnership with us to retire their whales to the sanctuary.

Full details of sanctuary finances are available from the Whale Sanctuary Project’s “Form 990” as submitted annually to the U.S. government.

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Three days ago, we heard that Naya’s calf had died at the Moskvarium, and now it is being reported that J-60, too, has passed away. It is a truly sad moment. And as our thoughts go out to the two mothers as they mourn the loss of their calves, it is worth reflecting, too, on the striking contrast between grief in the wild and grief in captivity – and on how the difference between a natural free-ranging life and one spent in captivity once again becomes apparent. 

Newborn J-60 with his mother. Photo above and in the post title by Center for Whale Research.

In the ocean, J-46 will be receiving the support and assistance of a close-knit family group to help her through this difficult time. I am reminded of another mother, Tahlequah (J-35), who gave birth to a daughter named Tali in July 2018. Shortly after she was born, Tali passed away, and for the next two weeks, the world watched, transfixed, as Tahlequah, in what could only be interpreted as a display of profound grief and loss, carried the lifeless body of her daughter along the shoreline of Puget Sound on her rostrum. Her family followed along, and when, from time to time, the body slipped away from her, she or other family members would dive below the surface to retrieve it.

Photo of Naya and her calf by Moskvarium.

At the Moskvarium, by contrast, Naya is left to cope with her calf’s death all alone. There are no other orcas in the tank with her, no one to ease her pain, and nothing to relieve the stark suffering of the loss that has befallen her.

At no time is the cruel difference between solitary captivity and a natural life more salient than when tragedy strikes and the need for comfort is at its peak.

It is a fact of life that, whether in captivity or in the ocean, infant mortality among whales is high. And yes, it is appropriate to ask why it is just as high in captivity – an ostensibly “safe” environment – as it is in the wild. But right now, in the immediate aftermath of these two losses, we should perhaps simply pause to reflect on how we would feel if, as a grieving parent, we found ourselves either all alone in a barren concrete tank or, instead, had the succor of a large family to help us cope with life’s inevitable hardships.

The post The Passing of Two Orca Calves Prompts a Moment for Reflection appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Photo of Hvaldimir with his harness by Jorgen Ree Wiig, Sea Surveillance Service

When one of the fishermen got into the water, the 14-foot, 2,700-pound whale allowed him to remove the harness, and then followed another boat back to the harbor of the nearby fishing and tourism town of Hammerfest.

Soon named Hvaldimir – a conflation of the Norwegian word for whale and the Russian name Vladimir – the beluga quickly attracted the attention of scientists and government officials trying to figure out what was best for him, along with tourists from far and wide who wanted to be photographed with him.

Over the four years since then, many plans have been proposed for Hvaldimir’s future. They include relocating him further north to where there are many more ocean-going belugas; creating a sanctuary for him by netting off a fjord in Norway; and simply leaving him be.

“Caught in a tangle of conflicting human emotions, some noble, others misguided, nearly all distorted by inadequate understanding.”Much has also been written about him, but perhaps the most insightful article to date comes from the pen of Ferris Jabr, author of the forthcoming book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. His article was published in The New York Times Magazine on January 15th, 2024.

Jabr notes that Hvaldimir finds himself increasingly “at the center of a dispute over his welfare … caught in a tangle of conflicting human emotions, some noble, others misguided, nearly all distorted by inadequate understanding.”

Whether captured from the wild or raised in captivity, he writes, captive whales are subject to “a heavy physical and psychological toll.” They are “in-between creatures: born to whales but raised by humans, not quite domesticated but no longer wild, suspended somewhere in the middle of instinct and compliance.” And while, or perhaps because, we view them with such awe, we also feel the need both to dominate them and to be recognized, even loved, by them. Not surprisingly, the end result is rarely, if ever, good for the whales.

Sign asking people not to touch Hvaldimir, nor swim with him, nor throw objects into the water, nor approach him by boat. Photo by DiFronzo via-creative-commons.

The same is also the case for many other kinds of animals. Caught up in our conflicted emotions toward these megafauna, we humans tend to project onto them our own desires for how we wish they would relate to us. But as Henry Beston famously wrote a hundred years ago: “In a world older and more complete than ours … they are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other Nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.”

Although he was a captive whale, Hvaldimir differs from most other captive cetaceans in that he is accustomed to being in the ocean. Most captive whales were born in captivity and have never learned how to survive in the ocean. And Jabr notes that in recent years, scientists, conservationists and a few of the most progressive marine entertainment parks and aquariums have been working to establish sanctuaries to which the animals can be retired.

One problem they face, he writes, is that an ideal cetacean sanctuary “should be sheltered but still part of the ocean; it should be large, remote and untrafficked, yet still small and accessible enough to staff and manage. In other words, exactly the kind of place that humans like to keep for themselves.”

This is, of course, why it took the Whale Sanctuary Project three years of searching before we were able to select Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, as our choice of location. And we were most fortunate in that when the community of nearby Sherbrooke heard about our work, they reached out to suggest that their region might be exactly what we were looking for. We have been met with a heartfelt welcome there.

Authentic sanctuaries remain the best option for captive whales and dolphins, as has already proven to be the case for land-based megafauna. And we look to a time when cetaceans are no longer being captured from the ocean, nor bred in captivity, and when those now in captivity can be retired to sanctuaries where they can live their lives in an environment that’s as close as possible to a life in the open ocean.

Meanwhile, Hvaldimir’s future remains unclear. Other than for a few months when he strayed too far south, he has been able to feed and look after himself. And the best option for him may well be to leave him alone as long as that continues to be the case and without getting into any other kind of trouble.

Jabr writes that “we have often expressed our passion for such creatures by trying to possess them: by fitting them with collars, roping them into circuses and placing them behind glass … Yet the closer we have pulled such animals toward us, the more difficult it has become to deny the torment that our proximity inflicts.

“Perhaps the purest act of love,” he concludes, “is to leave them alone in the first place.”

#   #   #

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Officially designated J-60, the newest member of the J pod of the Southern Resident orcas will soon receive a proper name courtesy of the Whale Museum on San Juan Island, which gathers votes from the local whale lovers.

Photo of J-60 by Maya Sears under NMFS Permit 27052

Scientists are celebrating the news of the birth cautiously: Many baby orcas do not survive long due to toxic pollution and a lack of chinook salmon to eat. J-60’s mother is believed to be a first-time mother, which would mean her mother’s milk may have accumulated a significant dose of pollutants over the course of her 19-year life. But she’ll also be getting a significant dose of love and support from her family members, who will be guiding her through everything she needs to know about caring for her newborn. Orca life is all about family.

The same is not the case on the other side of the world at the Moskvarium Aquarium in Russia, where 11-year-old orca Naya has just given birth to a daughter. According to a post on the Moskvarium’s Instagram:

“After 10 hours of hard labor … our specialists delivered Russia’s first killer whale birth in an artificial habitat. It was not easy, but thanks to teamwork everything ended well … Now the main task is for Naya to recover from difficult birth, to establish milk feeding, and the cub to develop without abnormalities and get stronger.”

Photo of Naya and her daughter by Moskvarium.

Life has already been hard for Naya. Last year, her two tank mates, Narnia and Nord, died early deaths. The Moskvarium then announced they would no longer participate in the capture of marine mammals from the ocean:

“Employees of the Moskvarium Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology, as the country’s leading experts in their field, took part in the development of draft law N40333-8 “On Amendments to the Federal Law in Fisheries and the Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources”, advocating a complete ban on the extraction (catch) of marine mammals for cultural and educational purposes.”

Neuroscientist Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, notes that neither the newborn nor her mother will have the kind of loving family support that J-60 and her mother are experiencing in a natural environment, surrounded by their large extended family.

“The little orca in Puget Sound came into a world filled with love and support from his mother and relatives, a large extended family. He will enjoy being part of a vibrant Southern Resident orca community. He will learn how to be an orca amidst the safety of his social group, and he can look forward to being part of a multi-generational population of orcas who will travel together, play together and help each other.

“Naya’s daughter will have none of that. She is born into an impoverished empty world with only her young inexperienced mother as support and nothing to do and no one to play and socialize with. She and her mother have a bleak future unless they are transferred to a sanctuary.”

We wish both newborns good health and long life. And our special wish for Naya and her daughter is that as the sanctuary movement spreads around the world, they will both have the opportunity to be retired from the misery of life in a concrete tank.

The post A Tale of Two Baby Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

David was a dedicated animal advocate who supported many efforts. He was passionate about elephants and was a longtime supporter of the Performing Animals Welfare Society and the executive producer of the beautiful 2012 documentary How I Became an Elephant about the ongoing movement to save Asian elephants.

He gave a better life to donkeys in India and to dogs in rural North Carolina through his gifts to PETA. He championed the cause of animals in biomedical research and spay-neuter clinics around the globe. He initiated clerkship programs for young animal attorneys, helping to create the burgeoning field of animal law. And so much more. Wherever there was a need, he was there.

David had a deep concern for whales and dolphins who are confined at entertainment parks. He played a key role in the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project and was one of our most generous and committed donors.

I will miss our conversations and the world will miss an exemplary animal advocate.

Rest in peace, David.

Dr. Lori Marino.

The post In Memory of David Reuben appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We have received the results of some recent environmental studies we’ve been conducting at the sanctuary site in Nova Scotia. The last of these studies, an Environmental Site Assessment III (ESA III), was completed in July, when a team of divers took samples of soil from the seabed so that we could send them for laboratory analysis.

The ESA series is important because it relates to historical gold mining that took place across Nova Scotia from the 1880s through the 1930s. We understood, when we selected Port Hilford Bay as our location-of-choice for a whale sanctuary in North America, that there were remnants of gold mine tailings on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands. This meant we needed to study soil and water samples to see what mitigation measures might be necessary regarding heavy metals – specifically mercury and arsenic ­– that are routinely found in those tailings.

Prior to the ESA III study of submerged soils, we had already studied sanctuary lands along the shore, and we had tested samples of water, both in the ocean and in the freshwater streams around the bay. Here is what we’ve learned from all of this work:

Sanctuary waters: The water column – meaning all water throughout the bay – is clean and has no detected contaminants. Laboratory analyses have shown no traces of any heavy metals or other contamination.

Sanctuary lands onshore: Samples taken by our consultants have found no concerning level of mercury. There is an area around an old stamp mill on land that has levels of arsenic that will require us to cap any areas that are likely to be disturbed by construction.

Submerged soils in the seabed: Laboratory analyses found levels of arsenic sequestered in the soils, but no concerning levels of mercury.

The concern about submerged soils is whether people or whales would be potentially harmed by the presence of the level of arsenic in the submerged soil, primarily through ingesting invertebrates that inhabit the ocean floor. So, we conducted studies for three species of invertebrates: clams, mussels and rock crabs. We did not find clams in any areas of Port Hilford Bay where whales could contact them. Mussels tested acceptable for human consumption. Levels of arsenic in rock crabs tested above Nova Scotia guidelines for human consumption. So, we are continuing to research how this may apply to whales since different species of mammals metabolize minerals in different ways.

Next steps: We are engaging a Site Professional to develop our site plan, including any mitigation. On sanctuary lands, recommended mitigation procedure will be to cap any area that may be disturbed by construction work for buildings, parking, etc. with a layer of soil, gravel or paving. Regarding submerged soils and the possibility of whales ingesting an animal that has elevated levels of any metal of concern, we will be engaging toxicologists to investigate whether there is any risk that the whales could ingest a level that could be harmful and if so, what mitigation may be needed in submerged soil.

We’ll continue to update you as we finalize plans for any required mitigation work and as we press ahead toward final site development.

#          #          #

The post Update on Results of the ESA III Study and Laboratory Analysis appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Dear Friends,

The loss of yet more orcas and beluga whales at entertainment parks this year has only increased the urgency of completing the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Almost every week this year has brought more news of the dire situation in which captive whales find themselves – both at home and abroad.

• Kiska, the lone orca at Marineland Canada, died in March after having seen all five of her calves perish in her concrete tank. She was 46 years old. Marineland has not disclosed how many beluga whales there may also have lost their lives this year.
• Fifty-seven-year-old Tokitae succumbed in August at the Miami Seaquarium despite the heroic collaboration to prep her for return to her home waters.
• Twelve-year-old Moana passed away in a crumbling tank at Marineland Antibes in France in October. His remaining family of three orcas is scheduled to be sent to Japan, where they will likely be distributed among two or more entertainment parks.
• And Nord and Narnia, two young orcas at Russia’s Moskvarium Aquarium, both died of gastrointestinal diseases, leaving 11-year-old Naya alone and pregnant.

The urgency of this situation means that we can no longer proceed step by step, as we have been doing until now: through the permitting process; then sanctuary design and construction; followed by negotiation with marine parks and aquariums.

Instead, we must work on all fronts simultaneously so that we can be ready to welcome the first whales on their timetable, not ours. 

Donate now so we can be ready to welcome the first whales.While staff facilities can be temporary structures, even trailers, we must be ready to fabricate and install the nets and a smaller bay pen that will be the initial space for the whales.

And that is the focus of our fundraising efforts right now.

Your Holiday donation will support this next phase of establishing the sanctuary as we press ahead to make ready the initial space for the whales.

This summer, we completed three years of mandatory environmental studies that are essential to obtaining permits to begin construction. (The key steps are included in this “Timeline.”) This work has taken time and funding, and it has been essential, not only to the health and safety of the whales, but to getting the permits that are required to begin construction.

Thank you for all you have done to bring us to this point.

Who might be the first whales to come to the sanctuary?

Here are some of the whales from around the world who are clearly on our radar:

Inouk, Wikie, Keijo and Moana at Marineland Antibes. (Nikola Krtolica, OneVoice.)

Three orcas in France: Inouk, Wikie and Keijo are members of the same family as 12-year-old Moana, who died this year at Marineland Antibes. All they have now is each other. And the plan may be to split them up in separate facilities in Japan, probably next March. If that is the case, we can’t imagine a worse outcome for this family.

Animal protection groups in France are asking Marineland and the government to keep the family together. And they’re raising support to have them come to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia. At our end, we would need to demonstrate, by early in the New Year, that we can give them the home they so urgently need.

And your support is the key to our being able to do that. 

Bella at the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul.

Two beluga whales in South Korea: Luvi and Bella were captured in Russian waters and have been living at separate facilities, both of which are eager to move them to sanctuaries.

The government has also approved the move. But again, we can’t do it without you.

The beluga whales at Marineland Canada: There are 30-plus beluga whales at Marineland Canada. Six months ago, the Mayor of Niagara announced that this sprawling facility and its surrounding property is up for sale and that he wants the best possible outcome for the whales.

Two years ago, we held preliminary discussions with Marineland Canada about the possibility of transferring whales from their facility to the sanctuary at the appropriate time. But when the Niagara police charged Marineland with using whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, which is now prohibited by law in Canada, Marineland broke off further discussion.

However, the potential sale of the facility, along with the mayor’s commitment to the animals, presents a new opportunity for the belugas.

Next steps

Completing the sanctuary, even in stages – with the bay pen and nets installed, along with temporary support facilities – depends on having the funds: both for construction and to guarantee the transportation and initial care of the whales.

Your support is the key to this. Please donate today so we can be ready to welcome the first whales.

Public opinion is demanding change.

A growing number of marine parks and aquariums are themselves concluding that conditions at many facilities are intolerable and that it is time to plan for an end to keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks.

Not long ago, a similar change in public opinion led to sanctuaries being established for land animals of all kinds: elephants, chimpanzees, lions and tigers, bears and many more.

And just eight years ago, the famous Ringling Brothers circus bowed to public opinion and announced the end of all its animal acts. And when the new “Greatest Show on Earth” returned, it drew bigger audiences than ever … and with no animal acts!

The success of zoos and circuses that have changed their business model represents an opportunity for marine entertainment parks. They, too, can not only survive without whale and dolphin acts; they can thrive. And that’s our reason for wanting to work with them, not against them, to bring this about.

Of course, no single sanctuary can accommodate all the whales who need to be retired from concrete tanks to coastal sanctuaries. That’s why, as the first of its kind, the sanctuary in Nova Scotia will be a proof of concept for many more to come, just as was the case for elephants, big cats and chimpanzees.

For whales coming to the sanctuary, a whole new life awaits

• 100 acres of water, with all the natural contours of a bay and seafloor that will allow the whales to use their echolocation abilities to explore their environment;
• a living habitat, replete with fish and other ocean creatures to provide all the variety and stimulation their complex brains need in order to thrive;
• and 24/7 care from an expert team including world-class veterinarians.

Together we can begin to fulfill the dream of a time when no whales are being kept in concrete tanks anywhere and that they can all have a life that will, to the greatest extent possible, make up for what went before.

Please send your donation today. And, if you can, select the sustaining donor option with a monthly pledge that’s comfortable for you and that will sustain this work over time.

Thank you again for your support, and we wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and a peaceful New Year to come.

               
Lori Marino, President                                          Charles Vinick, Executive Director

The post How We Can Give Sanctuary to the Whales Who Cannot Wait appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

• The report, as received and released by the Miami Seaquarium, of veterinary pathologist Dr. Judy St. Leger, who led the necropsy;

• A statement from Tokitae’s lead consulting veterinarians Tom Reidarson, DVM, and consulting veterinarians James McBain, DVM retired, and Stephanie Norman, DVM.

The necropsy was led by veterinary pathologist Dr. Judy St. Leger, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology with more than 20 years of experience in marine mammal pathology. She has worked with free ranging orcas and orcas in professional care; has published five peer-reviewed papers on the matter and is coauthor of the Killer Whale Necropsy Guidelines. Dr. St. Leger rigorously led the necropsy with the presence of a Veterinary Medical Officer for the NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center and leader of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program; and was supported by a team of highly skilled pathologists.

Having reviewed the results of the necropsy, Drs. Reidarson, McBain and Norman issued the following assessment:

The post Tokitae’s Necropsy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

History of the ESA Series

The series had begun with an ESA I, which is a general assessment of whether samples of soil and sediment should be taken for analysis. The reason for doing an ESA I was that when we were first considering Nova Scotia as a possible location for the sanctuary, we learned that there had been historical gold mining in several regions of the province from the 1880s to the 1930s and that there might still be remnants of gold mine tailings on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands.

During our two-year site search, we had researched 130 possible locations in British Columbia, Washington State and Nova Scotia. We’d found beautiful locations in British Columbia, but they were all too remote to be practical. And off the coast of Washington State, by contrast, either the human population was just too dense, or the sites were not available. It was therefore clear that the West Coast was not an option for this first whale sanctuary.

In Nova Scotia, however, there was one location that rose to the fore above all others: Port Hilford Bay, Wine Harbour, where we found an excellent site and a welcoming community. And after local consultations, we concluded that any issues related to historic gold mining could be mitigated, just as is the case in many other coastal locations in the province. (For details on how we conducted the search and the basic criteria by which we judged each location, go here.)

One location that rose to the fore above all others, where we found an excellent site and a welcoming community.Our decision to pursue Port Hilford Bay as the best location in North America prompted extensive environmental studies. These included analyses of currents, tidal flows at multiple depths; flushing rates; benthic surveys of flora and fauna; storm tracking and seasonal changes over two years, and many more. (Examples of some of these are described here.)

The last of these environmental studies is the ESA series, which comprises analyses of soils, submerged land and the waters along the shore of the sanctuary site to understand everything that may be necessary to develop the sanctuary site including any remediation work. Based on our understanding that there had been a gold stamping mill in this location, the ESA I led directly to an ESA II sampling and analysis of land-based soil and groundwater.

The ESA II began in the spring of 2022 and our consultants sent us the results six months later in September, noting that areas that contain elements that might be disturbed by construction work can be mitigated by covering them with a layer of soil, gravel or concrete.

Their report also recommended a geotechnical “review of subsurface conditions at the site in relation to the site development plans” and a follow-up study to analyze terrestrial groundwater. The results of this, which we received in May 2023, led to an ESA III study of submerged soils and invertebrates.

The ESA III study

The ESA III study began in July 2023 with a professional dive team collecting 18 core samples from the seabed.

The study team was joined by Wayne T. Joy of Deep Perspective Diving, who volunteered his time to join the team. Wayne’s remarkable photos of the fish, the crabs and all the other animals, grasses, sea plants and diverse life forms demonstrate what a robust and vibrant seascape it will be for whales coming from marine parks.

Summary of the work

A total of 27 sediment samples were collected from several locations across the site, including the on-site pond and surrounding wetland areas. The team collected a total of 21 marine sediment samples, including three coastal/intertidal locations, along with six terrestrial sediment samples.

Twelve of the marine sediment samples were collected into Shelby tubes (i.e., cores) that were 25cm long. In the other six cases, where insufficient sediment thickness or if bedrock or other large granular sediment was encountered, the available surface sediments were collected directly into glass sample jars provided by the laboratory. All Shelby tube sediment samples were kept in cool storage prior to submission to the laboratory.

Alexandra Vance, our Nova Scotia Project Manager, supervised the work and explained the work of the dive team in the following Q&A.

Q: This has been a long series of studies. It even took three months after the end of the second ESA II for us to be able to start the ESA III. What was the delay?

A: There are all kinds of unexpected delays in a project for which the governmental agencies have no precedent. In this case, because the ESA III studies would involve taking core samples from the seabed, we needed two separate permits from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables – one for sediment and water, and another for invertebrates. We applied for the marine sampling (sediment and water) permit back in April 2022, but it expired in December before we got our marine invertebrate permit, so we had to re-apply. We got the permit renewed in June 2023 and brought the dive team to the sanctuary site to execute the sampling in July.

There are all kinds of unexpected delays in a project for which the governmental agencies have no precedent. Q: How long do results generally take for these kinds of tests?

A: Our consulting firm told us that it would likely be six weeks for the laboratory to get back preliminary results and that those would be very crude results, just a large Excel file with lots of numbers. It would take a few more weeks to synthesize those results into a report that we can actually interpret. So, I’d say we’re looking at mid-October at the latest.

Q: What are we expecting to see in the results?

A: We’re probably going to see some level of metals near the shore adjacent to where we know there was the gold stamping mill. So, we would expect that some of these will have washed into the water from rainfall and general run off. And we would expect to see some deposition in the ground water on that shoreline adjacent to the gold stamping mill and in the adjacent submerged soil. Which is why we’re doing these analyses.

Q: What steps will we have to take regarding whatever we find?

A: We already know about the areas that are on land. Government standards require that any areas that are going to be exposed will need to be covered with a layer of soil, gravel or concrete.

You obviously can’t do just that in the ocean. That’s why we want to know whether some of the soil has washed away and if so, how much of it may have washed away.

Q: Talk a little about the core samples that we took.

A: We took samples from the seabed that went about 25 centimeters deep. You can see them in the photo that one of the divers took. It’s a metal tube with two rubber caps: one on top and one on bottom. You take that metal core tube, place it on the seabed at the bottom, and use a rubber mallet to hammer it in. Then you put the top cap on to keep the soil from leaking out when the tube is pulled from soil before the bottom cap is attached to the tube.

The divers had to try different things to use as mallets because using the same one at each place didn’t always work, especially when they got to harder mud. But they definitely got the hang of it by the end.

Q: There’s a lot of gear involved in the diving work. Can you explain some of it?

A: There’s two different kinds of scuba. One is where you bring the air tank on you; the other is where it’s on the surface or in this case, the air tank is on the boat. The orange, the blue and the yellow lines have his air (called the umbilical), his communications, and a rope that‘s tethered to him.

In one of the photos, you can see he’s got two lights, one on either side of his helmet. One of them has a camera on top of that. And inside his helmet is a two-way communication so he can speak freely back to the captain on the boat.

And in another photo, you see the captain talking to him and watching the video in real time. So, the diver would hold something up and be asking is this one of the invertebrates you want to look at? And I’d be right there next to the captain and saying no, not that one … yes, that one. So, we were actually able to identify exactly what we needed in real time without having the diver bring samples to the surface. We wanted to cause as little disturbance as possible, and to be the least invasive we possibly could to these wonderful creatures.

Incidentally, the photographer wasn’t wearing that gear with the umbilical. His diving suit is very self-contained.

Q: So, back to the core samples.

A: At the lab, they’ll be analyzing both the top half and the bottom half of the core samples separately, so we’re not just homogenizing the entire sample. In each case, we’ll be able to see if there’s a difference between surface sediments and bottom sediments.

Q: Did you select the places where the divers took the core samples based on the geography of the sanctuary site and what we already know from our earlier studies of the tidal flows and currents?

Exactly. If you look at a map of those 18 sample sites, they’re all within our proposed boundary of the site and we have a good relatively randomized swath of our whole site.

Q: Is it possible that ESA III is going to lead to an ESA Four?

A: No. This is the final stage of the ESA series we’ve needed to do – both to meet the governmental requirements in Nova Scotia and to satisfy our own need to be sure that the site is suited to the care of whales. We’ve done lots of other environmental studies, too, and some of them have involved several years of testing – like water temperatures and flows through all seasons over a period of years. There may well be more work to do, but completing the ESA series certainly represents a major milestone.

Also: Take a virtual tour of the sanctuary site – or four of them by boat, by air and by land.  

The post Diving into the Final Environmental Site Assessment appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Plans were actively moving ahead for her to be returned to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, from where she was captured in 1970. But suddenly, last week, she took a turn for the worse, and despite all medical efforts to help her, she went into renal failure.

For many years, Toki has led the way in turning public opinion away from using whales and dolphins as a form of entertainment. Pressing most vigorously for her return has always been the Lummi Nation of the Pacific Northwest, for whom she was always “a member of our family under the waves.” Indeed, it was at the request of the Indigenous-led Sacred Lands Conservancy that the Whale Sanctuary Project developed the beginning of an operational plan for them to accomplish this.

A new life for Toki began to look increasingly possible in March 2022 when a Mexican company, The Dolphin Company, announced that they had purchased the Seaquarium. Their CEO, Eduardo Albor, even commented that his own daughter had told him that Toki should not be living in a concrete tank.

As confidence grew that she could, indeed, be retired from the Seaquarium, environmentalist and philanthropist Pritam Singh and the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Charles Vinick co-founded the non-profit Friends of Toki organization to collaborate with Albor toward enabling Toki to return home. And Albor agreed to having a team of independent veterinarians assess Toki’s health and prescribe treatment as needed.

Over the next few months, although an underlying condition caused her some occasional relapses, Toki’s health greatly improved. As recorded on the Friends of Toki website, she was increasingly energetic, and her care team of veterinarians and trainers thought she could be moved to a seaside sanctuary in her natal waters.

The need for marine parks to work with the sanctuary movement toward retiring their whales is urgent. As news circulated that she might be returned to her home waters, in March, Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts football team, stepped forward to lend his leadership and financial support for the work that would be involved.

And so, in the past few weeks – and after 16 months of world-class care from veterinarians and from caregivers who included members of the Whale Sanctuary team – Toki was not only more physically fit, she was also being introduced to her sling for transport and elements of the new environment in which she would live.

But ultimately it was not to be. Following her death, Toki’s body was lifted from the pool by the very sling that would have transported her home. And plans are now underway by the Lummi Nation and others to bring her back to the Pacific Northwest for a traditional farewell.

As news of Toki’s passing continues to spread around the world, the Jane Goodall Institute is calling for an immediate worldwide ban on the capturing, keeping, and breeding of cetaceans in captivity.

The need for sanctuaries across the world is urgent, as is the need for marine parks to work with the sanctuary movement toward retiring their whales.

It is our aspiration for Toki, as her legacy, that the whale sanctuary we’re establishing in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, be just the first of many more to come.

The post Tokitae the Orca’s Legacy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This afternoon, Friends of Toki posted the following heartbreaking news:

“Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort, which her full Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively.

“Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon from what is believed to be a renal condition. Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family.

“Those who have had the privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.”

We share in the grief it brings to all of us around the world who were working for her safe return to her home waters.

May she rest in peace.

The post Tokitae the Orca Has Passed Away appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On June 23rd, the aquarium announced that Nord, a 16-year-old male orca, who was captured in 2013, had died of an acute peptic ulcer.

Photo of Nord by Oxana Federova

Only five months earlier, on January 8th, it posted that Narnia, a 17-year-old female orca taken from the ocean several years ago had died of an acute volvulus (the abnormal twisting of a portion of the gastrointestinal tract).

Naya, a 12-year-old female, is now the one remaining orca at the aquarium.

These latest two deaths are part of a worldwide pattern of illness and death that characterizes the lives of captive orcas – whether wild-caught or captive-born – in concrete tanks. In the wild, male orcas live to an average age of 30 (maximum 50-60 years) and females live to an average age of 46 (maximum 80-90). Most captive orcas do not live beyond their early 20s.

Following the passing of Nord, the Moskvarium admitted publicly that it is impossible to close the gap between what orcas need to thrive and what life in a tank is like for them.
It is impossible to close the gap between what orcas need to thrive and what life in a tank is like for them

“Despite the high level of competence of the center’s experts … it is extremely difficult to approximate the artificial conditions for keeping large marine mammals to natural,” it wrote in a statement. The facility has called for a “complete ban on catching marine mammals for educational and cultural purposes.”

The Moskvarium notes that its Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology took part in the development of a law that comes into effect in Russia in September 2024 and provides for a complete ban on “the capture of marine mammals for cultural and educational purposes.”

Photo of Narnia by Moskvarium

The decision to end catching orcas and other marine mammals for entertainment is certainly laudable but it does not ban the breeding of these animals in captivity. Science tells us that captive-born orcas have just as poor, if not poorer, well-being in the tanks as those who were born in the ocean.

The aquarium also notes that in 2019, its experts participated in the rescue and return to the ocean of the 97 orcas and beluga whales who were being held at the infamous “whale jail” near Vladivostok after being captured for sale to entertainment parks in China. (The Whale Sanctuary Project also worked with the Russian government and with Russian animal protection groups. See our posts on Whale Aid Russia.)

The question now is what will happen to Naya, the remaining orca at the Moskvarium who is being kept under conditions that, for a highly social and intelligent mammal, are inhumane. The stress of being the sole individual in a highly artificial environment after experiencing the deaths of two other orcas could lead to her demise, too.

Just as the Miami Seaquarium is now working with the nonprofit Friends of Toki toward transferring its lone orca Tokitae to a sanctuary environment, the Whale Sanctuary Project and our colleagues in the wildlife sanctuary community stand ready to work with the Moskvarium toward determining what are the next best steps for Naya to ensure that she has the highest possible quality of life so that she doesn’t follow the same path as Narnia and Nord.

Title photo of orca Nord by Moskvarium.

The post After Second Death This Year, Russian Aquarium Renounces Use of Captured Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) has adopted and published the first ever set of best practices for cetacean (whale and dolphin) sanctuaries. (See the press statement here.)

The new guidelines are the product of a pioneering collaboration between the Whale Sanctuary Project, the National Aquarium, Sea Life Trust, and Merlin Entertainments.

Accreditation standards for sanctuaries that care for land animals – including elephants, great apes and big cats – have been in place for many years. And now, as public opinion demands an end to keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks for the purposes of entertainment, coastal sanctuaries are being established for their retirement.

The new standards provide the answer to a critically important question: What constitutes a true, authentic sanctuary? And how do you know that a facility that calls itself a sanctuary really is what it claims to be?

Until now, there have been no generally recognized standards for what differentiates a sanctuary from any other facility that houses whales and dolphins.

“These guidelines were established through the combined efforts of top cetacean experts,” says Valerie Taylor, executive director of GFAS, in a press statement issued this week. “They signal a defining moment for the future of captive cetaceans across the globe.”

Four questions you can ask

Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and a neuroscientist with expertise in the psychology of cetaceans, explains that the new guidelines expand on four simple questions that anyone visiting a facility that houses whales and dolphins – or indeed any other kind of animal – can ask themselves:

• Does it engage in trained performances?
• Does it allow visitors to have direct contact with the animals, e.g., swim-with-dolphins programs, petting pools, etc.?
• Does it allow breeding?
• And overall, does it have any priorities other than the well-being of the animals?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it isn’t an authentic sanctuary.

The fact is there are numerous facilities, all over the world, that call themselves sanctuaries in order to attract well-meaning tourists who pay to ride the animals, swim with them, and so forth. Those activities require putting the well-being of the visitors ahead of that of the animals.

“That’s why it’s so important that we have firm standards by which authentic sanctuaries can be accredited,” Dr. Marino explains.

Three aspects of an authentic sanctuary

The new standards define three aspects of an authentic sanctuary: the place where they are located, the principles on which they’re founded, and the practices by which they are governed. Each of these have to prioritize the well-being of each sanctuary resident over human interests.

Place: An authentic sanctuary sets out to approximate a natural cetacean habitat to the fullest extent possible. So, it should be located in a large, natural, coastal area that promotes diverse, natural behaviors and relationships, while conserving the natural ecosystem of the habitat itself.

Principles: At an authentic sanctuary, the welfare of cetaceans takes priority over all other considerations, including visitors, caregivers, scientists and donors.

Practices: Authentic cetacean sanctuaries provide human care (feeding, veterinary check-ups and treatment) essential for health and safety, as do traditional marine parks. Sanctuaries therefore represent the best of both worlds for captive cetaceans.

About the team that formulated the new standards

For the past two years, leaders of the National Aquarium, the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Merlin Entertainments and its sister charity Sea Life Trust have worked together to establish science-based standards that derive from their experience and their aspirations for the animals they serve.

Merlin Entertainments: Since the 1990s, Merlin Entertainments, a British company that specializes in amusement parks, has followed a policy of not having whales and dolphins at any of their facilities. So, when it took over the Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai in 2012, it set about providing a new home for the three beluga whales who were on display there, funding and supporting the work of its partner, the nonprofit Sea Life Trust, to build a sanctuary in Icelandic waters. And while one of the whales did not survive long enough to be retired, the other two, known as Little Grey and Little White, were transferred to their new home in 2019.

“We have seen first-hand the gargantuan effort, cost and sheer amount of care and passion that these sanctuaries take to create and beyond that, to maintain,” says Rob Hicks, Global Director of Animal Welfare at Merlin Entertainments. “They are years in the making and need to be supported and run by a whole network of amazing and dedicated people.”

Sea Life Trust beluga sanctuary

Sea Life Trust is Merlin Entertainment’s nonprofit partner, working globally to protect the world’s oceans and the amazing marine life that lives within them.

The organization’s vision is of a world where our seas are healthy, protected, and full of diverse life.  We own and operate marine wildlife sanctuaries, run inspiring conservation campaigns, and fund projects and education programs that champion the need for plastic-free oceans, sustainable fishing, effective Marine Protected Areas, and an end to over-exploitation of marine life.

The Whale Sanctuary Project works to transform the way people relate to whales and dolphins by bringing an end to their exploitation and by creating seaside sanctuaries, assisting with international marine mammal rescues, and advancing whale and dolphin science.

Right now, with your help, we are creating a gold-standard coastal sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, where cetaceans (whales and dolphins) can live in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat. It is being designed to serve as a model for many more that can then be built all over the world in the coming years.

“Sanctuaries are one of the most important ways we can make reparations to these intelligent, beautiful animals for decades of exploitation,” Dr. Marino says. “That’s why we’re so gratified to be working with other experts and scientists who share the vision of a world in which no dolphins or whales are used for entertainment but are treated with the respect they deserve.”

The creation of this sanctuary is the first step toward our vision of a world in which all cetaceans are treated with respect and are no longer confined to concrete tanks in entertainment parks and aquariums.

Concept design for National Aquarium sanctuary

National Aquarium: In 2016, John Racanelli, President and CEO of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, announced the aquarium’s intention to move the dolphins in its care to an oceanside sanctuary. “As we embarked on this ground-breaking work,” he says, “we quickly determined this was about more than our dolphins alone; it concerned all captive cetaceans.”

John and his team have worked closely with the Whale Sanctuary Project and Sea Life Trust. “It was imperative that we work with other experts in the field to outline the places, principles and practices that would define authentic cetacean sanctuaries. We have a duty to the animals in our care to ensure that when they move, it is to a new home designed around their social, physical and emotional needs, one that comes as close as possible to their native habitat.”

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries: The Global Federation was founded in 2007 by animal protection leaders in response to what they saw in the virtually unchecked and often hidden exploitation of animals for entertainment and profit. Since then, the organization has facilitated the establishing of standards for many other kinds of sanctuaries, including for elephants, great apes, big cats and companion animals.

Executive Director Valerie Taylor looks forward to the new cetacean standards paving the way for many more whales and dolphins to be retired from entertainment facilities. “Like all authentic sanctuaries,” she says. “These ocean havens will be ‘Cetacean Welfare First,’ meaning that the animals’ wellbeing, rather than visitor experience or company profit, will always be the priority in animal care, sanctuary design and overall operations.”

The “Standards for Cetacean Sanctuaries” are published here. And the Global Federation’s press statement can be downloaded here.

The post Professional Standards Published for Whale & Dolphin Sanctuaries appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

“You can’t see a whole lot from aerial photography,” Alexandra Vance explains. “You’ve really got to get in the water if you want to understand the health of the marine environment that the whales will be experiencing and interacting with.”

Alexandra is the Whale Sanctuary’s new project manager for Nova Scotia, and her expertise is especially valuable as we move toward completing the final environmental studies and submitting the results to federal and provincial authorities and Mi’kmaw rights holders and representatives. The multiple studies we’ve been conducting over the past two years are all part of the rigorous and detailed process of permitting that’s required prior to construction.

In this case, Alexandra was conducting her first in-water field survey to advance our understanding of key areas in sanctuary waters and to identify species of marine vegetation. This time she was free diving, without scuba gear. In subsequent dives, she and dive team members will conduct more extensive surveys of sediment structure and size, shallows, depths, slopes and assess the marine vegetation throughout the whole 100 acres of sanctuary waters.

“What I wanted to understand most of all about the sanctuary environment,” Alexandra says, “was the general health of the marine flora and fauna. This includes how long lived some of the marine vegetation is.” Older growth would suggest that Barachois Island, which forms part of the sanctuary boundary, has been acting as a barrier and protector to the seabed behind the island. Newer growth suggests that there may have been some recent disturbance in this part of the bay. So, by observing the marine vegetation with regard to its health and longevity, we can see how well protected the overall environment is for the whales.

“The vegetation is very healthy, and the overall marine ecosystem has been well protected from natural disturbances like hurricanes.”What Alexandra found was, indeed, healthy, long-lived marine vegetation in most areas, along with some more recent younger and sparser marine vegetation in a few others, and some sandy banks close to shore. She also found lots of species like crabs, fish, sea stars and periwinkles. “That means the vegetation is very healthy,” she explains, “and that the overall marine ecosystem has been well protected from natural disturbances like hurricanes. And that’s primarily because it’s been well protected behind the island.”

Alexandra is especially well-suited to her work for the Whale Sanctuary. “I spent my childhood playing marine biologist on the shores of the Maritime provinces with the Atlantic Ocean all around. That’s what shaped my lifelong passion for marine science and conservation.” She went on to achieve a BSc with a double major in Biology and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University. And after that, for her master’s degree in marine management, she researched the relationship between eelgrass and bivalve aquaculture at various spatial scales. “It all gave me a special insight and appreciation for the complexity of local marine ecosystems.”

The updated information we gathered from this underwater survey is an essential part of our work with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans and with Mi’kmaw rights holders and representatives as part of the permitting process. It also helps us understand what the whales will experience in their new life at the sanctuary.

Although environmental surveys will always be a necessary aspect of our annual work, once permitting is completed, Alexandra will assist in coordinating the construction of the sanctuary net, the various buildings (animal care, veterinary, maintenance, etc.) and infrastructure.

The post Taking a Dive at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

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Miami Seaquarium, Philanthropist Jim Irsay and the Friends of Lolita Announce Historic Initiative; Join Forces to Return Beloved Orca, Lolita, from Miami Seaquarium to Her Home Waters

For the first time ever, a private company with marine mammals under human care and an animal welfare organization, create a legally binding agreement with one goal – bring the opportunity to return Lolita, the sole killer whale at Miami Seaquarium, to her home waters – with all of these efforts supported by a generous financial contribution from a leading philanthropist.

Miami, FL – March 30, 2023 – The Miami Seaquarium, which recently came under the management of The Dolphin Company, the most experienced company with marine mammals in the world, has entered into a formal and binding agreement with Friends of Lolita, a non-profit organization co-founded by environmentalist Pritam Singh, to bring to life the dream of returning Lolita to an ocean sanctuary. This extraordinary collaboration has the life-transforming possibility to change Lolita’s future thanks also to a generous contribution from philanthropist Jim Irsay, the owner & CEO of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company; Pritam Singh, environmentalist, philanthropist and co-founder of Friends of Lolita; and Jim Irsay will work together to make the relocation a reality.

‘It has always been our commitment at The Dolphin Company that we place the highest priority on the well-being of animals, above all else,” said Mr. Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company. “Finding a better future for Lolita is one of the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium. With the help of Jim Irsay and Pritam Singh, we are bringing that dream, the dream of returning Lolita to her home waters, closer than ever.”

“I am excited to see that, regardless of different positions, we can make this extraordinary agreement happen based on mutual respect and confidence between all parties,” added Mr. Albor. “Working with the same objective, many other organizations can achieve great things when both parties focus on common goals, rather than different views, and make feasible something that before was a hopeless dream by accepting each other as allies. We have the same goal and now the world will see, amazing things are possible when we listen and work together.”

“The story of Lolita the orca has been near and dear to my heart. I am proud—and enthusiastic—to play a role in finally returning Lolita to her native Pacific Northwest,” said Jim Irsay, Owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts.

“It is a sacred privilege to share in the mission of caring for and bringing home Lolita, our beloved one,” said Pritam Singh, Co-Founder of Friends of Lolita. “My thanks to all the team, particularly Eduardo Albor, Jim Irsay and Raynell Morris, for all their efforts and support.”

The impact of this first-ever, formal and binding agreement demonstrates that different organizations, that in the past might be working against each other, can successfully work together, proving that maintaining strong ethics, and respect for the animals under their care, means a better outcome for every animal.

“We certainly hope that animal welfare leaders around the world can find common ground as we have here in the case of Lolita,” added Mr. Albor.

We are working toward and hope the relocation will be possible in the next 18 to 24 months. At present, Lolita receives round-the-clock care by a team of dedicated, highly-skilled, medical, nutrition and behavior experts. Her most recent independent health and welfare assessment completed by Dr. Tom Reidarson, DVM DACZM, Dr. James McBain, DVM retired and Dr. Stephanie Norman, DVM, Ph-D indicated that her energy, appetite and engagement in daily activities is becoming reasonably stable.

“The leadership of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, since the transfer of ownership of Marine Seaquarium, has been instrumental in bringing our worlds together,” added Mr. Albor. “With the support of all parties, the continued health of Lolita and approvals from the appropriate authorities, we are all committed to giving this beautiful orca a new home and a peaceful future.”

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Press Contact:

The Dolphin Company, press@thedolphinco.com
Friends of Lolita, cvinick@mac.com
Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts, steve.campbell@colts.com

About Miami Seaquarium and The Dolphin Company:

For more than 28 years, The Dolphin Company has provided “the experience of a lifetime” to more than 16 million visitors in its 32 parks, dolphin habitats and marinas around the world. With presence in Mexico, the Caribbean, the United States, Argentina and Italy, The Dolphin Company offers exciting activities that provide unique, memorable experiences while raising awareness among its visitors about the importance of animal welfare and the preservation and care for the environment.

About Friends of Lolita:

Friends of Lolita, Inc. is a Florida non-profit corporation co-founded by philanthropist and environmentalist Pritam Singh and Charles Vinick with leading marine mammal scientists, Dr. Roger Payne, Dr. Diana Reiss, and Lummi elder, Raynell Morris. In an extraordinary collaboration with The Dolphin Company, Friends of Lolita is leading this wonderful effort to return Lolita, the orca also known as Toki, from the Miami Seaquarium back to an ocean habitat in her home waters in the Pacific Northwest. With renowned marine mammal veterinarians Dr. Jim McBain, Dr. Tom Reidarson and Dr. Stephanie Norman, and a team of experienced trainers, it is a sacred privilege for Friends of Lolita to share in the mission of providing the best care and quality of life for Lolita.

About Jim Irsay:

Indianapolis Colts Owner & CEO Jim Irsay this year embarks on his 52nd season with the organization and the NFL. His affiliation with the Colts dates back to 1972 when his father, Robert Irsay, acquired the team. Irsay took the helm of the franchise in 1995, becoming sole owner in 1997. Going into his 29th season as the leader of the Colts, Indianapolis has earned 10 division championships, two Super Bowl appearances and the team’s fourth world championship with a victory in Super Bowl XLI. Irsay also oversees the team’s extensive community and philanthropic efforts. Under Irsay’s leadership, the Colts have been committed to improving the lives of people in Indiana and beyond by helping build a healthy, inclusive and compassionate community through meaningful outreach, projects and partnerships.

The post Historic Initiative to Return Orca Lolita to Home Waters appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The news is devastating to all of us who have been working toward the time when she could be retired to sanctuary.

I first met Kiska in 2016 as part of my research for a report on Marineland for the non-profit organization Zoocheck, Inc. As I watched her swim in endless circles in her barren concrete environment, I imagined what it would be like for her and the other whales at Marineland if they could be retired to a coastal sanctuary.

At that time, we were just beginning the search along both coasts of North America for the best possible location for such a sanctuary. So, in my mind’s eye, I could see Kiska in the open water of a sanctuary, swimming and diving, chasing the birds, and exploring the plants and creatures in the kind of rich environment she had known as an infant.

Life in the ocean had come to an end for Kiska when she was captured from the North Atlantic in 1979 at around age three and taken to an aquarium in Iceland. From there, she was sold to Marineland, where she was housed briefly with Keiko, the future star of the “Free Willy” movies, before he was resold to an entertainment park in Mexico. Keiko would later be rescued, rehabilitated and returned to the ocean by Charles Vinick (now our executive director) and Jeff Foster (now our Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator) off the coast of Iceland.

The birth and death of her children

Over the years at Marineland, Kiska would give birth to five children and see all of them perish. What would this have meant to her as a mother? As a neuroscientist who has examined the brains and the psychology of orcas and other cetaceans for 35 years, I can say that orcas are very similar to humans in terms of the deep bonds they have with their families. They are intelligent, emotional beings who suffer grief and loss just as we do.

For Kiska, however, things would only get worse. Despite being a member of a highly social species, she was forced to spend the last twelve years of her life in complete isolation without the company of a single member of her own kind.

Drone video footage showing the orca Kiska at Marineland Canada on February 25th, 2023. She died on March 10th. Credit: Instagram: @curtis.pixels.

Provincial regulations require that a necropsy be performed on Kiska, and we strongly urge that the report be made public. But in the end, we know that no words can explain away a lifetime of pain and misery as experienced by a deeply intelligent, social, family-centered being who had the terrible misfortune to become known as the loneliest whale in the world.

They are intelligent, emotional beings who suffer grief and loss just as we do.What we already know is that her health had been in decline for at least several weeks and that an animal’s immune system is damaged by chronic stress – the kind of stress that comes from living in isolation for an extended time in an artificial, impoverished environment. We also know that orcas who live in the open ocean can live to be 80 or 90 years old, while, in captivity, they often don’t survive beyond their twenties. So, we can say that while a pathogen was likely the agent of her death, the cause was captivity itself.

The future for whales and dolphins in captivity

Parliament has already legislated the end of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. But there are still approximately 35 beluga whales still being held at Marineland. (The company has not disclosed the exact number.) Last year, five were transferred to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Two of them did not survive more than a few months.

In a recent radio interview, the mayor of Niagara Falls, Canada disclosed that Marineland is up for sale and that he is committed to the welfare of the animals – marine mammals and a large number of land animals – as his chief priority related to any transfer of ownership. That means relocating the remaining whales and dolphins as quickly as possible to facilities that can provide them with a better life.

The loss of Kiska will only intensify the urgency of our team to help Marineland relocate the approximately 35 belugas and five dolphins who remain there. And we look to every available means to transfer as many as possible to sanctuaries as we press ahead to complete the work that’s required to obtain the necessary permits to begin construction of the sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia.

To complete this work and to ensure the transfer of whales to sanctuary will involve the combined efforts of government and nonprofit organizations, along with benefactors and regular donors, and a cooperative relationship with Marineland itself.

Kiska will no longer be part of that future. But her tragic death can still have meaning if we rally together to create a better future for all of the whales who continue to endure life in concrete tanks.

The post How Kiska’s Death Can Be Given Meaning appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The news is devastating to all of us who have been working toward the time when she could be retired to sanctuary.

Captured in 1979 at around age three from the North Atlantic Ocean, Kiska gave birth, as a young adult, to five children. All of them died young. One of them didn’t even survive long enough to be named. Orcas feel deep, complex emotions, and the bond between mother and child is so profound that it is hard to imagine the grief and trauma that Kiska would have suffered in each of her bereavements. For the last 12 years, she was forced to live without the company of a single other member of her own species.

The news is devastating to all of us who have been working toward the time when she could be retired to sanctuary.Over the coming days, as we grapple with this awful loss, we will stay in touch with you. My friend, our Executive Director, Charles Vinick, emphasizes that the loss of Kiska will only intensify the urgency of our team to help Marineland relocate the approximately 34 belugas and five dolphins who remain there. And we look to every available means to transfer as many as possible to sanctuaries.

Meanwhile, we can only ask that Marineland be fully transparent about the circumstances surrounding Kiska’s passing. But in the end, we know that no words can explain away a lifetime of pain and misery as experienced by a deeply intelligent, social, family-centered being who had the terrible misfortune to become known as the loneliest whale in the world.

Yours in sorrow,

Lori Marino, President
The Whale Sanctuary Project.

NOTE: You can read Kiska’s bio here.

The post Kiska the Orca Has Died at Marineland appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

By Lori Marino

I met Don Baur in 2015 when I was putting on a workshop with my friend and colleague Naomi Rose at a conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy in San Francisco. The workshop was about what it might take to create a sanctuary where whales from marine entertainment parks might be retired. We had asked Don to give a short talk about the legal aspects of this.

Don knew more about the issues we might face than anyone else. Just for starters, he’d served as legal counsel to the Keiko Project (which was managed by Charles Vinick, now our Executive Director). Keiko had been the orca in the movie “Free Willy” and Don had helped all through his journey from a small concrete tank in Mexico City to his return to the ocean off the coast of Iceland.

He kept saying, “You have to do this.”When Don and I sat down together after the workshop, I told him I was seriously thinking about how we could create a sanctuary. He couldn’t have been more encouraging. He kept saying, “You have to do this.” He was totally engaged. And all through that first early period, when we were starting to put the organization together, Don helped guide what we needed to do to bring the concept into reality.

At our early board meetings, when we were just feeling our way, Don was like a barometer of whether you were suggesting something crazy or, or not. He was just a steady influence by his knowledge and his temperament. It made you feel comfortable. Then he introduced me to Charles Vinick, whom he’d worked with on many projects from marine mammals to conservation to renewable energy. And soon after Charles joined the board of the Whale Sanctuary Project, Don pressed him to consider taking on the executive directorship.

“That’s what led me to changing direction from the things I was doing at the time to take this on full-time,” Charles says.

Soon after that, we began what would be a two-year effort to find the best possible location for a sanctuary. We were looking at sites all over the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. and British Columbia and then in Nova Scotia. And when we talked them through with Don, he would always cut directly to the issues we would face in any site we were considering. In the U.S. he knew all the challenges we would face in marine mammal protection and in locations where it would be challenging to get the permits we’d need. And even though he wasn’t an expert in Canadian law, he could extrapolate from his knowledge to provide us with helpful guidance as we narrowed that search to Port Hilford Bay.

He would always cut directly to the issues we would face in any site we were considering. Charles and Don were on the phone to each other almost every week. “In many organizations I’ve been involved in,” Charles says, “the general counsel is mostly a legal advisor. In Don’s case, he was always far more engaged in every aspect of the organization, not only its legal responsibilities or requirements. So, he becomes like a board member who doesn’t necessarily vote but is an advisor on every element of the work.”

When he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, he never let it interfere with his work. He was even on the phone with Charles the Sunday before he passed away. “He had been advising us on things related to our Whale Aid work with Tokitae (“Lolita”) at the Miami Seaquarium. And he was still fully engaged on that day, taking notes and discussing how he could help. It is very difficult to come to grips with his absence and so very sad that he is not still with us.”

Don’s bio is stunning in its breadth and depth. He was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Perkins Coie. He had served as General Counsel of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission and as an attorney advisor in the Office of the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior advising the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And he worked in dozens of related fields ranging from renewable energy to Native American law issues.

Don taught federal wildlife law at the Golden Gate School of Law. He was also on the summer faculty of the Vermont Law School, where he taught ocean and coastal law. Delcianna Winders, the director of the school’s Animal Law and Policy Institute, writes: “Don spent hundreds – most likely thousands – of hours doing pro bono work to help whales, sea otters, and other animals, and oceans, parks, and other environmental interests … He championed the creation of our animal law and policy program.”

After she heard that Don had just passed away, one of his former students wrote to me saying: “Don touched so many lives and I am grateful to have been among them. [He was] the most reliable, genuine, inspiring, supportive, caring, selfless person I have ever known. His legacy will live on through the work of so many who he elevated and mentored.”

It’s difficult to see how any other one person can fill the void that’s left in Don’s absence. “It will take multiple people from multiple places,” Charles says. “But it won’t be a single phone call like ‘Hey Don, what do you think?’ That was how I worked with him for decades.”

Don was not only our lawyer, general counsel, advisor and friend, he was also a mentor to so many young people who are now attorneys in the fields related to the Whale Sanctuary Project. These are people who will carry his legal legacy forward. We can only hope that they will adopt a small part of his compassion, grace and selflessness.

The post Remembering Don Baur – Legal Counsel and Close Friend appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The conference will convene local leaders, residents, community and national organizations interested in the health of the orca Tokitae (aka “Lolita”), including Miami-Dade County officials and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Friends of Toki was founded in February 2022 by entrepreneur and conservationist Pritam Singh and Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Its mission is to collaborate with The Miami Seaquarium, The Dolphin Company and Mayor of Miami-Dade County in providing the best care and quality of life for Tokitae, the orca who has been in captivity at the Seaquarium for more than 50 years.

Note re. funding for Tokitae: While several members of the Whale Sanctuary Project are participating in Tokitae’s care, funding for this work, including for staff time, is covered fully and exclusively by Friends of Toki’s co-founder Pritam Singh. The Whale Sanctuary Project is neither raising nor accepting funds for this work.

Friends of Toki to Host a Conference in Downtown Miami about the Status of Tokitae, the Orca living at Miami Seaquarium

Media contact: Charles Vinick, charles@friendsoftoki.org

MIAMI, FL – On Tuesday, December 13th, Friends of Toki (formerly known as “Friends of Lolita”) will host the “Toki: Present and Future” Day of Listening conference, at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami. The conference will convene local leaders, residents, community and national organizations interested in the health of the orca Tokitae (aka “Lolita”), including Miami-Dade County officials and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to report on all that has been done for Toki in the last eight months by Friends of Toki and so many others, all in collaboration with The Dolphin Company; we must begin to openly talk, and listen to one another, about her future,” said Pritam Singh, founder of Friends of Toki. “For years, people who have been concerned about her future have been communicating on social media and in small groups. It is time to have these conversations more widely so that we can all understand the issues and explore the possibilities.”

Under the leadership of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County successfully oversaw the transfer of ownership of the Miami Seaquarium to The Dolphin Company. Mayor Cava also worked with both Friends of Toki and The Dolphin Company to allow an independent veterinary exam to assess the orca’s health.

“The partnership between The Dolphin Company and the Friends of Toki has led to additional veterinary care for Tokitae (“Lolita”) and marked a new era of transparency at the Miami Seaquarium,” said Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County. “This conference will generate both good will and good ideas, cementing trust through conversation with residents and stakeholders. Together, we’ll continue working to ensure the highest quality care for Toki.”

Since April, Friends of Toki and The Dolphin Company have created an unprecedented collaboration to share their expertise, personnel and resources to care for Tokitae. “Friends of Toki are very grateful to Mr. Eduardo Albor, the CEO of The Dolphin Company, for his remarkable support of all of these efforts,” added Mr. Singh.

“In these last few months, with the financial support of Pritam Singh, Friends of Toki have provided additional veterinary care for Toki, assisted in upgrading her life support systems to improve the water quality in her pool, and created an expanded enrichment plan now being implemented with our experienced staff and her Miami Seaquarium training team,” stated Charles Vinick, co-founder of Friends of Toki. “At the conference, we will present an expansive report on Toki’s health including everything that is being done to provide her with the highest quality of life we can in the circumstances in which she has lived for so many years.”

The entire conference will be livestreamed for the public and there will be a public comment session from 1PM to 3PM where everyone is welcome to come and share their ideas about Toki’s future.

Interested individuals and organizations who would like to attend the conference are invited to contact info@friendsoftoki.

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This marks a major milestone toward the time when we will welcome the first whales.

Also in this year’s Holiday Newsletter:

• More Progress at the Sanctuary Site: Completing the two-year environmental studies required for permitting;
• An End to Captivity? Canadian Parliament opens the door to legal status for captive whales;
• Whale Aid Programs: A better life for 56-year-old Tokitae (“Lolita”);
• Lessons for Life: Educators inspiring compassionate future citizens.

You can also access the newsletter at https://express.adobe.com/page/OilmbXnIGhwLc/ (And this newsletter is best viewed on your computer.)

Your donations toward the day-to-day operational costs of Whale Sanctuary Project make all of this work possible. Your support covers everything from staff costs to travel to other operational costs including the required environmental surveys and studies.

There is much work to be done in the year ahead. And the plight of whales in tanks at entertainment parks and aquariums only makes for greater urgency.

This Holiday season, please donate what you can. Your Holiday donation, large or small, one-time or monthly, makes an enormous difference.

And please contact us if you can consider making a special contribution toward the capital costs of the sanctuary.

Thank you for caring about the whales. Together, we can give them a new life that makes up, as much as possible, for what went before.

The post Winter Newsletter 2022/3 – A New Life for Captive Whales appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Senator Wilfred Moore

It’s interesting to note that the progress of this highly progressive legislation has been largely synchronous with the development of the Whale Sanctuary Project, the idea for which was first explored at around the same time as the launching of the first of these laws.

Legislative efforts began in December 2015, when Canadian Senator Wilfred Moore introduced the Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act, listed as Senate Bill S-203. This ground-breaking work would take almost four years to come to fruition. It was overwhelmingly voted into law in June 2019.

Jane Goodall and Sen. Murray Sinclair

The following year, in November 2020, Senator Murray Sinclair partnered with Dr. Jane Goodall to introduce the Jane Goodall Act, which is now working its way through Parliament and, if passed, will become one of the strongest animal laws in history.

Senator Marty Klyne

In March of this year, 2022, Senator Marty Klyne reintroduced the Jane Goodall Act to the Canadian Senate as Bill S-241 and with new and even stronger provisions. During his speech, the senator noted:

“The coalition behind this bill has led efforts to establish new legal protections for over 800 species … In determining these priority species, based on welfare and safety concerns, zoo and NGO input has been valuable, along with the advice of Dr. Lori Marino. She is the animal neuroscientist who proved that dolphins are self-aware and who leads the whale sanctuary planned in Nova Scotia.”

Toward the end of his speech, Senator Klyne also spoke about the lone orca Kiska, who is held at Marineland Canada:

“Kiska was captured in Iceland in 1979 before being purchased by Marineland. Her five calves have died, and she has lived alone since 2011.

“… In her concrete tank, Kiska swims in repetitive, counter-clockwise circles and exhibits atypical behavior like floating motionless or thrashing her head at the poolside. Senators, this is not right. Kiska should not have to die alone, and if she can safely be moved, options need to be considered.

“For this reason, the Jane Goodall act’s preamble observes that the Ontario Government has jurisdiction to grant civil standing to Kiska. This would allow for a court order in her best interests by her own right, such as relocation to the whale sanctuary planned at Port Hilford, Nova Scotia.

On May 5th, as the bill proceeded through its Second Reading, Senator Peter Harder spoke as follows in the Senate:

Senator Peter Harder

“Bill S-241 … grants limited legal standing to animals in criminal sentencing for captive offences, notably illegal breeding or use in performance.

“… The practical effect of the bill could, for example, see the forced relocation — with costs — of all of a roadside zoo’s big cats if it were found that any of the zoo cats were to have been illegally bred. Similarly, if a proprietor were to stage an illegal whale show, the same could apply for the relocation of whales.

“This new version of the Jane Goodall act also encourages the Government of Ontario to grant civil standing to Kiska, the lone orca at Marineland, and basically advocates for recognition of her rights as an individual.”

And last week, on October 4th, Senator Jane Cordy rose to announce her support for the bill:

Senator Jane Cordy

“Honourable senators, Bill S-241 has the potential to establish the strongest legal protections for captive wild animals anywhere in the world … and it can also lead to change worldwide.

“After an extensive search, the Whale Sanctuary Project chose a bay in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, to establish the world’s first whale sanctuary. This will be the first permanent seaside sanctuary in the world for beluga whales and orcas. The sanctuary will provide a natural environment for once-captive animals who are incapable of being released into the ocean for their own safety.

“… The sanctuary is gearing up to welcome their first inhabitants in 2023, and they have made it publicly known that their hope is to relocate Kiska the killer whale from Marineland as their first inhabitant.”

After further questions and debate of this Second Reading, the Senate will likely vote to send the bill to committee hearings, where expert witnesses will be called to testify and advise on the proposed legislation. Following these hearings, the committee will send the bill back to the full Senate for a Third Reading. And if the Senate votes to pass it, the bill will go to the House for a vote to enact it into law.

All of this takes time. As does establishing the whale sanctuary itself. And the history of each of these efforts continues to dovetail the other:

In August 2015, around the time that Senator Moore of Nova Scotia was conceiving his bill to end the captivity of whales and dolphins, a group of marine mammal scientists, veterinarians and trainers, engineers, non-profit groups and others met at the University of British Columbia. It was there that Dr. Lori Marino, who chaired the meeting, first raised the possibility of developing a coastal sanctuary for whales and dolphins who might be retired from entertainment facilities.

The history of each of these efforts continues to dovetail the other.The following year, in April 2016, as Bill S-203 – the Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act – was proceeding through its first reading, the Whale Sanctuary Project was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and began its extensive search, on both the east and west coasts of North America, for a suitable site.

In June 2019, as the Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act was being voted into law, the site search was homing in on locations in Nova Scotia. And the following year, in 2020, soon after we announced our choice of Port Hilford Bay as the best location for the sanctuary, the Jane Goodall Act was introduced into Parliament.

Right now, as we continue the preparatory work that precedes construction of the sanctuary, the Jane Goodall Act is completing its Second Reading. And, if the Senate so votes, it will then head into committee hearings.

And meanwhile, at the end of July 2022, the new SWIMS Act (Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings) was introduced into the United States Congress to prevent the future capture and breeding of whales for public display and thus, over time, to end the exploitation of whales in entertainment parks and aquariums.

It’s heartening to see the synchronicity in all of this work over recent years as public opinion grows toward retiring captive whales and dolphins to authentic sanctuaries.

The post Sanctuary, Parliament and Synchronicity appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Three years later, what a pleasure it is to see Zina, one of the orcas from that infamous “whale jail”, swimming confidently in the Sea of Okhotsk with a full pod of other orcas.

This video clip, excerpted from the new BBC nature series “Frozen Planet II” and narrated by David Attenborough, was captured by members of a film crew off the east coast of Russia. While filming an orca pod, they suddenly notice that one of the whales is sporting a satellite tag at the base of her dorsal fin. Could this really be one of the whales from the Whale Aid Russia rescue?

Zina is sporting a satellite tag at the base of her dorsal fin.

Yes, the tag indicates that she is indeed one of them. And Grigory Tsidulko, a member of the film crew who was also a member of our Whale Aid team, notes that visual identifiers on her body are a clear match to a photo of Zina that was taken at the “whale jail” (as Russian media first dubbed the facility).

What we cannot know for sure is whether the pod is her original family or if she’s been adopted by a new one. Either way, she is clearly integrated with the family, and everyone who was involved in this remarkable rescue effort will have their hearts jumping for joy to see this.

More about Zina and the other whales in a moment. But first, a brief cautionary note on the commentary in this video clip:
These 97 whales were excellent candidates for being returned to the open ocean because they had spent their formative years growing up with their families and had only been in captivity for a period of months. The situation is very different for whales who were born in concrete tanks or have lived most of their lives in captivity, and have not grown up in a natural family, nor even learned how to care for themselves. They cannot – as is suggested in the video – be released into the open ocean. The right solution for them is to be transferred to sanctuaries, where they can enjoy a life that’s close to nature while still receiving human care.

More about Whale Aid Russia – the biggest whale rescue in history

The full story of Whale Aid Russia is told here. It goes roughly as follows:

Whales at the whale jail were beginning to suffer from frostbite.

In November 2018, the Russian media became aware of a largely secret operation being conducted in a quiet area of the country’s Far East coast known as Srednyaya Bay, about 115 miles north of Vladivostok. The compound included a series of small, netted enclosures containing more than 100 orcas and beluga whales. The pens were already starting to freeze over and the beluga whales were beginning to show signs of frostbite.

As news of this “whale jail” began to spread through the Russian media and, in turn, the international media, vigorous protests erupted at home and abroad. A network of Russian animal protection groups launched a petition that quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Letters of protest poured into the Kremlin.

As soon as the Whale Sanctuary Project learned about the whale jail, our executive director Charles Vinick, Jean-Michel Cousteau of Ocean Futures Society, David Phillips of Earth Island Institute, and Roger Payne of Ocean Alliance wrote to President Putin, offering our collective assistance in assessing the condition of the whales with a view to helping return them to the ocean.

Governor Oleg Kozhemyako (left) with Charles Vinick and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Our team was then invited to Russia, initially by Oleg Kozhemyako Governor of Primorsky Territory, where the whales were being held. Subsequently the federal government issued visas to the team to come to Moscow and meet with the Department of Natural Resources & the Environment and other agencies to determine what could be done for the whales.

After those meetings, we traveled to Vladivostok, on Russia’s Far East coast, where Gov. Kozhemyako, introduced us to his team so that we could assess the welfare of the whales during our visit to Srednyaya Bay, where the whale jail was located.

We reported that we had identified no scientific reasons why animals at the whale jail could not be rehabilitated and released.Following the visit, we provided a detailed report to the Russian government, concluding that “we have not identified any scientific reasons why any individual animals cannot be rehabilitated and released.”

Shortly after this, and in consultation with our Whale Aid team, the government began a rehabilitation program in preparation for the whales to be returned to the region of the Sea of Okhotsk, from where they had been captured.

President Putin announces the return of the first whales to their ocean home.

On June 20th, 2019, President Putin announced on Russian TV that the first group of orcas and belugas had just begun their journey back to the ocean. Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev added that the government also intended to clamp down on the capture of whales.

And on November 10th, the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries & Oceanography reported that it had carried out the release of the last 31 whales.

The rescue and release of 97 captive whales was a remarkable and historic achievement, in which many people played a key role, including:

• The Russian activists who brought the plight of these whales to the world’s attention and maintained steady pressure for their release;
• The expert members of the international team assembled by the Whale Sanctuary Project to assess the health of the whales in their sea pens and recommend protocols for their release;
• The Russian scientists whose expertise was critically important to the releases;
• Our Executive Director Charles Vinick, who steered the whole Whale Aid Russia operation;
• Jean-Michel Cousteau, who opened doors to the highest levels of the government;
• And the generous supporters of the Whale Sanctuary Project, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Check out the full story of Whale Aid Russia on the Whale Sanctuary Project website here.

The post Orca from 2019 Whale Aid Rescue Spotted with Pod appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Port Hilford Bay, where the Whale Sanctuary site is located, is a sheltered area. But over the past two years of environmental assessments, starting with Hurricane Teddy in September 2020, we have been monitoring all kinds of weather and taking photos and video at two specific locations so we can see all the variations in wave heights and surges.

Taking these kinds of observations is just one of the many environmental site assessments that are essential to the viability of the sanctuary and to the safety of the whales and their caregivers who will live there.

Many of them are also required by law.

Over the last two years, these studies have included documenting water depths, testing the water chemistry, salinity, and temperature gradients, and studying currents, tides, waves and surges. (Check out this post for examples of some of them.)

We do this not only to understand the environment for the whales and the sanctuary infrastructure, but to provide data to government agencies for the many permits that are required for a project of this magnitude. Some of these data require documentation through every season over a two-year period.

Governmental requirements in Nova Scotia.

Development projects in Nova Scotia require various levels of environmental site assessment and the Whale Sanctuary Project is no exception. In addition, in the areas where we will be constructing our support buildings, we need to know the structural integrity of the land, the depth of the water table and, frankly, everything that could impact our building footprints and the work we will be doing on site.

Our test results have shown that we have good water quality.For a whale sanctuary, the health and welfare of the whales is the highest priority. So, our initial studies, starting in 2020 and continuing through every season, focused on water quality. Our water quality sampling in the bay and in areas where freshwater drains into the bay have been extensive, and our test results have shown that we have good water quality.

We’ve known since we selected Port Hilford Bay for the sanctuary site that the community of Wine Harbour was an area of historical gold mining from the 1880s to the 1930s. So initially, members of our team reviewed the publicly available data and the government records on where the gold mining was concentrated.

We engaged consultants to conduct an environmental site assessment.

Specifically, we wanted to know where gold mines shafts were located, where remnants of gold mine tailings remain on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands, and what impact, if any, these could have either on the soils or on the submerged soils in the waters where the sanctuary will be located.

To complete these analyses, we engaged consultants to conduct an environmental site assessment – an ESA II – on the 30 acres of land as well as on the submerged land within the sanctuary 100-acre footprint. The land-side work has been completed and has identified mine shafts that have been filled, others that remain unfilled, and analyzed soils in test pits dug throughout the property. The results of this work now enable us to move on to an ESA III to see whether there are any land-side areas that may require any site mitigation for our buildings.

Permits for permits

In preparing to take the 18 core samples of submerged soils (a core is similar in size to a 16 oz water bottle) our consultants were surprised to learn that a permit from the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables (DNRR) would be required for this work. We applied for the permit in April with our consultants assuming this would be a straightforward permit and that they could do their work in May or early summer. Unfortunately, it took almost five months, until late August, for DNRR to let us know that in advance of issuing the permit to take these 18 core samples, we would be required to undertake an Archeological Resource Impact Assessment (ARIA) as a part of First Nation consultation. We have now initiated the ARIA and will have to see how long that takes and when the permit for the 18 core samples can be issued.

The whale sanctuary is a first-of-its-kind project and there is no existing documentation that outlines all the necessary steps.(One might reasonably ask why we didn’t learn of this earlier. The answer is that the whale sanctuary is a first-of-its-kind project in North America and there is no existing documentation that would outline all the necessary steps. This is the case for us, and it is the case for the agencies that are required to oversee and permit each aspect of the project approval. This example demonstrates how complex and time-consuming the process is.)

Meanwhile, we have embarked on more detailed work on those areas where we already know there was historical gold mining. Our research to date indicates that that any contamination that may exist in these areas can be mitigated for our development purposes.

Geotechnical engineering

Other tests of soil, rock and sediment, known as geoengineering, include learning where and how best to anchor the net that will surround the sanctuary waters.

Our perimeter net will extend approximately one mile through the water, from Rocky Point and around the 100 acres of sanctuary water to the tip of Barachois Island. It will be a state-of-the-art structure that has to be anchored to the seabed and constructed in a way that can comfortably withstand hurricane-force winds and currents, as Nova Scotia experienced in Hurricane Fiona. (For more about the net and the structure that supports it, along with other diagrams, go here.)

Our local geotechnical engineers are working with net system designers to align the net systems design with local conditions based on the hydrodynamic model of the currents, water levels, wave action and sediment transport of the bay that we conducted in 2021 and with the LIDAR study conducted in 2022 to make a digital 3-D representation of the sea floor of the sanctuary.

When will all these studies be completed?

As a member of our Advisory Group, Steve Huxter, recently summed it up in a social media post:

“I’ve been the project manager for a wildlife research study, and a factor that takes time is the approval and permitting process through multiple stakeholders and regulatory networks, not the least of which are Municipal, District, County, Provincial and Federal (multiple ministries) governments. The support of the Port Hilford community and any First Nations stakeholders are equally important … Once submitted, the various ministries will come back with questions, and the back-and-forth with government agencies is seldom as timely as we would like. The data that is needed must be gathered through seasonal changes … Otherwise, the study lacks rigor and accuracy.”

As the first sanctuary of its kind anywhere in the world, this is a pioneering effort that began with a two-year search on both sides of the North American continent for the most suitable location. Everything we learn, as we complete each stage of the project, is not only essential to the construction and operation of this sanctuary; it will also act as a blueprint to inform the creation of other much-needed sanctuaries for captive cetaceans throughout the world.

So, while our objective is still to welcome whales by the end of 2023, we all need to bear in mind that in any new, pioneering effort, there are always considerations that require adjusting our schedule as we go along (as we have had to do through two years of covid-related delays).

The view ahead

None of this work can happen soon enough for the whales who are languishing in concrete tanks and are subject to intolerable conditions.

Yet it is essential to get everything right for the health and safety of those very whales when they are introduced to an entirely new life.

It is also the law.

Earlier this year, we received and executed the Offer of Lease from the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables, which makes available to the sanctuary a total water space of 200 acres. This includes 100-plus acres for the whales, Barachois Island, a security zone around the sanctuary, and the space needed for the anchoring system. The lease requires that all permits be issued, and that various terms and conditions be met.

This is also an expensive project, and one that is only possible thanks to our generous supporters who make possible each stage of the site development work.

We greatly appreciate the grants we have received to purchase the sanctuary lands, the recent pledge of $5 million that will enable us to begin construction as soon as permitting is complete, and the support of the many individuals who donate to the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we look forward, as you do, to welcoming the first whales to their new life.

The post Update on Environmental Assessments at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Last year, it was Skyla at age 17. Five months later, it was Ula at age 2. Today it is Kohana, at age 20.

The press statement from this Spanish zoo reads in a way that’s altogether familiar when whales die at entertainment parks: a “sudden passing” … “deep sadness” … “did everything in our power” … “part of the Loro Parque family” … “love and respect”, and so on.

This time, Loro Parque adds: “The memory of Kohana … will make our mission even stronger: to provide the best care and welfare to the different species of our animal embassy.” We’re left wondering to whom these whales are ambassadors, and what is the message about care and welfare that they’re conveying.

Photos of Kohana above and in title are by Diva Flora Nikolova, used with permission.

Kohana was born at SeaWorld San Diego in 2002. As with the whales at all these facilities, her family tree and her travels tell us a lot about her welfare and wellbeing. Her father was Tilikum and, living across the country at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida, he fathered her by artificial insemination.

In the ocean, orcas live in close family groups their whole life. But at age two, Kohana was transferred to SeaWorld Orlando, and two years after that to Loro Parque across the Atlantic.

In 2010, she gave birth to Adán, a male, and in 2012 to Victoria, a female. Their father was Kohana’s half-uncle Keto, who had been shipped to Loro Parque with her. Adan is still alive, but Victoria died after less than a year.

Very simply, whales can never thrive in concrete tanks. In the ocean, an orca learns from her elders how to be a successful, thriving member of her family: what to eat, how to communicate with family members, when and how to give birth, how to care for her young. Just as we humans do. Born into a concrete tank, however, and then shuttled around the world, Kohana learned none of this. Treated more like a breeding machine than a mother, she was unable to bond with and care for either of her calves, and she rejected both of them.

Loro Parque has announced that a full necropsy will be conducted. But what will we learn from it? In Skyla’s case, we learned about an intestinal torsion and acute septicemia. In Ula’s, we heard of a deformation of the skull and photo-toxic lesions.

But medical reports of this kind have a way of masking the underlying basic truth: Very simply, whales can never thrive in concrete tanks.

The post Orca Kohana Dies at Loro Parque Zoo appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The concept of flourishing is key to understanding the argument for recognizing that dolphins and whales have clear and inalienable rights.

Tom was the guest of Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, in a webinar on September 1st, 2022.

Below is a transcript of Dr. White’s comments, edited for length.

Lori Marino: In your experience, Tom, what’s the difference between seeing dolphins in captivity and seeing them in their natural habitat?

Thomas I. White, Ph.D.

Tom White: The difference is enormous. The best simple phrase I’ve heard is from scientist Denise Herzing, who says a dolphin in captivity is “a shadow of a dolphin.” And when you first experience what they’re like in their natural environment, it’s a huge difference. It’s a reminder that any animal (including us humans) is the way they are because of an evolutionary history and how they have progressed over time and have adapted to an environment to be able to survive and to lead a full life.

Flourishing is simply a shorthand way of talking about this. When we talk about the conditions necessary for flourishing, we’re talking about the conditions necessary for a being, given its evolutionary history, to be able to have even a rudimentary opportunity for a successful life as the member of that species.

The notion of a “right” is simply a shorthand way of referring to conditions that are necessary for beings to thrive and flourish.There’s no way that dolphins in a tank can live a full, satisfied life because that’s not where they evolved. In the same way, the kinds of conditions that we humans need in order to grow, to develop and to have some sense of satisfaction in life is all defined by our evolutionary history. And this is a way of talking about ethics that gives it a biological foundation.

Speaking very practically, if an action advances the likelihood that members of our species are going to be able to have a fuller and satisfying life, that’s a long way of saying something is right. And if an action is going to get in the way of your being able to flourish, then it’s wrong. The notion of a “right” is simply a shorthand way of referring to conditions that are necessary for beings to thrive and flourish.

The point here is that this takes us out of the realm of opinion. People like to say that ethics is a matter of opinion most of the time. No, it’s not. We can define and identify the conditions that have to be met under which human beings grow and develop emotionally and intellectually in order to flourish, to have a full and satisfying life, and to have an opportunity to be successful as a member of that species. And that’s all empirical.

LM: Is it the case that animals can never flourish in a situation to which they are not adapted?

TW: When you talk about adaptation, think of the amount of time it takes for adaptation to take place. Every now and then people will ask whether a dolphin can adapt to captivity and how long it might take. And my answer is maybe a million years, maybe just a hundred thousand years. Evolution moves slowly. Think of all the ways in which humans still possess traits that were once adaptive but are now maladaptive. One of my favorite examples is diet. We evolved in a way to like stuff that was scarce at a certain time, but that we can have all the time now. So, now it’s maladaptive to have fat and sugar as central parts of our diet. Adaptation moves really slowly.

LM: People sometimes argue that when dolphins are born in captivity, they are adapted to captivity. But the science tells us that they do just as poorly, if not worse, than those who were captured from the wild. There’s no such thing as a domesticated dolphin. These animals are not adapted to living in captivity. They don’t live very long. Their quality of life is very poor. And what they suffer in terms of behavioral disorders etc. all points to the simple fact that this is not an environment that allows them to thrive or flourish.

TW: We’re talking about beings with self-awareness and self-consciousness. They’re individuals. And individuals count. It isn’t just populations. It isn’t groups. It’s individuals.

Bodie at Dolphinaris, a failed swim-with-dolphins facility in Scottsdale, AZ.

This is really important. It relates to when people say, for example, that dolphins live reasonably long in captivity. Now it’s true that dolphins, in some ways can adjust to bad circumstances in the same way that human beings can adjust to bad circumstances. It’s true that human beings can adapt to servitude for a while, but one of the things that human beings have evolved to like is individuality and making choices.

That’s why we always make a big deal about freedom. And the need for freedom and individuality is such a deep need that eventually people in servitude get so angry that they will revolt. They will put their lives on the line to get this need. They can adjust for a certain amount of time, in some cases even for their whole life. And they can adjust to poor conditions. But just because they are adjusting to poor conditions doesn’t mean that it’s consistent with the kinds of needs that have to be met in order to grow and develop. And exactly the same thing is true of cetaceans.

LM: At a meeting that you and I attended in Helsinki that was hosted in 2010 by Whale & Dolphin Conservation, the group established a Declaration of Rights for cetaceans. Five of those rights are:

• The right to life and bodily integrity – not to be subjected to invasive treatment of any kind;
• The right to bodily freedom within your natural environment – not to be subjected to captivity or servitude
• The right not to be owned – not to be the property of any human individual, group, state or corporation;
• The right to protection of your natural environment;
• The right to protection of your culture.

TW: When we talk about their rights, we’re really just talking about anything related to the fact that dolphins are individuals. They are self-aware with the kind of sophisticated intellectual and emotional capacities that have them being autonomous. They make their own decisions. They make choices in the same way that human beings do.

But let’s skip down to Number Five on your list, the issue of culture, because that becomes extremely important when you’re talking about beings like dolphins. The point of culture is to transmit information. Culture gives us a sense of belonging, a sense of community. And most importantly from an evolutionary standpoint, culture transmits information from one generation to another about how to survive.

When we talk about flourishing, it’s about how, as an advanced, sophisticated being in a particular environment, do you manage to stay alive? How do you manage to function in your group? How do you make it possible for your children to survive and for your species to continue?

Culture transmits information from one generation to another about how to survive.Well, one of the most important ways is through information that can be transmitted from one generation to another. With humans, we do a lot of that through books. And that depends on the kind of human language that we have.

Dolphins have their own way of transmitting information. Hal Whitehead has documented the fact that one of the consequences of whaling was that an area of the Atlantic got so wiped out that the whales who carried the information about how to survive were hunted to the point where the information never got passed on about how to live successfully in that part of the ocean. That means when you talk about whales being killed, you have to appreciate the fact that part of the ethical significance of this is that you also kill off the ability for the information to be transferred.

So, we’re talking about generational consequences, long term consequences. And one of the things people have sort of resisted is the notion of the culture of cetaceans. People get okay with understanding personhood. “I can understand health and safety and emotional wellbeing. I can understand family. But culture? Isn’t that kind of just a nice add-on?”

No, culture is absolutely central. So, one of the most significant things of the document we put together in Helsinki was to appreciate that one of the long-term consequences of human behavior toward whales is the question of the harm we can’t undo because we didn’t know we were doing it.

And from an ethical standpoint, if you do that kind of harm, don’t you have some responsibility to try to try to make it right? In the past, we had this bias that we were the only complicated animals on the planet. But it’s just not the case. And that’s the kind of work that scientists like Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell are doing to recognize the significance of culture and the complexity of other beings and the kind of harm that goes with depriving beings of that kind – individuals and groups – of the conditions that they need, not just for them to survive now, but for their children and grandchildren to survive.

Dolphins surfing, by David O’Brien via Shutterstock.

LM: And then there’s the issue of what we’re doing to the planet. Climate change is making it pretty impossible for generations, human or non-human, to flourish in the future. Traditional conservation is just not enough – this notion of numbers. You can’t just wave off the problem by saying that these animals are plentiful around the world. That’s not the issue. Orcas in the Pacific Northwest are a different culture from those off New Zealand or Iceland. The bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Florida are a different culture from those off the coast of Australia.

It’s not enough just to count the numbers. If you wipe out a particular community of dolphins or whales, it’s cultural genocide. You’re wiping out an entire culture that can never come back.

TW: So, from an ethical standpoint, we need to talk about the conditions that beings of this sort need in order to grow, develop and have healthy, happy, satisfying lives, or at least an opportunity for that. We need to identify those conditions. And we need to ask how do we prevent harm from happening? How do we prevent harm from continuing in the future?

Group of southern right whales with mother protecting calves. Nullarbor, Australia. By Wildestanimal via Shutterstock.

It’s not a matter of how many are there out there. You wouldn’t say that about humans. You wouldn’t argue that we have plenty of humans. And the reason we don’t say that is that we have this attitude that we’re “different”. And in certain ways that’s true. We’re special in certain ways, as all beings are. We’re unique in the sense of being human, but we aren’t unique in having individual consciousness and the ability to control our actions.

An argument can be made that cetaceans have a kind of intelligence that’s different from ours and that in some ways they are more intelligent than humans.

LM: What kind of intelligence would that be? How do you define intelligence?

In some ways they are more intelligent than humans.TW: My definition of intelligence starts with: Can you identify problems that are threats to your survival? And can you provide solutions that make it more likely you’re going to survive?

When you look at our behavior as humans, you’re looking at global warming, trashing our own environment, overpopulating, killing one another on such a regular basis. And then you look at whales and dolphins. They’ve been around a whole lot longer than we have, so we don’t know what they did in their history. But you’re looking at a species that came up with solutions to their problems and threats. And looking at human behavior, you’d have to say we’re not doing that. We’re just exploding the planet.

LM: That’s not intelligent and it gets to the question of the changes that we’ve made by being such an invasive force on the planet. What are some of the elements of cetacean culture that are particularly affected by human activity?

TW: Communication is one thing and social bonding is another. Noise pollution affects being able to make your way through the ocean and avoid ship strikes. Scientists are telling us stories about how noise pollution dramatically affects what used to be an easy way for whales to communicate basically halfway around the globe [with their low-frequency sound waves].

We’re learning that whale song isn’t just the smaller rituals of social interaction, but a primary way of being connected with others. With humans, it’s mainly visual. But if you’re a whale and you’re designed to be able to communicate with folk halfway across the planet, what happens when that goes away because of ship noise? What is the psychological experience then of your identity, how you bond and feel some kind of social belonging? They’re social animals.

LM: So, where do we go from here?

TW: From an ethical standpoint, I’m a fan of saying let’s just start with “Do No Harm.” If we can just do that, we’re a long way down the road.

LM: What do you see as being the way forward for captive whales and dolphins? Going back to those fundamental rights, perhaps we should be thinking about concepts such as reparation. Creating a sanctuary is a form of reparation. It’s not full restitution because we can’t ever give back what we took. But we can make reparations.

TW: At this point, the only ethical thing to do is to put them in a situation where they can have the closest thing that is practical at this point to a decent life. And that’s what you’re working on with the sanctuary. If, for whatever reason, you can’t transition them into a natural habitat, you can still put them in a situation that’s closer to a natural habitat where they can have a better life.

And overall, it’s true that humans didn’t know enough about dolphins and orcas when we got into the business of captivity. But you’re responsible for the consequences of your actions. So, when you finally get the information about what the consequences are, you have a moral obligation to act appropriately. You just can’t say, “Oh well, we didn’t know. And we’re just going keep on going.” Well, we didn’t know before, but now we do.

LM: And that’s an excellent message to end the webinar on. Thank you, Tom.

TW: Thank you, Lori.

LM: And thank you, everyone. Be well!

The post Five Fundamental Rights of Whales & Dolphins appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On August 5th, SeaWorld announced that “Every attempt was made to save his life. Veterinarians and health specialists had been actively treating an infection, but aggressive therapeutic and diagnostic efforts were unsuccessful.”

Photo of Nakai from Creative Commons by Zaleem324

Nakai’s mother was Kasatka, who died in 2017. Tilikum, who lived at SeaWorld Orlando, was his father by artificial insemination.

Nakai’s half-sister Kalia was fathered by Keet, who has lived at SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Ohio.

One of his half-brothers, Makani, was fathered through artificial insemination by Kshamenk, who lives in an amusement park in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

His other half-brother, Ikaika, was fathered by Tilikum. Ikaika spent several years at Marineland Canada, as part of deal between SeaWorld and Marineland with the aim of breeding Kiska and alternating ownership of the calves between the two companies. But in 2011, a custody battle erupted. SeaWorld won the case in court and Ikaika ended up back in San Diego.

If this piece of family genealogy seems a bit confusing and convoluted, that’s because it is. It does, however, give the briefest glimpse into the breeding and interbreeding of whales for profit among amusement parks around the world. In one of many other examples, the orca Keto lived at every SeaWorld park in the United States before being transported in 2006 to Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands, where he killed his trainer, Alexis Martinez, on Christmas Eve 2009. He went on to father Ula, the daughter of Morgan, which was a violation of the conditions of her transfer from a dolphinarium in the Netherlands.

Nakai in 2012 after he had sustained an injury to his jaw. Photo By Ingrid Visser.

In 2016, SeaWorld made a pledge to stop the breeding of orcas at its facilities and to begin replacing its circus acts with “new, inspiring orca encounters” and more naturalistic presentations.

The whales, however, continue to live in totally unnatural conditions that subject them to chronic stress, leading to immune system dysfunction and high morbidity and mortality. (Nakai’s death comes less than a year since the demise of six-year-old Amaya, also at SeaWorld San Diego, about whom the company wrote that “her death was sudden and unexpected.”)

The conditions they’re kept in also lead to violence. The same week we learned of the death of Nakai at SeaWorld San Diego, the animal protection group PETA posted video of another of the orcas there being attacked by tankmates. You hear the voices of horrified young children, and an eyewitness writes: “We all immediately saw blood soaking the water, which triggered my nine-year-old daughter to start crying.”

As we post this account, we have not heard anything from SeaWorld about that incident. But it is now way beyond time for the company to follow the lead that was set earlier this year by the Miami Seaquarium in charting a new course for captive whales. On March 23rd, the new owners of the Seaquarium announced a level of public transparency about the health, welfare and care of the orca known as “Lolita.”

In Nova Scotia, the Whale Sanctuary Project is pioneering a gold-standard sanctuary where orcas and beluga whales can be retired. More sanctuaries will be needed for the many whales in captivity at home and abroad. This first one is being created as a model for others to follow.

What’s needed now is the willingness of the marine mammal entertainment industry to end the shows, to adopt a new level of transparency regarding their health, to begin the process of preparing the animals for retirement, and to join our existing donors in providing the funds for the construction of this first-of-a-kind sanctuary and the care of the whales who will live there.

As world-renowned oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau has noted:

“The time has come to see whales in captivity as a part of our past, not a tragic part of our future. Let’s end the shows now and retire these intelligent, social, complex animals to seaside sanctuaries.”

What you can do:

• Ask SeaWorld for a transparent accounting of the death of Nakai and of the violence that was witnessed in one of its most recent shows;
• Invite the company to support the Whale Sanctuary Project, to work with us toward completing the sanctuary, and to move ahead in giving captive whales a new and better future.

Public opinion clearly indicates that it is time for a new relationship to these magnificent and emotionally sensitive animals. Together with the generosity of our existing supporters, the support and cooperation of the marine entertainment companies themselves is the next step in bringing it about.

The post The Death of Nakai and the Future of Captive Whales appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the taking, importation, or exportation of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales and false killer whales for the purpose of public display. It further amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit any breeding of these species for future public display.

The bill also specifically allows exemptions for animals being transported to a sanctuary setting or released to the wild.

The SWIMS Act was introduced by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and is co-sponsored by Reps Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), and Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.).

Rep. Adam Schiff

“Whales are among the most intelligent, fascinating, and beautiful creatures in the world,” said Rep. Schiff. “And they deserve to live freely in their natural habitats – not in captivity where their lives are defined by the four walls of a concrete tank.”

SeaWorld announced in 2016 that it would stop breeding whales and that those now in captivity will be its last. “The federal government should expand on this example,” said Senator Feinstein, “and prohibit all new captive whales for purposes of entertainment.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has formally endorsed the SWIMS Act. “We are very pleased to be supporting this bill,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Whales are among the most cognitively complex of all animals. Confining them to life in a concrete tank is truly unbearable for them.”

Other organizations endorsing the SWIMS Act are the Animal Welfare Institute, Animal Defenders International, Born Free USA, Nonhuman Rights Project, Michelson Center for Public Policy, Cetacean Society International, Compassion Works International, Earth Island Institute, Endangered Species Coalition, FOUR PAWS USA, Oceanic Preservation Society, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Performing Animal Welfare Society, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Three years ago, Canada passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which phases out the captivity of all cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in Canada, except for rescues, rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or cetaceans’ best interests. At a webinar last month, Dr. Marino brought together some of the people who worked on that bill for a discussion of whether such a bill could be passed in the United States.

“It took four years of hearings and debates in the Canadian Parliament,” she noted. “But the final vote in the House of Commons was overwhelmingly in favor. Now we have the opportunity to end captivity of whales in the United States and we thank Rep. Schiff and his colleagues, and we look forward to a time when all orcas and beluga whales who are on display in the United States have been retired to sanctuaries.”

Here is the full text of the SWIMS Act:

The post New Legislation Would End Whale Captivity in United States appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

• Progress at the Sanctuary Site: engineering work, infrastructure, planning and permits, fundraising for capital costs, potential whale candidates for the sanctuary and timeline going forward.
• Our Current Whale Aid Program in support of the orca Tokitae (better known by her stage name “Lolita”) at the Miami Seaquarium.
• Outreach and Education: with a remarkable art show by talented and energized 4th and 5th-grade students in Texas.

The link to the full newsletter is below (and is best viewed on your computer).
You can also access it at https://express.adobe.com/page/NylrWxun9g0ke/

Your support of the Whale Sanctuary Project makes all of this work possible. Very simply we cannot build the sanctuary, welcome the whales, and give them lifelong care without your continuing support. There is much work yet to be done. And the plight of whales in tanks at entertainment parks and aquariums only makes for greater urgency.

Please donate what you can. Your donation, large or small, and one-time or preferably monthly, makes an enormous difference.

And please contact us if you can consider making a special contribution toward the capital costs of the sanctuary.

Thank you for caring about the whales. Together, we can give them a new life that makes up, as much as possible, for what went before.

The post Summer Newsletter 2022 – Creating the Whale Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The post Independent Veterinarians Complete Their First Assessment of Tokitae (Lolita) at Miami Seaquarium appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

It all began five years ago when Rachel Friend, a 4th Grade teacher in the Chicago area sent some of her students’ writings and drawings to Steven Dunn, the Founder of Munchkin, Inc., which makes unique products for young children. Rachel discovered that Steven also had a passion for ending the captivity of whales and dolphins and that he had just become the founding sponsor of a new organization, the Whale Sanctuary Project. So, she and her students decided to host their own fundraisers for the whales.

In the two years that followed, they performed plays and created presentations and other events around the theme of whale captivity and the solution of sanctuary.

Fast forward a few years and a family move to Texas. Now teaching at Schluter Elementary in Haslet, Rachel began introducing her 4^th graders to the plight of captive whales and the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project, this time through our award-winning short film “Whales Without Walls”.

The students invited our Executive Director, Charles Vinick, to join them for a Zoom chat and shared Charles’s TEDx talk with their families, who, in turn, began having conversations with their children about the topic.

“It’s essential to provide children with opportunities to impact our world for the better and inspire others.”“As educators,” Rachel says, “it’s essential to provide children with opportunities to impact our world for the better and inspire others.” To share their concerns, some students decided to write about whales in captivity. One writer asked, “Should the show go on?” Another writer described going to a marine park to see an orca show and “when the orca comes out, you see his face and he’s sad and he looks like he doesn’t want to perform.”

As their interest and concern took hold, the youngsters not only learned more about the lives of whales and dolphins; they also grew their art skills. “Through writing and art,” their art teacher Keisha Casiano, explains, “our students learn that their voices make a difference and promote change in a positive way.” And what better way to do that than to mount an art show and raise funds for something they felt passionate about. From there, the hard work in preparing for an art show began.

And so it was that on February 1st, 2022, Showcase Art Not Whales and Dolphins took place in the school’s gymnasium to rave reviews. The vibrant, underwater scenes painted by the students depict orcas in an ocean environment, robust with bright green sea grasses, sea life, and a sandy ocean floor, some of the many natural elements that will be their new sanctuary home.

Rachel and Keisha were thrilled with the accomplishment of their students, and how this project was embraced by families and the school faculty. And all of us at the Whale Sanctuary Project are hugely impressed with their work and very appreciative of their remarkable fundraising and awareness-raising effort.

“It was a really special evening, one we will never forget,” Rachel says. “We are so proud of the kids for how they took over the project and wanted to share their passion with others.”

The post A Whale of an Art Show! appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Wendy P. McCaw Foundation has been the major supporter of the Whale Sanctuary Project since 2017. Her work reaches far and wide and protects animals of many species.

Wendy McCaw’s concern for captive whales dates back to the 1990s, when she took up the cause of Keiko, the famous Free Willy orca, and made it possible for him to return to his home waters.

Keiko had been captured from his family in the Icelandic Ocean in 1979 and put on display at an aquarium. From there, he was sold to Marineland Canada and then to the Reina Aventura amusement park in Mexico City where he was housed in a small, shallow tank. In 1993, when he became the star of the movie Free Willy, tens of thousands of children who saw the film wrote letters pleading for him to be returned to the ocean.

But it would take an angel donor to make this possible. And it was Wendy McCaw and her then-husband Craig McCaw who stepped forward to take that role.

Wendy and Craig had met during their sophomore year at Stanford University. After they married in 1974, they grew McCaw Communications into McCaw Cellular, eventually selling the company to AT&T in 1994.

“I was appalled by what I read in the press about Keiko’s treatment and his horrible situation,” Wendy says. “And I talked Craig into ‘doing something’ about Keiko’s situation.”

And so it was that Keiko found himself on a plane to Newport, Oregon, to a specially built facility at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, courtesy of the Craig O. and Wendy P. McCaw Foundation.

Keiko then began a two-year rehab program to build up his muscles, clear his skin infections, restore his overall health, and practice for the long flight to his home waters in Iceland.

“I visited Keiko in Mexico City before he was moved to Oregon,” Wendy recalls. “I was in the ‘chase plane’ when he was flown to Oregon, and it was a thrill to be in Vestmannaeyjer, Iceland, when Keiko arrived from Oregon and was placed into his sea pen.”

A deeply held philosophy rooted in respect for all living creatures and an appreciation of the roots and values that hold a community together.When she talks about Keiko and other animals, Wendy uses the words “fairness” and “respect” frequently. “Being held captive after having been taken from their families in the wild is unfair and isn’t right. These animals were not given a choice.” She calls appreciation, respect and fairness the cornerstones of her Foundation’s grant-making.

And that’s why she was “more than interested” when Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, approached her about creating a whale sanctuary.

“The idea was exciting for me,” she says, “because of the unfairness with which whales and other sea creatures are held in captivity for the enjoyment of audiences. I think it is becoming more unpopular as people get more of an understanding about what it means for the animals to be imprisoned.”

Creatures great and small

Wendy’s animal causes reach far and wide, spanning the spectrum from wildlife conservation to companion animal care; from rescuing wild burros to protection of the forests; and from supporting major national programs to funding smaller local rescue groups.

One of those local efforts is the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. We wanted to ask their executive director, Ariana Katovich, about their work, and on the day we spoke, it turned out they were just starting to move into their new wildlife hospital. “Just in time for the baby bunny season!” Ariana said with noticeable relief.

Wendy had played a significant role in making the hospital possible. “She’s a long-time supporter of our work,” Ariana told us. “She’s been instrumental throughout our history.”

For Ariana, it’s the combination of staff, volunteers, donors and citizen rescuers that makes it all work and makes her hopeful for the future.

“That’s what’s inspiring to me about Wendy,” she added. “Her commitment and her work to champion and care for animals is so broad. And it’s connected to so many efforts. It’s how we’ve made such progress here. We now care for between four thousand and five thousand animals a year. And that’s from more than 220 species.”

At home, Wendy lives with a 26-year-old burro, Watson, whom she adopted, along with his companion Eli, from the Bureau of Land Management when the two were living in a holding pen. Eli passed away a few months ago, but Watson has a new friend in the form of a nine-year-old adopted hinny.

Historic buildings – the soul of a city

Along with her passion for animals, Wendy has a deep concern for the human environment – especially for historic buildings. “When an historic building is destroyed,” she says, “so goes a piece of that city’s soul.” Her foundation has supported the rehabilitation of many buildings, including the Santa Barbara Bowl, the Folger Estate Stable in nearby Woodside, the former I. Magnin building (a testament to contemporary 1940’s architecture), and the Granada Theatre, an anchor for the historic cultural district and a stunning example of Santa Barbara’s history, its architecture and traditions.

Wendy’s concern for these cultural icons was also one of the reasons she purchased the Santa Barbara News Press from the New York Times. The downtown building, which is the paper’s original structure, had been built by George Washington Smith in 1922, and thanks to her work on it, it has now been deemed a “City Landmark” by the City of Santa Barbara.

The other reason for buying it was to bring local news back to Santa Barbara. “It was not focusing on the local news,” she says.

The newspaper has twice been honored by the annual Genesis Awards, which feature people in the news and entertainment media who have significantly raised public awareness of animal issues.

In 2005, the News Press received the award for Outstanding Newspaper Editorials, citing “an unrivalled collection of 44 insightful, timely and reasoned editorials, exploring an array of significant animal issues in need of public attention and effecting change in the process.” And in 2008, the writers at the newspaper received Special Recognition for Outstanding Written Word.

A deeply held philosophy

At first blush, the newspaper, the historic buildings and the protection of animals may seem to be disparate interests. But when you put the pieces together – animals, wildlife, the environment, the human environment and its historic buildings, local news and the local community – you see the key elements of a deeply-held philosophy that is conservative in the true meaning of the word: rooted in respect for all living creatures, fairness toward all animals, a passion for the conservation of life, and an appreciation of the roots and values that hold a community together.

“Our fellow animals are equally rooted in their communities,” she says. “They are held together in the web of life that sustains us all.”

Critical to that web of life are the keystone species – wolves, bears, mountain lions, coyotes, orcas and others – who have historically been given bad press and short shrift.

“They have not been treated fairly, their importance is not respected, and in many cases, they are still being persecuted. Everything flows from these creatures; without them other species would not exist. This is not only unfair; it’s not right. What motivates people to kill for sport or to kill because they don’t like a certain species? Where is the respect for all living creatures?”

How to change this mentality? Her answer is straightforward: “Educate future generations that all life is sacred, and to respect all life.” In the case of the whale sanctuary, it’s the vision of a world in which all ocean-going creatures are treated with respect and are no longer confined to concrete tanks in entertainment parks and aquariums.

The post Wendy McCaw: a Lifeline for Animals appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Mayor Danielle Levine Cava, entrepreneur and conservationist Pritam Singh, and Whale Sanctuary Project Executive Director Charles Vinick. (View the full press conference here.)

Miami, Florida, March 23rd, 2022:

At a press conference this afternoon, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Danielle Levine Cava, announced an agreement with the new owners of the Miami Seaquarium – the Dolphin Company – regarding the orca Lolita, also known as Tokitae and, by the Lummi Nation of the Pacific Northwest, as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut.

As part of this agreement, the Dolphin Company will be providing access to Lolita for a team of independent veterinarians and other experts to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of her physical and mental health.

To facilitate this work, an informal coalition of organizations and individuals has been brought together by philanthropist and environmentalist Pritam Singh, who has committed $1 million to support Lolita and established a new non-profit named Friends of Lolita. The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to provide advice and expertise for purposes of addressing Lolita’s health and welfare needs, and our Executive Director Charles Vinick is serving as a volunteer Board member of Friends of Lolita.

The Whale Sanctuary Project will be providing our best resources to this endeavor. And we thank the Mayor, the Dolphin Company, and Friends of Lolita for opening the door to giving Lolita/Tokitae a new and better life.

The post Lolita/Tokitae to be Examined by Independent Vets appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

How Beluga Whales Learn to Spot Each Other in a Crowd

In more ways than most people imagine, beluga societies are very like our own. Females form friendships, traveling together and cooperating to raise their young. The kids play and socialize together. And the older males form clubs and long-term alliances.

They learn all of this from their parents and families and from each other. It’s what we call culture: the knowledge, wisdom and behavior that we pass from generation to generation.

Beluga whales are denizens of Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, often traveling more than 3,500 miles each year and spending their winters and summers in different locations as they raise their young.

Photo of Belugas by Lisa Barry/NOAA/NMFS

During the summer, these highly sociable animals often have giant meet-ups, hanging out in the thousands close to the shore. But if you’re a beluga, how do you know where to go, what to do when you arrive, and how to behave when you’re meeting up with thousands of other whales, some of whom you know, others you don’t?

To learn some of the answers, Greg O’Corry-Crowe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University, led a multi-year study of belugas in various parts of the Arctic.

His team followed generations of the whales, collecting genetic samples along the way.

And what they learned was that the whales pass along the knowledge of their travels and their routes from one generation to the next.

“Many other animals migrate on an annual basis,” explains Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “These remarkable journeys are based on social learning from one generation to the next. And that’s the basis of culture. Belugas aren’t just a migratory species; they’re a migratory culture.”

“Call Me Squeak-Trill-Pop!”

Another thing you need to know as a beluga whale, especially when you’re still a youngster among hundreds or thousands of other whales, is how to find your mom in the crowd and let her know where to find you.

We humans have names to identify ourselves. We don’t know whether that’s exactly what belugas have, but they do have individual contact calls. And these may well be the very first thing a baby beluga learns.

Valeria Vergara, director of the Cetacean Conservation Research Program at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, has been studying communication among belugas for more than 20 years.

She says that it would be highly beneficial to them, as well as fascinating to us, to understand their “language” better.

When we welcome the first belugas to their new home at the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, we’ll be able to listen in to their vocalizations and keep a record of them that we can share with scientists like Valeria Vergara and Greg O’Corry-Crowe.

The more scientists understand, the better they can help protect whales who live in the open ocean. This kind of work underscores how important the sanctuary will be for whales who have lived in captivity as well as whales in the wild.

For more about beluga culture, go here. And Greg and Valeria will be among the guests at an upcoming webinar on February 24th.

Next: How Sperm Whales Taught Each Other to Defeat Whaling Ships  

The post How to Be a Successful Whale or Dolphin appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In the webinar, Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Charles Vinick, our Executive Director, answered questions ranging from when the sanctuary will be ready to welcome the first whales to how they will adapt to their new environment, and from what happens if there’s a break in the perimeter net to what kinds of employment opportunities there will be.

Here is a video recording of the webinar:

Before turning to the general Q&A, Charles brought viewers up to date on some recent contacts we’ve had with Marineland Canada, an entertainment park that holds about 40 beluga whales and the lone orca Kiska. Most recently, last week we had an in-person discussion with Marineland about the possibility of transferring whales from their facility to the sanctuary at the appropriate time. The meeting was cordial and positive, and we even set some dates to meet after the first of the year.

Three days later, however, the Niagara police charged Marineland with using whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, which is prohibited under the federal government’s anti-captivity laws. And rather than responding to these charges directly, Marineland apparently tried to deflect the attention of the news media by sending them an extensive document they had written about the suitability of the Whale Sanctuary site at Port Hilford Bay.

One section of their document raises questions about environmental pollution in the bay due to gold mining in the 1860’s through the 1930’s, and the closing of the bay to shellfish fishing. Charles addressed this question, saying that we have been studying the water for more than 18 months, that we have yet to find any significant issues in the bay waters, and that we will continue to share all our findings with the government regulators to ensure that there are no risks to whales who may come to the sanctuary.

(We should perhaps also note that it’s a bit ironic that earlier this year, an inspection of Marineland by Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services found that marine mammals at the facility were in distress due to poor water quality.)

Charles and Lori then turned to the general Q&A. Your questions are always welcome, and we look forward to keeping you up to date with more “Ask Us Anything” webinars in the year ahead.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we wish you and yours a very Happy Holiday and a good New Year.

The post Our Year-End “Ask Us Anything” Webinar appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

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Check out the extraordinary, specially donated paintings and photos that depict the lives of whales in the wild, their plight in captivity, and the future they can have when retired to Sanctuary.

The urgency for completing the first whale sanctuary in North America grows with every day. That’s why, on this Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join with whale lovers everywhere in bringing this vision to reality:
A world where no whales are being kept in captivity for entertainment. 

This year, our friends at the Animal Welfare Institute are dedicating their Giving Tuesday appeal to providing the Whale Sanctuary with a work boat that we will use to complete site development work and create and maintain the perimeter net.

This is the kind of work boat we’ll be using to complete site development, create and maintain the perimeter net and other structures, and serve the ongoing need for sanctuary monitoring and security. 

Their goal is to raise $30,000. And your donation, large or small, can help match that amount and take us another step forward toward completing the sanctuary and welcoming the first whales.

In North America alone, about 100 orcas and beluga whales languish in concrete tanks. Worldwide, the number is estimated at more than 350. This sanctuary will be the first of its kind for captive whales, and a model for more sanctuaries to come in other countries.

Every donation, large and small, brings us a step further toward being able to give the whales a new home in an ocean environment.

Thank you again for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

The post Come Inside the Operations Center! appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Lori’s special guest was Dr. David Celiberti, Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment.

In this post, along with the full video of the webinar, Dr. Marino offers some background to DAT:

Over the past 40 years, dolphin assisted “therapy” has become a major branch of Swim-with-Dolphins programs, which are, in turn, a lucrative component of the overall whale and dolphin entertainment industry.

Many people describe their in-water encounter with a dolphin, whether captive or free ranging, as one of the most exhilarating and transformative experiences they’ve ever had. Some report feeling a sense of euphoria and intimate kinship with the dolphins; others assert that dolphins are aliens or angels with special healing powers. But none of these feelings have anything to do with real therapy.

In 1971, educational anthropologist Betsy Smith let her mentally disabled brother wade into the water with two adolescent dolphins. She noted that the dolphins treated him tenderly, and believing that they understood his situation, she established therapy programs at two facilities in Florida that she offered, free of charge, for many years. But she later concluded that these programs were ineffective as therapies and were exploitative of both the dolphins and the human patients. In 2003 she publicly denounced them, calling them “cynical and deceptive.”

The idea, nonetheless, had caught on, and the concept of Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) was soon being promoted for profit at facilities around the world claiming to treat conditions of all kinds, in particular depression, motor disorders and, most notoriously, autism.

The use of dolphins in Dolphin Assisted Therapy and other Swim-with-Dolphins programs is contrary to our vision of a world in which cetaceans are no longer subject to any form of exploitation.Several peer-reviewed scientific papers have shown that there is no evidence that DAT has any therapeutic impact. Yet, it continues to be marketed to desperate parents and people seeking relief for the conditions that impact them. Families continue to visit these facilities and to accomplish little that they could not have gained from a change of scenery, from the close personal attention they receive from the people at these facilities, or from interacting with a puppy.

In our webinar, Dr. Celiberti, a practicing clinical psychologist with a focus on autism spectrum disorders, explained how parents of children with autism are presented with a dizzying array of pseudoscientific practices, DAT among them, all claiming to be therapeutic. Parents are often unable to distinguish real evidence-based therapies from quack practices, and the ensuing lack of results can be devastating for the parent and the child in need.

While not always promising a cure, DAT facilities clearly market themselves as offering real therapy as opposed to simply recreation. And even those who are skeptical of DAT’s scientific validity often just shrug and say “What’s the harm?” if a child who typically knows little enjoyment and accomplishment in life can find a few minutes of joy in riding or hugging a dolphin, even if the enjoyment fades away after returning home.

But there is real harm in that vulnerable patients and parents are led to believe in something for which there is absolutely no evidence: DAT’s therapeutic effectiveness. At best, there might be short-term gains attributable to the feel-good effects of being in a novel environment, along with the placebo boost of having positive expectations. But any apparent improvement in children with autism, people with depression and other medical conditions is as much an illusion as the ‘smile’ of the dolphin. And the harm can include severe injury to a child placed in the water with a wild animal who is being coerced to let that child touch and ride on her with food. Several young children have been severely injured by captive dolphins. One was almost drowned by two dolphins in a tank in Mexico.

Equally sad are the lives of the dolphins themselves. They spend their lives under tremendous stress as they struggle to adapt to an environment that, physically, socially and psychologically, is drastically different from the wild. (Even if born in a tank, they are not domesticated and are not adapted to a life in captivity.) The results are devastating: Chronic stress leads to infectious diseases, abnormal behaviors, and hyper-aggression. Most of these dolphins are medicated with anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs in order to control them.

For this reason alone, the use of dolphins in any kind of Swim-with-Dolphins program is contrary to our vision of a world in which all cetaceans are treated with respect and are no longer subject to exploitation.

During the webinar, we showed clips from a DAT session with a young child with autism, in which you can see how both child and dolphin are being coerced to participate despite the protestations of the child and the fact that the dolphin is “managed” by a trainer – neither having much interest in the other. At one point the child is made to put her hand inside the open mouth of the dolphin – a recipe for disaster that should never be promoted in a professional setting.

Dolphin Assisted Therapy is a classic example of the intersection between the exploitation of children and the abuse of dolphins. I urge anyone who is seeking help for a person with autism to visit the Association for Science in Autism Treatment for further guidance on authentic therapies.

And for our peer-reviewed papers and other information on Dolphin Assisted Therapy, go to the Deeper Dive section of the Whale Sanctuary Project website.

The post Dolphin Assisted Therapy, Autism and Pseudoscience appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The year was 2001, and I was working with another scientist, Diana Reiss, at the New York Aquarium to see if bottlenose dolphins could recognize themselves in a mirror. The ability to recognize that the face in the mirror is “me” has long been considered a key measure of self-awareness.

When we use a mirror to put on make-up or brush our hair, we are demonstrating that we have a sense of self. Twenty years ago, only great apes and human children age two and older were known to understand that the reflection they see in a mirror is themselves.

But when, at the New York Aquarium, my colleague and I placed a large mirror in one of the tanks, the two captive dolphins there, Presley and Tab, were fascinated by what they saw. And they made it quite clear that they understood that the dolphin each of them looking at was himself.

Presley examines himself in the mirror. 

We spent over a year employing tightly controlled experimental methods and analyses to ensure that Presley and Tab were indeed doing what they looked like they were doing. And they were.
(For details about how the study worked, read our peer-reviewed paper.)

Researcher Lou Herman at the Kewalo Basin lab. Photo by Walter Sullivan.

Once our paper was published, Presley and Tab shot to international fame as the first cetaceans to demonstrate the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. And they and our study garnered attention from the international media, late-night talk show hosts and cartoonists at major newspapers.

But now I was beginning to see the two dolphins as much more than just research subjects. Presley and Tab were self-aware individuals who had large, complex brains. And they were living in a tiny barren tank in Coney Island, New York. And while the starkness of the tank had been a benefit to our ability to control all of the conditions of the mirror experiment – there were no distractions – it was now revealing to me the dismal existence of these dolphins, endlessly swimming in circles within run-down concrete walls.

And then, not long after the study, these two profoundly intelligent and sensitive beings would meet untimely deaths from diseases related to stress and immune-system dysfunction. Presley succumbed to fungal encephalitis at age 19, Tab to gastroenteritis at 21. Both diseases are related to stress and immune-system dysfunction.

What I learned most from the study was that dolphins and whales do not belong in concrete tanks.I now understood the real significance of our mirror study: Presley and Tab were not just research subjects; they were victims. I felt ashamed that their “reward” for what they had shown us was just more exploitation, suffering, and the loss of their lives.

I soon learned about other cetacean “research superstars” who had died in the tanks. They included all of the dolphins in the famed experiments by Louis Herman at the Kewalo Basin lab in Hawaii. Phoenix, Akeakamai, Hiapo and Elele had died prematurely: two from cancer, one from enteritis and toxemia, and one from unknown causes. None of them lived past the age of 27.

Natua, another bottlenose dolphin at the Dolphin Research Center in Florida, had provided definitive evidence that dolphins reflect upon what is on their minds (called metacognition). He died at age 18 of hepatitis and cirrhosis.

And NOC, the beluga whale who mimicked human speech, had died of aspergillus encephalitis at the young age of 24 at a U.S. Navy facility in California.

Dolphins captured from blood-stained waters in Taiji, Japan. Photo by Oceanic Preservation Society.

I also learned about the monstrous Taiji drives and the role of the marine park industry in supporting the slaughter of up to thousands of cetaceans every year. And for me to continue doing research in a marine park or aquarium setting would amount to a tacit endorsement of the abuse. I could not live with that.

Instead, I would use my scientific training to protect and advocate for these psychologically complex beings. This led to participating in the films Blackfish and Long Gone Wild as the tide of public opinion began to move in the direction of bringing an end to treating whales and dolphins as a product for entertainment.

But it was also clear that without an alternative to these facilities, there would be no path to ending the confinement of cetaceans in marine parks. And all of this has led to the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project to retire captive whales and dolphins to sanctuaries.

Today, the need for sanctuaries is greater than ever. This year alone has seen numerous more deaths and reports of abuse and neglect in captive whales at home and abroad. And as the reports pile up, one after another, the need for sanctuaries grows ever more urgent.

The sanctuary we are creating in Nova Scotia is designed to be the first of many – a model that can be replicated all over the world. I believe that this is the least we can do as an act of reparation toward these intelligent and emotional beings. Together we can give them back as much as possible of what has been taken from them by our own species.

The post The Landmark Study that Led Me to Reject Research on Captive Whales and Dolphins appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Operations Centre is now our home base for directing the design, engine­ering and construc­tion of the sanctuary. The conference room has full tele­communi­cations equipment enabling the team on the ground to consult with our expert advisors from around the world on everything from sanctuary construction to whale transport to veterinary care.

Charles Vinick, Executive Director, (right) gestures toward photos that show the difference between life at an entertainment park and life in nature. All photos on this page by Kevin Fraser and Melanie Wood.

The centre doubles as a welcome and information hub for the local communities of Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, as well as for the thousands of environmentally conscious tourists who visit the region every summer. And it has an overnighting area for up to two visiting staff members and advisors.

It is also our Canadian office, where we meet with government officials and community leaders. And this was in evidence when His Honour, the Hon. Arthur J. LeBlanc, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, representing the Crown, stepped forward to cut the ribbon and lead the way in a tour of the exhibit area.

Other dignitaries at the opening included Hon. Wilfred Moore, who, as a Senator, introduced Senate Bill S-203 – the landmark Ending the Captivity of Whales & Dolphins Act – into Parliament. And Kerry Prosper of the Paq’tnekek Mi’kmaq First Nations community and Mi’kmaq Knowledge Keeper, spoke about how the project is a great way to connect with nature and treat whales in a good way.

Here’s a slideshow of some of the day’s events:

Visitors will be able to watch interactive video displays to learn about the sanctuary. They can learn about whales in general, and about whales in captivity and how their lives will be changed when they are retired to the natural environment of a sanctuary.

“We acquired the property in town from a good friend of the project who lives nearby,” said Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “He bought it solely for the purpose of helping the whales, so we’re very grateful for that. The Whale Sanctuary Project will pay a nominal rent, which has been covered for the first year by supporter David Reuben, who continues to play a pivotal role in the creation of the sanctuary.”

As a century home, the building required some important renovations, and we’re very grateful to local volunteers who stepped in to help with much of this work.

The Centre is open to visitors on Mondays and Fridays from 10:00AM to 1:00PM and Wednesdays from 4:00PM to 7:00PM. Please check our local Facebook page for any schedule changes during winter months.

The post Opening Day at Whale Sanctuary Operations Centre appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

By Charles Vinick, Executive Director, the Whale Sanctuary Project

I’m sitting on the wharf, here at Port Hilford Bay, and behind me are 100 acres of water space that are going to be a sanctuary for captive whales. And I’m reminded of the times I spent in Iceland with Keiko, the “Free Willy” whale.

We’d brought him back from a marine entertainment park to the ocean where he’d been born some 20 years earlier. And we’d created a temporary sanctuary for him in a 15-acre netted-off bay, much smaller than the size of what we have here.

That’s how big this sanctuary is, and that’s what it means to give them back their freedom in nature.Once Keiko was in the water, he would swim across it and chase birds. And if there was rough weather, he’d just lift his head and the waves and the wind would come into his face and you could see and feel how he seemed to be just loving it. He was in his natural environment.

And it’s that same experience that I picture here. We’ll have whales in these waters, and they’ll be able to chase birds across the bay. They’ll be able to play in the water. They’ll have waves and all kinds of weather. And they’ll be exuberant.

That’s what you never see in a concrete tank at an entertainment park. You don’t see the whales living their own lives in their own natural environment. You only see them doing what they’re told to do. And what they have to do.

And that’s completely different from what the whales will have here at the sanctuary.

Here they’ll be able to choose whether they dive, whether they swim across the whole 100 acres. If one of our whales is all the way out at the far end of the perimeter, we’ll barely see them from here. That’s how big this sanctuary is, and that’s what it means to give them back their freedom in nature.

Of course, we’ll take care of them with food and with whatever medical care they need. But they’ll decide how they spend their time. And they’ll be spending it in nature.

Kiska, the lone orca at Marineland Canada

Think about Kiska for a moment. She’s the solitary orca at Marineland. And the pictures we’ve seen of her are not good. We’ve seen her slamming her body against the side of the tank, over and over. It’s like if you or I were in solitary confinement, pacing back and forth endlessly. It’s the same kind of thing that happens with whales when they’re confined in a tank.

Of course, we don’t yet know whether we can bring Kiska here. That’s not up to us. Right now, she’s basically “owned” by a marine entertainment park, a private company.

Right now, Kiska’s situation is urgent, and so is the situation for all the other whales at Marineland. The reports we hear every day – many of them from people like you who have sent us photos and video – is very troubling.

But we’re confident that working with Marineland or with the government or both, we can find a solution so that she can begin a new life in a natural environment.

And we think of the belugas, too, who are at Marineland. And of orcas and belugas in other entertainment parks, where the owners are trying to figure out what they should do next.

A new home for whales that can make up for so much of what has gone before.So, we know that there is growing interest from all over the world. And that’s why I’m asking you to help us build this sanctuary.

Together, we can do this. And your donation is the key to bringing it about.

This year, we have completed a comprehensive professional evaluation of the sanctuary site – the water quality, the tidal flows, the plant and animal life – to ensure that the bay will be a good home for the whales and that we can maintain the high quality of the marine environment. And we’re well advanced in our review processes with federal, provincial and local authorities.

Next year, 2022, is the year we create the sanctuary itself: a new home for whales that can make up for so much of what has gone before. A home where they can be in nature. As they’re meant to.

Thank you for your support of this unique project.

The post From Keiko to Kiska – Whales Without Walls appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The facts we have been learning are detailed in a report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) of a special inspection that it conducted in June. It begins with the assertion that the Seaquarium’s management has been deliberately ignoring the recommendations of its inhouse veterinarian:

“The facility’s attending veterinarian’s recommendations regarding the provision of adequate veterinary care and other aspects of animal care and use have been repeatedly disregarded or dismissed over the last year.”

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Magdalena Rodriguez, who had been that veterinarian until she was fired in June of this year, says she believes her dismissal was based on concerns she had raised for several years and that coincided with the USDA’s inspection of the facility. Rodriguez says she had warned management about poor water quality, bad food and other serious issues.

“Sidelining the attending vet undermines the entire basis for protecting captive animal welfare in the United States.”As regards the food, the report says that “Beginning February 25th, 2021, poor-quality ‘fragile soft-bellied’ capelin that smelled bad was fed to the marine mammals despite concerns from some of the trainers and the Attending Veterinarian … Medical entries made by [Rodriguez] tracked the effects of the poor-quality fish for her and other animals at the park. One week later [Lolita] developed inflammation according to her bloodwork.”

Rodriguez requested that the bad fish be withheld, but two days later she discovered that “a consulting veterinarian had been contacted without her knowledge and that he had agreed with Facility Curators that the bad capelin could be fed.”

All of this took place despite the fact that “feeding poor-quality fish or partially decomposed fish is detrimental to the health of the animals and can result in illness, compromised immune systems and even death.”

In an extended blog post, Naomi Rose, a member of the Whale Sanctuary Project board and marine mammal scientist for the Animal Welfare Institute, writes:

“There really isn’t anything worse for a USDA inspector to report than the fact that those in charge of a facility are disregarding their attending veterinarian. Sidelining the attending vet undermines the entire basis for protecting captive animal welfare in the United States.”

Injuries and water contamination

Among other times when the Seaquarium ignored or dismissed the recommendations of its veterinarian is that after Lolita had injured her lower jaw, Rodriguez specifically directed the staff not to request head-in entry jumps or fast swims from Lolita, now a geriatric whale. Yet, regardless of this directive, according to the report, the training manager incorporated extra head-in jumps to its routine and continued fast swims. Her jaw injury likelt occurred during either of these behaviors.

Photo of Lolita by Piotr Domaradzki via Wikimedia

According to the Herald, a government scientist was alarmed at the spike in deaths and flagged the events to the USDA. “Two dolphins and a sea lion died from trauma to the head and neck, while a third dolphin drowned after getting caught in a net that divides two pools. A fourth dolphin died from an unexplained gas embolism and another one was reported as having developmental abnormalities, according to the documents.”

“So much algae it sometimes wasn’t possible to see the bottom of the whale tank.”“In short,” Rose comments, “the dolphins were fighting; two individuals were seriously injured and three died from the trauma their tank mates inflicted … In the wild they would never have associated or would have had plenty of room to escape each other. But at MSQ, apparently, despite one, two, and now THREE dolphins being killed, little to no effort was made to separate incompatible animals, which would have prevented this tragedy from repeating itself. And STILL there has been no enforcement action!”

Another issue was the lack of competent people to care for the animals. “Staff shortages left dolphins, manatees and even the park’s star attraction, Lolita the killer whale, with inadequate care,” Rodriguez tells the Herald. “Broken pumps and malfunctioning filters choked water with so much algae it sometimes wasn’t possible to see the bottom of the whale tank. Records on water quality were inaccurate and managers didn’t keep track of where animals were placed in the park’s different pools, a critical part of safely maintaining captive animals.”

Accreditation questions

Another major question that Rose raises is that, while the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has not accredited the Seaquarium, American Humane has given the facility its certification, saying, “The facility passed rigorous, independent third-party audits to earn the certification.” The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums has also given its accreditation. But why?

“What professionally-accredited zoo or aquarium anywhere on this earth,” Rose asks, “gives BAD FOOD to its animals?”

Photo of Lolita by the Orca Project

What, if anything, will change at the Seaquarium as a result of the government’s report? Very little, Rose predicts. “They will suffer no penalty, they get to keep their [federal] APHIS license, no animals will be confiscated. And NOTHING WILL CHANGE. They are likely to be cited again in the future for similar infractions, because they know they will suffer no real consequences for cutting corners and being lax.”

Rescue efforts

Over the years, there have been numerous efforts on the part of animal protection groups and of the Lummi Nation of the Pacific Northwest to have Lolita returned to her native waters. To the Lummi, she is known as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, a member of Sk’aliCh’elh family of orcas who call the Salish Sea home and where her mother and other family members still swim the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

A comprehensive operational plan to safely bring her to a secure and protected area within the Salish Sea.As part of our Whale Aid work, the Whale Sanctuary Project has drafted a comprehensive operational plan to safely bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut to a secure and protected area within the Salish Sea where she can thrive in her natal waters while receiving ongoing human care and while prioritizing the wellbeing of the Salish Sea ecosystem and all its inhabitants, including the Southern Resident orcas.

Such a plan would depend on whether Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut could safely make the arduous journey back to her home waters. And bearing in mind her age and the trauma and abuse to which she has been subjected over the years, any such determination can only be made after a careful and complete health evaluation by an independent team of veterinary experts.

Meanwhile, Rose is not confident that waiting for governmental action is going to be productive. “It is now very clear that the law will NEVER protect [Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut]. I don’t know what will work, after all these years of so many people trying to help her, but at the very least, we need to spread the word of what has happened at MSQ. Based on this inspection report alone, MSQ is failing abysmally in its duty of care for this amazing being. Something has to give.”

The post Shocking Government Report on Miami Seaquarium appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The coastal sanctuary that the Whale Sanctuary Project is creating in Nova Scotia for whales who are being retired from entertainment parks will be an ideal location for the non-invasive study of cetacean (whale and dolphin) communication.

And since the vocalizations and communication among the residents of the sanctuary will be an important measure of their well-being, we invited five pioneers in animal communication studies to join us for a webinar to tell us about some of their remarkable discoveries and how their work might benefit the whales at the sanctuary.

Right now, there are basically two ways of studying communication among whales and dolphins: in the wild and in aquariums and entertainment parks. Studies of whale communication at entertainment parks have limited value because of the entirely unnatural conditions in which the whales are forced to live. And while studies conducted in the wild have enormous value, they are challenging because of the time and expense that’s involved in traveling with the whales and dolphins over an extended period of time.

An authentic coastal sanctuary, however, will be able to supplement the work that’s being done in the open ocean by monitoring and recording all the communication among the whales and pairing it with their other activities, movements and behaviors. Moreover, we will be able to see how communication and other behaviors change over time in the sanctuary environment.

Our guests were:

• Dr. Valeria Vergara, who has conducted groundbreaking studies of beluga whale communication both in captivity and in the wild and is well-known for her discovery of contact calls between beluga whales.
• Aza Raskin, co-founder and executive director of the Earth Species Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to decoding nonhuman communication and creating better interspecies understanding. He is also co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology.
• Dr. Brenda McCowan, a biological anthropologist who uses information theory and other methodologies to assess the diversity, complexity, and development of communicative repertoires across a wide range of species.
• Dr. David Gruber, the founder and lead of Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative), an interdisciplinary project aimed at decoding sperm whale communication using artificial intelligence and non-invasive robotics.
• Dr. James Crutchfield, a physicist who studies complex systems and pattern discovery to learn how these can be applied to understanding nonhuman communication systems.

After presentations by each of the guests, the ensuing discussion quickly became a brain-storming session in which the group discussed the kinds of protocols, methodologies, and technical features of the sanctuary that could be used to study the whales. For example, observation towers and arrays of hydrophones synched with underwater cameras and drone footage could be key systems of data collection.

At the end of the webinar, it was clear that this webinar is just the beginning of what will be an ongoing dialog that will influence the design of the sanctuary and the ways it can contribute to our scientific understanding of who belugas and orcas are.

The post Sanctuaries and the Study of Cetacean Communication appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Drone footage of Kiska shown here with permission.

These kinds of repetitive, abnormal behaviors are called stereotypies, and they are common across a wide range of species, including humans, in situations that lack physical or social stimulation, choice and variety. A classic example of an animal in an impoverished environment is the rat in the laboratory, singly housed in a small plastic cage with only some food pellets and a water bottle. We know from decades of well-controlled studies that rats, fish, dogs, mice, monkeys, birds and even invertebrates tend to exhibit stereotypies when confined to impoverished environments.

Early in my work as a neuroscientist I learned that stereotypies are evidence of severe chronic stress, psychological disturbance, and dysregulation in the circuits within the brain that control these kinds of behaviors. Last week, my co-authors and I published a peer-reviewed paper in Reviews in the Neurosciences, in which we outlined the brain mechanisms underlying stereotypies in captive cetaceans and elephants and provided evidence that their brains are affected by living in zoos and marine parks.

There are many parts of the brain that become disturbed in impoverished environments, resulting in stereotypies. It appears that stereotypies involve several structures and circuits.  Traditionally, the basal ganglia has been implicated, but more recent research suggests it may be more complex than that. As we continue to learn about the specifics, it is clear that that the occurrence of stereotypies is a result of dysregulation in the brain.

We can empathize with how Kiska is feeling because we know how we would feel in similar circumstances.While different species can react in different ways to impoverished environments, there are also fundamental similarities due to evolutionary continuity across species. All vertebrates possess basal ganglia (invertebrates have similar structures) and they respond to impoverishment and stress in similar ways. So, whether it is a dolphin swimming in circles, an orca grating her teeth repeatedly on the tank surfaces, elephants in amusement parks swaying back and forth, mice in lab cages running in circles, or human patients in mental health care endlessly rocking from side to side, they all indicate the same thing because we all share the same basic brain mechanisms involved in responding to stressful situations.

That is what makes Kiska’s behavior so painful to watch. We can empathize with how she is feeling because we know how we would feel under similar circumstances. And that is why, she deserves to recover in an environment that provides as much as possible of what she is missing. When elephants go from zoos to sanctuaries, their stereotypies tend to lessen or even disappear altogether. And their entire demeanor changes as they engage with their new and more stimulating environment. We expect Kiska will also blossom if she is allowed to go to sanctuary.

The post Of Mice and Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This video was taken by a visitor and is posted here with permission. In the background, you can hear another visitor saying: “Oh! Right against the glass. Splashing. She’d love to be free in the oceans. Here she is, in this concrete and glass tank.” And then, as Kiska moves away, “And now she’s going to swim in circles.” Video credit: @jennyveganmcqueen 

In “The Whales” section of this website, we describe Kiska as “the loneliest whale in the world.” We note that orcas and beluga whales are highly social animals and that Kiska holds “the cruel distinction of being the only orca in North America held in social isolation from any other marine mammal.”

Earlier this year, the Canadian Press reported that “a months-long inspection of Marineland by Ontario’s animal welfare watchdog has found that marine mammals at the tourist attraction were in distress due to poor water quality.” Inspectors ordered the park to repair the water system. Marineland appealed the order, but later withdrew the appeal.

People who have visited Marineland recently have been commenting on what they have been observing there. One person wrote that Kiska “spent the day flip flopping between logging and swimming quickly around her tank in her counter-clockwise circles.”

Endless circling of the tank, grating their teeth on tank walls and gates, and other forms of self-injury.Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and a neuroscientist, explains that these kinds of behaviors, known as stereotypies, can include endless circling of the tank, grating their teeth on tank walls and gates, and other forms of self-injury.

“They all stem from the chronic stress of trying to adapt to the barren and artificial environment of a concrete tank,” she says, “very often leading to physical illness and sometimes even death.”

During a recent televised election debate that focused on animal welfare, a question was posed regarding the animals at Marineland. Candidates Nathaniel Erskine Smith, Liberal Party, Alistair MacGregor, NDP, and Elizabeth May, Green Party, all talked about the plight of large animals in captivity.

Ms. May, one of the sponsors of Senate Bill S-203 banning the keeping of cetaceans in captivity, noted that this law was “the first time we’ve actually taken into account the suffering of an individual animal as a sentient being.”

But the sentient beings at Marineland are not doing well. We have been hearing that over the last year at least ten of the beluga whales have died, one of them just three months after being transferred to an aquarium in the U.S.

To avoid yet more of them from succumbing to what appears to be pervasive ill-health, it is time for all of us who care about them to work together to create a comprehensive solution that can save and protect the whales and dolphins at this troubled amusement park.

The post Crisis at Marineland Canada appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

• In March of this year, 17-year-old orca Skyla died “suddenly” at Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands;
• In July, a newborn beluga passed away at Georgia Aquarium;
• In that same month a second orca at Loro Parque, two-year-old Ula, died after a period of “ill health”;
• In early August, Mystic Aquarium announced the death of a juvenile male beluga who had been transferred from Marineland Canada;
• This past week, Amaya, a six-year-old orca at SeaWorld San Diego died “unexpectedly”;
• And on the heels of the first beluga death, Mystic Aquarium has just announced that another of the very young belugas from Marineland is “seriously ill”.

A beluga whale swims past tourists at Mystic Aquarium. (Photo by Pako Dominguez via Alamy)

In each of these cases, the marine parks and zoos who hold these individuals claim to be surprised and dumbfounded at the losses. SeaWorld said of the death of Amaya in an email to McClatchy News: “Her death was sudden and unexpected.” And, of the death of Skyla, Loro Parque said she was “in perfect condition until yesterday.”

Cetacean health and well-being is seriously compromised in marine parks.But these deaths are no mystery. There is substantial scientific literature on the welfare of captive wild species from birds to mammals. The clinical profiles of different species in zoos and marine parks correlate with their adaptive traits – characteristics that have made them successful as they evolved. The larger the gap between the evolutionarily adaptive characteristics of a species and the captive environment, the lower the welfare. For instance, animal welfare scientists Ros Clubb and Georgia Mason found that carnivores with naturally large home ranges tend to have poorer welfare in zoos than those with small home ranges. These and other findings make it clear why cetacean health and well-being is so seriously compromised in marine parks.

Beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium. Photo by Carol A. Highsmith, Library of Congress.

The evolutionary history of a species shapes its modern nature – those characteristics that need to be expressed in order for members of that species to flourish. Most cetacean species kept in aquariums evolved over tens of millions of years in an ocean environment that affords opportunities for wide-ranging travel, social complexity, and the psychological stimulation of hunting, escaping dangers, and exploring. In the absence of any of these inputs, chronic stress leads to psychological and physical disorders well-documented in the scientific literature for other species. As an example, monkeys confined to impoverished, unstimulating and small environments show more behavioral abnormalities than those in a natural or enriched environment. The parallels with captive cetaceans and free-ranging cetaceans are apparent.

Animal welfare science has a clear message that is being ignored by marine parks and zoos: Square pegs do not fit into round holes.

So, when the entertainment parks claim to be flummoxed over the deaths of young whales, they simply need to pull down the nearest marine mammal biology textbook from the shelf to find out why these deaths are no mystery.

The post Why Captive Cetaceans Have Been Dying appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

But the zoo doesn’t even mention the one member of Ula’s family who is truly bereaved. Her name is Morgan, and she is Ula’s mother. And while Morgan cannot tell us in words what she is feeling and experiencing – her daughter would have been three years old next month – we do know that the bond between orca mothers and daughters is deep and powerful. (You may recall how Tahlequah, one of the Southern Resident orcas in the Pacific Northwest, carried the lifeless body of her baby up and down the Puget Sound coast for two weeks on what was described around the world as a “tour of grief.”)

And yet, no word from Loro Parque about the grief that Morgan must be experiencing – what it must have been like for her when her echolocations suddenly ceased to pick up a heartbeat from her daughter.

Morgan (left) and Ula. Photo by Diva Flora Nikolova via Inherently Wild

Morgan was a calf herself when, underweight and swimming alone, she was rescued off the coast of the Netherlands in 2010 under a “rescue, rehabilitation and release” permit. And yet, instead of being given the chance to return to her family, she was shipped 2,000 miles to this zoo and tourist attraction in the Canary Islands. (Read more about her here.)

Zoos and marine amusement parks routinely refer to the whales as being part of their “family.” But Morgan could never be part of Loro Parque’s family. For starters, five of the other six orcas there had been born at SeaWorld amusement parks in the United States. Three of them had been fathered by the famous orca Tilikum. Morgan’s lineage was completely different. She couldn’t fit in, and the other whales began ganging up on her. The zoo’s owner, meanwhile, announced his delight at having acquired her, saying that she would provide “a new bloodline” for breeding.

There is not a mention of the grief that her mother must be suffering.When Morgan gave birth to a daughter, Ula, the two immediately bonded. But just a few days later, the park separated mother from daughter, first on the pretext that Morgan had too little milk, and then saying it was for safety reasons. Soon after, reports began circulating of Ula having a deformation of the skull, photo-toxic lesions, and a diseased left pectoral fin.

This year, when Ula became sick and animal protection organizations expressed serious concern about her, Loro Parque brushed them aside, saying that “Ula is fine, playing with the rest of the orcas, and there is no longer a trace of the intestinal disease that she suffered in the past weeks.”

And now she is dead. And there is not a mention of the grief that her mother must be suffering.

Ula is the second orca to have died this year at Loro Parque Zoo. In March, when teenager Skyla died suddenly, the zoo’s management described the cause of death as being “intestinal torsion, which caused acute septicemia and immediate death.” They added: “This pathology can occur suddenly in completely healthy animals and is absolutely inoperable in cetaceans, so, despite all our precautions and efforts, it would not have been possible to do anything to save Skyla’s life.”

We asked Dr. Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian with specific training and experience in marine mammal medicine and a member of the Whale Sanctuary Advisory Group, for her view on the zoo’s statement. Dr. Rally called it “highly unlikely that Loro Parque didn’t have some indication of at least a pre-existing gastrointestinal illness, recent traumatic incident, and/or an indication of pain or distress prior to the day of her death.”

Morgan and Skyla. Photo by Ulrich Brodder via Inherently Wild.

The zoo’s management spoke of how Skyla was “part of the Loro Parque family,” just as they would in the wake of Ula’s death. But Skyla, like Morgan and Ula, was never part of the management’s family. Nor, indeed, of any whale family at the zoo. She had been born at SeaWorld Orlando, where her parents were Kalina and Tilikum, and had been shipped across the Atlantic to Loro Parque at age two.

With the deaths of Skyla and Ula, Loro Parque now has five remaining orcas. We have little doubt that the zoo will try to breed more for their “collection,” and doing so will be a travesty and a recipe for more grief and suffering.

Only last week, in the United States, the Mystic Aquarium announced that one of the beluga whales they had acquired just weeks before from Marineland Canada had died. Once again, we were told of the “devastating loss for our staff and for the community.”

These expressions of sadness ring increasingly hollow. It is beyond time for the shows and exhibitions to come to an end … all over the world … once and for all. It is time for the whales and dolphins to be released from their concrete tanks and retired to sanctuaries that can provide the kind of environment in which they evolved over millions of years. All the best veterinary care in the world cannot make up for an artificial environment.

The sanctuary we are creating in Nova Scotia is the first step in our global mission to promote sanctuary for all captive cetaceans and to bring about a time when there are no whales still confined to tanks and used as a form of entertainment.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Together we can give them a life that makes up for as much as possible of what went before.

Photo credit: Title photo at top of this post by Diva Flora Nikolova.

The post Ula Was Never Part of Their “Family” appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Sixteen-year-old Ben Norris and his friends Flora Smith and Sean Carter had spotted the family and were racing down to the beach on their bikes for a closer look. But excitement and pleasure quickly turned to shock and trauma as they witnessed what happened on the rocky shore: As the adult whales turned away toward deeper water, the youngster didn’t follow. Instead, as he kept heading toward the beach, a wave threw him onto the rocks, where he landed on his back, screaming.

Toa stranded on the rocks. Photo by Ben Norris

As Ben described what happened: “He was on his back, and then he was on the beach, wiggling his tail which was driving him further and further up. The rocks were cutting him up and the sound was like nothing you can imagine. His screams were hurting my ears.”

While Flora and Sean raced home to Hongoeka, a Ngāti Toa (Maori) suburb of the town of Plimmerton, Ben got in the freezing winter water to stay with the young whale and try to reassure him. Ben had been learning about orcas as part of a school research project and had recently watched the documentary movie Blackfish about captive orcas at entertainment parks. He said he could see another whale, who must have been the injured calf’s mother, waiting offshore, calling to him, but unable to do more. And by the time Flora and Sean returned with police, fire fighters and Ngāti Toa tribal members – for whom orca are viewed as their ancestors – Toa’s mother and other members of his family were moving further offshore.

The crew of first-time rescuers did everything they could to refloat Toa. “He needed to find his balance and equilibrium,” Flora said, “but we didn’t have enough time to do that because the water was pushing him back on the rocks.”

But expert help was on the way as Ingrid Visser, founder of the Orca Research Trust (and advisor to the Whale Sanctuary Project), flew down from Whāngārei, arriving by evening to help shepherd the calf to a sea pen in Wellington Harbour.

Ingrid Visser, center, with Toa. Photo by Mark Mitchell.

Over the next ten days, hundreds of people worked together to care for Toa, whose name means “brave and strong.” Along with the veterinarians who were treating him and monitoring his condition, the whale was cared for by groups of volunteers working in shifts, with at least four people in the water at any given time. While helping to keep him moving, they needed to make sure he wouldn’t bump into the wall or the net and hurt his back, which had seized up when he was caught on the rocks. Another pair of observers, sitting behind a windbreak out of the water, kept count of the number of times per minute that Toa came up to breathe.

Ben Norris, by Brianna Norris.

Other volunteers from all walks of life became part of the effort, including clothing suppliers and restaurant owners to help keep the team warm, dry, fed and provisioned through winter storms.

One of these remarkable contributions came from the Weta Workshop, a group that’s well known in New Zealand for the amazing props they created in the making of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy of movies. When they heard that Toa needed to be bottle-fed without becoming bonded with humans, they set up their 3-D printer to create a simulation of a mother whale’s teat that the crew could use to feed the calf.

Other experts from far and wide included our own Jeff Foster, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s experienced Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator, who was in touch with Ingrid and the rescue team round the clock on matters from bottle-feeding to medicating to drawing blood to developing bonds of trust, and, if all went well and Toa’s family could be located, to the challenge of returning him to them.

“In the end, Tangaroa had his way with him.”For the first few days in his sea pen at Wellington Harbour, Toa made progress: eating and swimming and even becoming quite feisty. When a winter storm approached, threatening both the whale and his caregivers, he was moved to a saltwater pool until the storm passed. But then, back in his sea pen, he began to take a turn for the worse, becoming seriously lethargic, and despite all the efforts of the veterinarians, he died on Friday evening, July 23rd.

“In the end, Tangaroa had his way with him,” said Hongoeka member Justin Stretch, referring to the great atua of the sea, lakes, rivers, and creatures who live within them.

Local observer Tony Sutorius wrote:

“When Toa went quite suddenly downhill, Ingrid did a beautiful thing. Everyone who had been closely involved in his care was quietly called down to the water’s edge, and those dozen or so [whom] Toa knew best went into the water and held him upright and comforted him, very silently, for the last hour of his life, which ended very gently.

It was a rarely still and beautiful cold evening, under a full moon. When he died, several karakia were sung and a few spoke briefly. It was a sad, very lovely time of aroha and pure community.”

And so, even though little Toa lost his struggle to survive, the effort was far from being in vain. Jeff, who has participated in numerous marine mammal rescue efforts all over the world, notes that he and other rescuers and veterinarians always learn a great deal, regardless of the outcome. Every lesson learned is carried forward to the next effort and is now also helping to build our Whale Aid program and its worldwide network of expertise and commitment that’s writing a new chapter for whales and dolphins, both captive and free ranging.

Orca mothers have deep and lasting emotional bonds with their children, and our thoughts are with Toa’s mother as she grieves his loss. Our thoughts are also with everyone who worked so hard to save Toa’s life and return him to his family – and perhaps especially with those three teenagers, without whom there would have been no rescue effort in the first place. May they lead the way for the new generation of animal rescue and protection.

The post The Rescue of Toa appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

“Skyla was in perfect condition until yesterday, when she began to show some signs of discomfort, which immediately mobilized our team of experts. Despite all the effort, the veterinarians were only able to certify her demise.”

The following day, the zoo offered this brief follow-up on the necropsy they had performed:

“According to the results of the necropsy, the cause of death was intestinal torsion, which caused acute septicemia and immediate death. This pathology can occur suddenly in completely healthy animals and is absolutely inoperable in cetaceans, so, despite all our precautions and efforts, it would not have been possible to do anything to save Skyla’s life.”

Since Loro Parque offered no further details, we asked Dr. Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian with specific training and experience in marine mammal medicine and a member of the Whale Sanctuary Advisory Group, for her view on the zoo’s statement. Dr. Rally responded that while it is likely true, it is not necessarily the full truth.

“While the zoo’s statement is likely true, it is not necessarily the full truth.”“It is highly unlikely,” she writes, “that Loro Parque didn’t have some indication of at least a pre-existing gastrointestinal illness, recent traumatic incident, and/or an indication of pain or distress prior to the day of her death. Indeed, most cases of intestinal torsion in cetaceans were preceded by some predisposing factor. For example, we know that chronic gastrointestinal conditions can predispose to intestinal torsion in cetaceans, and in an array of other species.

“We also know that Morgan [one of Skyla’s tank mates] routinely eats paint, and likely pieces of concrete that she has bitten off of the sides of her tank, and we have no reason to believe the other orca don’t engage in the same behavior. This is just one example of a hazard in their immediate environment that can cause gastrointestinal disease and thereby predispose to torsion when a portion of the digestive tract becomes twisted by rotating, looping around, or folding over itself.”

Dr. Rally says that in extreme cases, once the intestines have become twisted, “the tissues rapidly lose their oxygen supply and die, causing the release of bacteria from the intestines into the abdomen and bloodstream. This can happen rapidly, leading to a sudden onset of pain and distress, and quickly progressing to death by sepsis and circulatory shock.”

Skyla with Kohana and Tekoa at Loro Parque Zoo. (This and title photo from Wikimedia Commons.)

Skyla’s family

Loro Parque’ statement included a sentence about Skyla having been “part of the Loro Parque family.” In fact, Skyla was born at SeaWorld Orlando, and her family consisted of her parents, Kalina (the first orca to have born and raised in captivity) and Tilikum (who had been captured as a calf in Icelandic waters), and many brothers and sisters, most of whom she would never meet.

Kalina and Tilikum had three more calves “together” (one of whom was stillborn), and each was bred many more times with other captive whales. Kalina died at age 25 of bacterial septicemia.

At age two, Skyla was transferred across the Atlantic to Loro Parque. She was said to have a dominant personality, which she exhibited not only toward her tank mates but toward her trainers, to the point where humans had to be prohibited from getting in the water with her. (In 2009, a Loro Parque trainer, Alexis Martinez, had been killed by one of the other orcas, Keto.)

With the death of Skyla, Loro Parque has six remaining orcas: Keto, Tekoa, Kohana, Adàn, Morgan and Morgan’s two-year-old daughter Ula.

The post Orca Skyla Dies at Loro Parque Zoo appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

And now, after a year of site development work, we’re delighted to have reached the next important milestone: deciding the specific placement of the sanctuary within this large bay.

The sanctuary site will encompass this extensive area of approximately 110 acres of ocean around Barachois Island in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia.

There have been two main elements to reaching this next stage. The first involved several months of gathering environmental data to understand as much as possible about every aspect of the bay and its surrounding land. That’s because the 110 acres that will be the whales’ home need to be in an environment that’s interesting, varied and enriching, safe and healthy both for them and for all the other living creatures who inhabit the bay. For example, it should be deep in some places and shallow in others; with a sandy sea floor in some parts and a variable sea floor in others – rich in plant and animal life and basically a place the whales can truly call home.

To understand all of this, we’ve been documenting water depths around the bay, along with the nature of the seafloor below, and testing the water chemistry, the salinity, the temperature gradients, water flow transfer rates and freshwater egress into the bay. Most recently, we completed the hydrodynamic model, which tells us what we need to know about currents, tides, waves and surges so that we can position the sanctuary very precisely and place the nets accordingly.

One of the instruments used in developing the hydrodynamic model.

The second aspect of site development has involved understanding how the sanctuary can work most successfully with all the people who have an interest in the bay and a relationship to it. These include the local communities of Port Hilford, Wine Harbour, and Sherbrooke and the district of St Mary’s; the people who live and work on the bay; the Mi’kmaq Nation; the federal, provincial and local officials who are charged with issuing the necessary permits; and with other interested people and organizations of all kinds throughout Nova Scotia.

Bringing it all together during a pandemic

Accomplishing all of this has been something of a challenge in that right on the heels of our announcing Port Hilford as the location for the sanctuary, the COVID-19 virus all but shut down travel between the United States and Canada (and even between Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada). That made the next stage of our work a lot more complicated. But with lots of teleconferencing, along with help and support from the local community, we were able to press ahead.

Finally, just two weeks ago, it all came together. And at a community meeting in Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, Lori Marino and I were delighted to announce that the sanctuary will be located in 110 acres of ocean around the wharf near the mouth of Port Hilford Bay.

This location has the full support of the fishermen who moor their boats at the wharf and fish for lobsters in the waters nearby. They are truly rolling up their sleeves with us. And while we’re no longer surprised by that level of support, it is just terrific.

We have also reached an agreement in principle – subject to our having all the governmental permitting in place – to purchase prime coastline that will border the sanctuary waters and provide a highly enriching area for the whales as well as exclusive use of the wharf.

It has the deepest water – 18 meters of depth off Barachois Island – and shallows as well. There’s a lot of variety in the substrate and the coast, which is exactly what’s needed for a whale sanctuary.

Next stages

Being able to settle on a specific location within Port Hilford Bay leads us into the next stage of permitting with the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry.

It also means we must immediately be even more active in raising the funds necessary to build the sanctuary itself. I look forward to describing this in more detail. And with your continuing help, we look forward to being able to welcome the first whales by the end of next year.

Thank you, as always, for making this such a unique opportunity for the whales. Together, we can give them a new life that makes up for so much of what they have endured.

*             *             *

The post A Major Update on the Creation of the Whale Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Senator Christmas served on the Standing Committee on Fisheries & Oceans, which in 2017 was considering Bill S-203: the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.

“It was very intense,” he recalls. “We heard [testimonies] from those who were strongly opposed to the S-203 legislation and equally we had people who very strongly believed we were doing the right thing.

“I wish we had the whales here tonight so we could ask them what do they think.”“And I was so frustrated, I said: ‘I wish we had the whales here tonight so we could ask them what do they think.’”

Senator Christmas told his colleagues that if he could have had such an opportunity, he would have wanted to ask the whales, “What is best for your family?”

Speaking of when he first heard that the whale sanctuary would be located in Port Hilford near Sherbrooke, he says he was “so joyful,” not only for Nova Scotians but for the whales from aquariums and entertainment parks who would have “a brand-new home where they could be looked after with love and respect and with some dignity finally.”

The senator also talks about the honor and respect with which whales have always been held by the Mi’kmaq people and says that the sanctuary will give young people the opportunity to reconnect with that relationship.

“I think we’ve forgotten who [the whales] are as people, as persons,” he says. “There’s an opportunity to bring something back from the past that was lost. And hopefully it won’t just remain with us [but] that others will come to Nova Scotia and see these beautiful creatures, and we can share the stories, the relationship, the honor and the respect we have.”

The post “What I Wish I Could Ask a Whale” appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

A couple of years ago, my friend Lauren sent me a photo from her vacation abroad. It was of herself and her family riding an elephant at a place that billed itself as an animal sanctuary.

A few months later, when she asked me whether she’d be able to visit the whale sanctuary at Port Hilford, I felt the need to explain that the place she’d visited on vacation is not, in fact, an authentic sanctuary. Just for starters, the elephant who was giving rides would have suffered a long period of rigorous, painful training before she would obey commands and submit to tourists sitting in a carriage on her back.

Lauren told me she’d been having doubts herself about the experience. So we talked some more, and I told her the four basic questions I always ask about any facility that calls itself a sanctuary:

• Does it engage in performances, demonstrations or displays?
• Are visitors allowed access to the animals for commercial purposes like rides, petting pools and up-close photos with the animals?
• Does it allow breeding?
• And overall, does it have any priorities other than the well-being of the animals?

If the answer to any of those questions is “Yes,” then it’s not an authentic sanctuary.

Photo by Global Sanctuary for Elephants

A sanctuary is by definition a place where the wellbeing of the residents is always the priority.

There are hundreds of first-class sanctuaries all over the world: for elephants, big cats, bears, great apes, dogs and cats, koalas, parrots, and other animals of all kinds. And while visitors can usually take a tour, there are no rides and no close-up experiences, and everyone stays at a respectful distance from the residents.

These top-of-the-line land-based sanctuaries are an inspiration to all of us who are creating seaside sanctuaries for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. And our bottom line will always be the wellbeing of the animals who live there.

Right now, we’re witnessing a fundamental change in public opinion regarding how people relate to whales and dolphins.

Whale sanctuaries are just in their formative years. And so, as we design this sanctuary for captive whales in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, we intend for it to set the gold standard for what can then be, in years to come, many more such sanctuaries all over the world.

The post What Is an Authentic Sanctuary? appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In this wide-ranging webinar, Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, talks about his earlier work as manager of the Keiko project and what he sees as Keiko’s legacy:

The amazing story of Keiko the orca

Keiko, you will recall, had been captured in 1979 and taken from his family in the Icelandic Ocean to Marineland Canada. From there he was sold to an amusement park in Mexico City, where he was housed in a small, shallow tank, insufficient for an adult male orca to thrive.

In 1992, Warner Brothers began filming Keiko for a movie that would tell the story of Jesse, a foster boy who befriends a captive orca named Willy and helps him escape back to the ocean.

The film became a major box office success, spawning three sequels, a television series and a video game. But unlike the character he was playing, Keiko himself didn’t get to leave the tank in which he was being housed at the amusement park. (His “stunt double” in the action sequences was an animatronic model.)

Fortunately, however, that was not the end of the story. After seeing the movie, tens of thousands of children wrote letters pleading for the return of the real-life whale to the ocean.

As a result of this intervention from all over the world, Keiko was indeed rescued, and in 1996 he was brought to a specially built large pool in Oregon, where he was treated for multiple health conditions. Two years later, he was flown to a bay on an island off the coast of Iceland, where he spent four years going on open ocean “walks”, learning to catch his own fish, and introducing himself to wild orcas, all with full-time care while preparing for a life in the open ocean.

In the summer of 2002, while in the company of a pod of orcas, Keiko left his caregivers and swam more than a thousand miles to the coast of Norway. He made his home in and around a fishing village, where he thrived for another year, free from captivity in a concrete tank before succumbing to a pneumonia-like infection.

Check out this slideshow of Keiko’s journey to freedom:

Keiko’s enduring legacy

You can also watch this video in which Charles talks with Jeff Foster, who served as Keiko’s Director of Field Operations and Research and is today our Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator. The video includes lots of fascinating archival footage, and at the end Charles sums up his overall takeaway from the project:

“It is very easy,” he says, “to capture a whale from the ocean. It’s much harder to put one back!”

Indeed, for all but maybe one or two of the whales on display at entertainment parks today, returning them to the ocean is not an option at all. That’s because they were born into captivity and have never seen the ocean, the sky or even a live fish.

And that’s why our focus is on seaside sanctuaries as the right future for all captive whales.

* Members of the Whale Sanctuary Project team who were also on Keiko’s team are Charles Vinick (WSP Executive Director and Board member), Naomi Rose and Dave Phillips (Board members), Jeff Foster (Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator), Jean-Michel Cousteau, Chuck Davis, Terry Hardie, Michael Parks, Paul Spong and Ingrid Visser (Advisory Group members).

The post Keiko the Orca’s Legacy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Because of the COVID virus, travel to and from Canada has been restricted since March. And while teleconferencing has certainly been very helpful all year, there’s just no substitute for being on the ground/ocean and working directly with our amazing Canadian team of staff, volunteers and supporters. So, we’re all very appreciative of the Canadian government giving us permission for this visit.

We’ll have more news soon of everything that was accomplished. But meanwhile, and just before he had to return home, Charles taped this brief message from the wharf that overlooks the sanctuary site.

Please take a moment to make your Holiday donation. Together we can create a gold-standard sanctuary that gives captive whales a new home and a new life in this wonderful, natural environment.

Thank you, and all good wishes for a safe and peaceful Holiday.

The post Message from the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Much of the work on the water is conducted aboard the boat of our friend and local fisherman Hughie MacDonald, seen here with our environmental analyst Amanda Babin.

When we talk about the creation of the whale sanctuary in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, we regularly explain that we’re currently in the site development stage and that this includes “on-site environmental data collection.”

So, what kinds of environmental data do we need to collect? And what do we use it for?

To ensure that the sanctuary can provide the quality of life that the whales deserve, we need to know as much as possible about the bay, the freshwater inlets and ponds nearby, and of the lands surrounding the bay. The results of the data analyses will be included our permitting submissions and will inform our engineering studies for construction of the sanctuary. Some of the things we have to understand are:

• the ranges of water temperature;
• whether there is runoff from the shore during storms and if it contains any detrimental pollution;
• details about currents, tides and wave action and how these change during storms;
• whether there are any underwater sounds that might disturb or alter whale behavior;
• and what other kinds of animals live in and around the bay.

Our Environmental Analyst Amanda Babin has been conducting much of this work and taking photos and videos as she goes. So, in this post she takes us through some of the activities and equipment that the team has been using to gather all of this information.

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler

Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) tell us how fast the water moves and in what direction at different depths. We use two kinds: The blue-and-white one is deployed on a frame with weights so that it can sit on the bottom of the bay. The other is mounted on an orange float that looks a bit like the space shuttle and is deployed on the surface.

Multibeam Sonar

We’re doing a multibeam sonar survey to make a detailed picture of the seafloor, which will show us areas that are shallow and deep. The survey will also identify any anomalies in the sea floor and tell us whether there could be a sunken boat (or even an old car that may have been dumped into the bay!).

Once we know the detailed shape of the sea floor, we can add the ADCP data and create a hydrodynamic model of Port Hilford. This will give us a dynamic picture of how water moves around the bay, which is critically important for engineering the placement of the sanctuary net enclosure, as well as for understanding how the whales can interact with their environment.

The team that worked on collecting the data includes the Applied Geomatics Research Group of the Centre of Geographic Sciences of the Nova Scotia Community College. It was led by Dr. Tim Webster, and included Sean Dzafovic, Nathan Crowell, Dedipya Kodavati, and Connor Dearing.

Hydrophones and Underwater Microphones

Whales are acoustic animals and their primary sense is sound, so we want to know whether the sounds of boats or any other noise will have an impact on their hearing frequencies. Having an overall acoustic profile of the environment will help us understand how the whales will react in their new home.

Hydrophones and microphones record noise to measure the volume at each frequency and tell us how quiet or loud it is underwater. Here’s a typical hydrophone, along with what one of the spectrograms looks like. (Spectrograms are a picture of the volume of the sound at different frequencies over time.)

In this video, we’re collecting a hydrophone that’s been measuring underwater noise.

A hydrodynamic model creates a picture of water speed and direction at different depths. This will help us understand what the whales will experience. It will calculate how quickly water moves in and out of the area to understand how debris and whale waste will move in the marine environment. And it helps with sanctuary design.

Benthic Surveys

Benthic animals are those who live in or on the seafloor, and benthic surveys are one of the main ways that scientists assess the health of our estuaries and coastal waters.

In this video, Connor Dearing and Dedipya Kodavati are lowering a photo drop frame to the seafloor so that we can take GoPro video to identify the substrate type and any flora and fauna that are present.

Water and Sediment Sampling

With water samples taken at a variety of locations in the bay, we are doing lab analyses for around 30 different metals and we’re measuring nutrient levels to test for any contaminants in the water.

Freshwater Survey

During the snow melt, we identified and measured all of the major freshwater sources that enter the bay, including their depth at high water, their width, and the water speed. This allows us to understand how much freshwater is entering the bay.

We collected water samples, and samples of invertebrates living in the streams. We then identified the species and calculated what percentage were sensitive to water pollution. These percentages were above 70 percent, which is quite high, indicating that the streams were clean.

Much of this work was conducted by our environmental analyst Amanda Babin, her husband Kraig, and their dog Kes.

Storms

Photos and videos like this one, taken as Hurricane Teddy arrived in Port Hilford, show us whether debris comes ashore and whether there are particular locations where more or less debris accumulates. This helps us plan our operations for all types of weather events.

This video was taken by Jamie Anderson from our standardized location for taking photos and videos along the western shore. The video is time-matched to the data from the ADCP to relate how high the waves actually were to our perception of the wave heights from shore.

The post A Deep Dive into Environmental Analysis appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Beluga whale at the Shedd Aquarium – Alamy

In response to the infant’s death, Chief Animal Operations Officer Peggy Sloan stated: “Our team gave Naya’s calf the absolute best chance to thrive.” And while it’s doubtless true that the aquarium did its best, thriving is an unrealistic expectation for any beluga who is born in a concrete tank.

While the low birthweight that comes with twinning may be the basis for this infant’s demise, we should note that the Shedd Aquarium and many other captive facilities are associated with a shockingly high beluga infant mortality rate.

Last year, Shedd announced the successful birth of another infant beluga, this one to Mauyak, a beluga who had been captured in Canada’s Hudson Bay in 1982. The baby survives to this day. But Mauyak had given birth four times previously and only one of those four survives: her six-year-old daughter Kimalu. Of the three others, one was stillborn, one died the same day he was born, and another succumbed to illness at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut at age nine.

The high mortality rate is not limited to infants and juveniles. The Shedd Aquarium has had 10 beluga deaths in the past 30 years – one death every three years on average. And this history is typical for belugas forced to live in concrete tanks.

There is a fundamental mismatch between life in concrete tanks and the evolutionary make-up of belugas.
At the Georgia Aquarium, six belugas have died in the past 15 years; none lived beyond the age of 26 despite the fact that the natural lifespan for belugas is 50 to 60 years. A female named Maris lost two calves in the span of three years and then died suddenly in 2015 at the age of 21. The cause of her death was never disclosed.

While disease, injury and death are part of life in the ocean as well, it is revealing that they are so common in facilities claiming to offer the best of human care. Something doesn’t add up. And that “something” is the fact that there is a fundamental mismatch between life in concrete tanks and the evolutionary make-up of belugas. Like orcas and other cetaceans, belugas are highly intelligent, wide-ranging, socially complex, cultural beings, whose species-specific needs simply cannot be met in tanks.

Efforts to facilitate thriving in infant or adult beluga whales living in tanks are inherently doomed to failure. They need space to travel and depth to dive, the opportunity to live in a rich supportive social network of friends and family, the ability to explore a dynamic environment filled with interesting objects and other animals, and the ability to make their own choices on a daily basis. None of these fundamental aspects of well-being exist at marine entertainment parks and aquariums.

The only ethical response to this kind of suffering and loss is to call a halt to the breeding. Canada took this important step in 2019 when it passed Senate Bill S-203. This legislation bans the display of dolphins and whales for entertainment and, importantly, makes it illegal to continue to breed them. Banning breeding is not only the compassionate response to the continued mortality, but also the first step toward a more progressive relationship between humans and beluga whales.

Instead of continuing to try to save “depleted collections” of belugas in captivity, it’s time for marine parks and aquariums to join the growing movement to retire these animals to permanent sanctuaries. In a seaside sanctuary they can be cared for while enjoying aspects of a natural life they are denied in the tanks. While not equivalent to a natural free-ranging life, a sanctuary provides much more of what belugas need in order to thrive: substantially more space, a more interesting and varied environment, and the opportunity to exercise their autonomy and spend their days doing whatever they want and associating with whomever they want.

Nature is sending a clear message to those who continue to try to make the concrete tanks work at the expense of the well-being and lives of belugas and other cetaceans. And the only informed response is Back to Nature.

The post Another Infant Beluga Dies at Shedd Aquarium appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Last week, Tahlequah gave birth once again. And according to the Center for Whale Research on September 6th, her new baby, J-57, appears to be doing well:

J-47 (Tahlequah’s mother), Tahlequah/J-35, and her newborn J-57. Photo by Sarah McCullagh, Pacific Whale Watch Association, Sept 5 2020

“Her new calf appeared healthy and precocious, swimming vigorously alongside its mother in its second day of free-swimming life. We know that it was not born today because its dorsal fin was upright, and we know that it takes a day or two to straighten after being bent over in the womb, so we assign its birthday as September 4, 2020. (Ergo gestation commenced in February 2019).

“Tahlequah was mostly separate from the other whales and being very evasive as she crossed the border into Canada, so we ended our encounter with her after a few minutes and wished them well on their way.”

The good news and excitement over the new birth is tempered by the fact that the southern residents are officially designated an endangered population and that the mortality rate for young calves is 40 percent.

Their troubles are largely due to three factors: the continuing decline of their preferred food chinook salmon; boat noise and traffic; and the pollution of the waters of the Salish Sea.

However, the new baby is the third to be born to the southern residents since 2019, and the other two continue to survive.

The southern residents comprise three pods, known as J, K, and L. And J-pod has suffered the greatest losses in recent years. In the wake of the 2018 death of her previous infant, Tahlequah generated a worldwide outpouring of sympathy when she carried the lifeless body up and down the coast for 17 days and 1,000 miles in what became known as a “Tour of Grief.”

Then, only a month after Tahlequah’s loss, J-pod lost another member of the extended family. Four-year-old Scarlet (J-50) had been known as a vibrant and energetic youngster – a celebrity, indeed – as she would launch herself out of the water in a perfect arc, nose pointing to tail, over and over again to the delight of photographers.

Scarlet, left, with her sister. Photo by Katy Foster/The Whale Sanctuary Project under NOAA permit 18786.

But by age three, Scarlet was looking thin and weaker. And by the time she approached age four, she was the size of a two-year old. More than a dozen organizations, including the Whale Sanctuary Project, worked together under the auspices of NOAA to consider the best ways to help Scarlet in what was an unprecedented but ultimately unsuccessful effort to save her life.

Happily, in recent days, all three pods have been seen together around the San Juan Islands, their traditional summer home waters.

Deborah Giles, science and research director for the non-profit Wild Orca, who had been collecting fecal samples from the orcas for ongoing research, told the Seattle Times “It was a fantastic day with members of all three pods … The whales behaved much like we used to see them, socializing, with lots of amazing surface active behavior.”

We wish them all well in the days ahead.

The post A New Calf for the Southern Resident Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

I was part of the Free Willy generation, the movement that got children involved globally to help the orca Keiko. Since the beginning of my involvement with the Whale Sanctuary Project, I have wanted to share with the local children not only my love for whales but also the importance of a sanctuary. I am a big believer that children learn through play. And now, with COVID-19 restrictions beginning to lift in our region and everyone in need of a little pick-me-up, it seemed like the perfect time to hold a whale camp for young people and their families.

So, I put it together with my friend and colleague Amanda Babin, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s environmental analyst, and it was wonderful to see so many locals come out and enjoy a fun and educational afternoon. Throughout the event I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the children. I listened to what they had to say, saw their beautiful artwork, and answered their questions.

That evening, I sat in awe of the conversations I’d had with them. One seven-year-old boy, for example, had told me: “When you are old, I will make sure the whales are looked after because everyone should help each other out.” It made me smile that his wanting to help had no limits and that it made no difference to him whether someone is human or cetacean.

Our children are growing up in a time when science is telling us that keeping these animals in concrete tanks is not only an injustice but in many ways a death sentence. It’s black-and-white to these young people that the whales are not happy or healthy, so they shouldn’t be kept in those situations. The wisdom and feelings these young people shared with me reinforced what I have known from the first time I heard about Port Hilford being considered as a possible location: that Guysborough County, Nova Scotia has what is needed to help a sanctuary thrive.

It was my generation that rallied to bring the sanctuary to Port Hilford, and it will be their generation that eventually takes over and keeps it going. We can all rest easy knowing that the whales who are our future neighbors will be in the best possible hands: hands that are guided by science and led by the heart!

Amy Simon is the Whale Sanctuary Project’s communications assistant in the Port Hilford area. She lives in nearby Aspen, Nova Scotia, where she volunteers with a number of animal rescues and does some rehabilitation at her own home. She is an early childhood educator and a certified medical lab assistant.

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The belugas’ lucky break began when the Changfeng Ocean World was purchased in 2012 by the British company Merlin Entertainments, which operates family attractions around the world. Merlin’s non-profit sister organization, Sea Life Trust, operates aquariums around the world, but the two companies have a longstanding policy of not displaying whales and dolphins at any of their facilities.

Little Grey and Little White on their first day in their new sanctuary home.

Changfeng had three belugas on display, so Merlin and Sea Life immediately began making plans to move them to a sanctuary where they could have a more natural life. One of the belugas died before she could be included in the move, but the other two, Little Grey and Little White, were flown to Iceland in 2019, spent the winter in an indoor pool, and were moved on Friday to the  sanctuary’s care area.

A statement from Sea Life Trust says: “Little Grey and Little White are now in their bayside care pool and will need a short period of time to acclimatize to their new natural environment and all the outdoor elements before their final release into the wider [10-acre] sanctuary in Klettsvik Bay in the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland. The expert team and the independent vets were with Little Grey and Little White throughout the move and said they are healthy and are feeding after the short trip from their landside care facility back to the sea.”

The cost of construction of the sanctuary, along with the transport of Little Grey and Little White, was covered by a donation from Merlin to Sea Life Trust. And Sea Life, in turn, is being advised in its work by the British charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation, which supports and leads whale and dolphin conservation field projects and research around the world.

Once the two belugas have adapted to their new life, Sea Life Trust says it will consider opening the sanctuary to a few more belugas currently on display in concrete tanks.

“We are full of praise for Merlin’s principled stand on not keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks,” said Dr. Lori Marino, president of the Whale Sanctuary Project, which is working in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, to create a seaside sanctuary for whales currently in other marine entertainment parks. “And we congratulate Merlin Entertainments and Sea Life Trust on giving these two belugas a much better life in a natural environment.”

The Beginning of a Sea Change

According to a recent report, China has at least 76 dolphinariums and marine parks, and at least 25 more planned over the next few years. But Burleigh says he observes significant changes already taking place. But James Burleigh, a board member of Sea Life Trust and Divisional Director for Merlin Conservation, Welfare and Engagement, hopes that relocating Little Grey and Little White from Changfeng Ocean World to the new sanctuary will have some effect on the growing marine park industry in China.

Beluga whales at Changfeng Ocean World under its former management

“When you look at what people go and pay money for and what they enjoy as families in America, now, it’s very different from how they did it 20 years ago,” he says. “Your experiences are totally different, and the technologies are different. You’ve got virtual reality, augmented reality, all sorts of stuff. People don’t need to be in a pool swimming with dolphins. They can have that essential experience in different ways.”

He believes the same will unfold in China. “The world will change, and people will change, and we’ve had a lot of support there. And people understand where the direction is. And for us, we just have to set an example and do it the way we do it.”

That change is evident all over the world. In 2016, the National Aquarium in Baltimore announced plans to create a seaside sanctuary for its dolphins and is currently focusing on several possible locations in the Caribbean.

“You’ve got virtual reality, augmented reality, all sorts of stuff. People don’t need to be in a pool swimming with dolphins.”Last year, Canada passed legislation that bans keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity for entertainment. On June 10th, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favor of Senate Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. The bill phases out the captivity of cetaceans (i.e. whales, dolphins and porpoises) in Canada, except for rescues, rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or cetaceans’ best interests. It also prohibits the trade, possession, capture and breeding of cetaceans.

And earlier this year in Australia, the Dolphin Marine Conservation Park in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, announced a plan to work with animal protection groups to relocate its three dolphins from their concrete tanks to a semi-open sea enclosure in a sectioned-off area of the marina.

The change in public opinion, along with the commitment of aquariums and entertainment parks to transfer their whales and dolphins to sanctuaries, is part of a yet-wider societal change. In 1986, the Performing Animal Welfare Society welcomed first of many elephants to its sanctuary. And today, there are numerous sanctuaries for elephants, great apes, big cats and other animals who have been transferred from zoos and research facilities.

Happily, that change is now reaching whales and dolphins, too. And with a whole new life ahead of them, Little White and Little Grey are in the vanguard of how that change is touching the lives of these amazing animals.

We congratulate Merlin/Sea Life Trust and wish all the best for Little White and Little Grey.

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Although we’ve known for a long time that belugas are very gregarious and often congregate in crowds that number into the hundreds, a new study shows they have an even more complex social life than we had imagined. And it’s one that’s more similar to human social relationships than we’ve seen among other cetaceans (whales and dolphins).

They have an even more complex social life than we imagined. Photo ©Ellen Cuylaerts.

Despite not looking anything like us and living in a fully aquatic environment, belugas actually share a number of interesting characteristics with humans. They have big brains that are much larger than expected for their body weight; they have a complex communication system; they develop over a very prolonged juvenile (childhood) period; they have their own cultural traditions; and they experience menopause (older females stop reproducing themselves in order to participate in the care of their grandchildren).

In most highly social cetacean species that have been studied – e.g., sperm whales, orcas and pilot whales – cultural practices are passed along from generation to generation primarily through the matriline, i.e., among genetically related females. Therefore, groups tend to be composed of closely related females with the mother-calf dyad central to the group.

But in this new study, led by marine mammal scientist Greg O’Corry-Crowe at Florida Atlantic University, the researchers found that beluga whale groupings are not always based on genetic affiliation. Beluga whales form much more fluid kinds of aggregations, with individuals coming and going among other pods and families and then coming back together over space and time.

In other words, beluga whales have friends.Perhaps most notably, the researchers found that belugas have long-term relationships with other beluga whales who are not family members. In other words, they have friends.

The scientists examined beluga whale groups from ten locations across the globe, including the waters of Russia, Norway, Canada, Alaska and the Arctic, using a combination of observational methods and molecular genetic techniques to uncover the details of how beluga whales associate with each other.

“Unlike killer and pilot whales, and like some human societies, beluga whales don’t solely or even primarily interact and associate with close kin,” O’Correy-Crowe told Salon in a recent interview. “Across a wide variety of habitats and among both migratory and resident populations, they form communities of individuals of all ages and both sexes that regularly number in the hundreds and possibly the thousands.”

Like us humans, belugas don’t spend all of their time with their parents or siblings. Instead, they like to “hang out” with friends of all ages and sexes.

These discoveries have compelling implications for how and why groups form in mammals. Current theories about mammalian social evolution are based largely on what scientists believed to be the central importance of the matriline and the importance of staying with your genetic kin (known as inclusive fitness). But the new study turns these ideas on their head. The observations suggest that beluga whale groups may form for purposes of cooperation and collaboration across individuals who are not necessarily relatives, leading to conditions that may drive cultural innovation (again, as in human societies).

So, while belugas are known for their intelligence, communication skills, curiosity and social networking, field studies of what belugas do in their natural environment are revealing far more complexity than we previously thought.

And it’s worth bearing in mind that studies like these, conducted over thousands of miles of the ocean, are giving us the kinds of amazing insights that can never be gleaned from whales in captivity.

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It’s a fascinating discussion between Jeff Foster, Keiko’s Director of Field Operations and Research, and Charles Vinick, who served as Project Director in Iceland. Today, Charles is the Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Jeff is our Site Search, Animal Transfer and Rehab Coordinator.

Toward the end of this webinar, Charles looks back over the whole experience and notes that while we have always known that it is very easy to capture a whale from the ocean, “What we learned is that it is very difficult to put one back.”

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The whales have been approaching recreational boaters, and people have been seen petting them and interacting with them. This kind of behavior is dangerous, both to the whales and to the humans who encourage it.

In the following video, our colleague and advisor Jean-Michel Cousteau of the Ocean Futures Society, who joined with the Whale Sanctuary Project in leading our Whale Aid Russia program last year, explains why it is so very important for people not to engage with whales who approach them.

The orcas and beluga whales at the “whale jail” had been captured illegally in 2018. And throughout 2019 the Whale Sanctuary Project worked closely with the Russian government to help prepare the whales to be returned to the ocean. All of them were successfully returned to the ocean: all of the orcas and most of the belugas to the Sea of Okhotsk, from where they had been captured, and the last 31 belugas to the Bay of Uspeniya Lavosky.

“We are currently working with local volunteers in their efforts to keep the belugas safe and wild,” said Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “We’re providing guidelines for people to stay away from these whales and not to engage with any whales who approach them.”

Catherine Kinsman, our Nova Scotia beluga expert, has been instrumental in leading our effort to adapt her standard guidelines “Sociable Belugas Whales – Things You Should Know” to the current situation in Russia. As co-founder of the Whale Stewardship Project, which pioneered the world’s first research protection and education programs for sociable beluga whales, she has developed this expertise over more than two decades working with lone sociable belugas in Atlantic Canada.

Catherine produced the poster above, in which she urges beachgoers and boaters to stay away from these beluga whales, both for their own safety and for the safety and well-being of the animals.

“I completely understand that a beluga’s appeal can seem irresistible,” she said. “But for the belugas’ sake and people’s safety, having the will to resist engaging with them is the most responsible, sensible and selfless action a person can take.”

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In response to these reports, Jean-Michel Cousteau of Ocean Futures Society and Charles Vinick of the Whale Sanctuary Project have sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support a ban on the capture of cetaceans for cultural and educational purposes. Our letter, which you can read below, expresses our hope that Russia will be a world leader in protecting whales and dolphins from the cruel practice of live capture of cetaceans for entertainment.

Last year, through our Whale Aid Russia program, Cousteau and Vinick led an international team to Russia to advise and assist the Russian Government on the release of orcas and belugas held in Srednyaya Bay. We were pleased to see the release of 10 orcas and 87 belugas back into wild ocean habitat and to see an announcement by the Vice Premier that the Russian Government decided to ban capture of cetaceans for cultural-educational purposes.  We were also pleased to see this announcement supported by Russian citizens, who gathered over 100,000 signatures through the “Russian Public Initiative” platform in favor of this ban.

Below is the letter.
(At the bottom of the page, use up/down arrows to go to next page and plus/minus symbols to zoom in or out.)

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These big beautiful brains underlie their exquisite intelligence, complex communication abilities, and highly curious nature.

Beluga brains are indeed large. They weigh about 4.5 pounds (compared to the 2.75-pound human brain) and are more than twice the size you would expect for a mammal of their body weight. That means that like humans, they have a lot of brain power left over after you account for body maintenance. And that means a lot of brain tissue devoted to all the “heady” capacities like problem solving, emotions and communication.

Beluga brains have several features that we know are related to complex intelligence in all mammals. Their neocortex – the part of the brain involved in analytical thinking, self-awareness, reasoning, perception and communication – has even more folds (known as convolutions) than the human brain, meaning that the surface area is greater.

Belugas may have even more processing elements in their neocortex than we do.This expansive elaboration of the neocortex suggests that belugas may have even more processing elements in their neocortex than we do.  We’ve only just begun to understand what that means in terms of the sophisticated ways they may be processing information compared to how humans do this.

One way we know dolphins and whales process information differently from humans is that the part of their neocortex that first processes sound is right next to (adjacent to) the part of their neocortex that first processes vision. This is very different from the way human brains are organized: our sound and visual inputs have to go through a lot of brain “territory” before they come together. Scientists think the cortical adjacency, as it is called, in dolphin and whale brains may facilitate echolocation, in which sound and visual imagery are interchangeable.

All this brain power makes belugas naturally curious about their environment and unfit for the sterile unchanging conditions of a concrete tank. And those big brains allow belugas to have learned cultural traditions which they pass on from one generation to the next. That means they keep a lot of knowledge stored in their memories. Just like us, they need to explore, probe, play with, learn about, and be challenged by both their living and physical environment.

And that is what we will be providing for our sanctuary residents: a chance to finally exercise those big beautiful beluga brains.

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Early mariners called them “canaries of the sea,” owing to their amazing repertoire of vocalizations easily heard through the wooden hulls of ships. Listen more closely and you’ll hear whistles, squeals, creaky doors, pops, grunts and burps – just a sample of the extraordinary soundscape of belugas living life in their native waters.

Distinct populations, some of which are critically endangered, occur all around the Arctic from Canada and Greenland to Norway, Russia and Alaska. The most southerly group lives in the St. Lawrence Estuary. Their scientific name, Delphinapterus leucas, means “white dolphin without a wing” as they have no dorsal fin – nature’s way of making navigating ice easier.

Photo copyright by Ellen Cuylaerts. Used with permission.

Belugas possess some unique abilities. Using their highly evolved echolocation to traverse dark or murky waters and find food, they can manipulate the shape of their rounded foreheads, or melon, to focus a beam of “sonar” in very wide or laser-like narrow bands. The sonar “clicks” bounce back to produce in their large complex brains an “image” of what’s around them. Since, unlike in most cetaceans, the vertebrae in their necks are not fused they can turn their heads much like we do.

One of the world’s smallest toothed whales, adult males typically average 15–18 feet in length, females about 20 percent shorter. In the Arctic, large males are capable of diving to extreme depths of over 2,500 feet, but belugas also routinely enter warmer, shallow estuaries during summer months in groups that can number in the hundreds.

Belugas learn to “say” their own signature sound, much like an acoustic “name tag.”Amid such massive gatherings, you can imagine the vocal cacophony – like an orchestra tuning up – and what a challenge it would be for babies to stay in contact with their moms. However, recent studies show that baby belugas learn to “say” their own signature sound, much like an acoustic “name tag” that can be recognized even in a raucous beluga crowd. And just like human children, it can take up to two years for them to learn to “say” their name perfectly. (See note 1.)

Belugas are cultural animals who pass down vital information to their young, generation after generation. (See note 2.)  Spend any length of time studying beluga whales and you soon learn that they have personalities and preferences. They are playful, creative and inquisitive. They show emotion and have feelings, needs and desires.

We’ve barely begun to learn who these amazing, charming and complex beings are. But if I know anything about the wonderfully chatty “canaries of the sea,” it’s that we’ll be hearing much more from them.

Catherine Kinsman is our Site Coordinator in Nova Scotia and co-Founder of the Whale Stewardship Project, which focuses on research and protection of beluga whales.

Note 1. (2018) Vergara V., Mikus M.-A. Contact call diversity in natural beluga entrapments in an Arctic estuary: Preliminary evidence of vocal signatures in wild belugas. Marine Mammal Science, 00(00): 1-32
Note 2. O’Corry-Crowe G, Suydam R, Quakenbush L, Potgieter B, Harwood L, Litovka D, et al. (2018) Migratory culture, population structure and stock identity in North Pacific beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). PLoS ONE 13(3): e0194201. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194201

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The selection of Port Hilford as the location for our whale sanctuary launches the next phase of activity for the Whale Sanctuary Project – site development –  with every aspect of our work directed towards construction and future operations. These are the days we have all anticipated and they are very exciting.

We can now stand on the banks of the bay and visualize all the opportunities we have to create an authentic sanctuary. Port Hilford is a wonderful site. It offers expansive space and good depth for the whales to swim, dive and experience a natural sea-side environment. They can explore the sea-floor, chase birds on the surface and spend their time in nature. For all of us, it is no longer hypothetical. It’s real. And we have no time to lose to bring the sanctuary plan to fruition.

They can explore the sea floor, chase birds on the surface and spend their time in nature.The work ahead requires our team to be working on many fronts simultaneously. We are truly privileged in these difficult times of travel restrictions and required social distancing that much of our work can be done with video conferencing and the communication tools that enable our staff in the U.S. to be in constant contact with our Canadian colleagues, initiating the activities that are necessary in this phase of sanctuary development.

Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture has been designated as the lead provincial agency for our permit, lease and license to operate the whale sanctuary. With their leadership, we will be working with many other provincial and federal agencies including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, the Department of the Environment and many others.

We have initiated on-site environmental data collection to document the water chemistry, measuring and analyzing everything from salinity to temperature gradients, water flow transfer rates and fresh water egress into the bay. All of this data feeds into the scoping program for our permit.

None of this work can be done in a vacuum. During the two years of the site selection phase of our work, we held numerous community meetings, initiated talks with the Mi’kmaq Nation, and sought input from interested people and organizations throughout Nova Scotia.

Now, as we move into this site development phase in Port Hilford, we will be doing more formal consultation with all of these individuals, groups and organizations.

Simultaneously, we are initiating the engineering analysis of the site and planning for on-site and off-site infrastructure and facilities, all of which leads to the design of the sanctuary, which we will do hand-in-hand with the community. These include the animal care center with full-time veterinary services, freezers for the fish the whales will eat, offices for researchers and staff and security personnel, as well as the kinds of behind the scenes planning that is so necessary for water service, electricity and road access.

As we consider all the elements that provide high quality life for the whales, we are also planning for the interpretive center where children and adults can learn about the whales in the sanctuary as well as about cetaceans more broadly. What kind of facility should this be? What makes it unique? Should it be adjacent to the sanctuary or will it better serve the community at an off-site location? These are the kinds of questions we are studying with our planning teams.

Picture yourself standing on the banks of Port Hilford. Until now the whale sanctuary has been a vision, imagined in our mind’s eye. Now, with every passing day, it is becoming real.

Your support has sustained the vision and we hope you will now invest in bringing the vison to reality.

The post We Couldn’t Have Chosen a Better Site! appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

I wish you, your family and your friends health and well-being in what are trying times for everyone.

It’s hard to believe that only three weeks ago, Charles, our executive director, and I were in Nova Scotia to announce that we had selected Port Hilford as the best site to create a seaside sanctuary for whales being retired from entertainment parks.

Now, like all of you, we find ourselves in a somewhat different world as a consequence of the coronavirus. But I’m glad to say that most of our work is continuing unabated.

In the days immediately following our announcement, the team was able to collect water quality samples to compare to the historic records of the Port Hilford waters. And just last week Dr. Amanda Babin, our environmental analyst, deployed temperature loggers throughout the bay. In the days ahead we will be expanding this work to include sea floor mapping, deploying current meters and more.

One of our main challenges, however, is that none of us from the United States can travel to Nova Scotia to meet with key people at the regulatory agencies that will be responsible for granting the necessary permit for the creation of the sanctuary. And an interesting wrinkle is that this will be the first permit of its kind that anyone has ever applied for. So, there’s much discussion to be had between the Whale Sanctuary Project and the various government departments as we work our way together through this unique process.

Of course, when it comes to travel and in-person meetings, our situation is no different from anyone else’s. But we have plenty of work to press ahead with regardless. And most of all, we’re very grateful for the fact that we had a chance to visit our friends and colleagues in Sherbrooke and Port Hilford just days before the new restrictions were being put in place.

There are more updates on the website and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. And thank you, as always for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Stay safe, be well, and all the best.

Dr. Lori Marino
President, the Whale Sanctuary Project.

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Here is the video, along with the text of her remarks, which we greatly appreciate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Senators, I rise to pay tribute to Dr. Lori Marino and the Whale Sanctuary Project, who announced on February 25th, 2020, that a site has been chosen for the first seaside sanctuary in North America for whales being retired from entertainment parks.

I would like to congratulate the community of Port Hilford and the province of Nova Scotia for being selected as the ideal place for this sanctuary after an exhaustive search involving hundreds of locations. The community is excited and honored to have been chosen, and has support coming from the Nova Scotia government as well.

This sanctuary will house belugas and teach a positive message to us all about whales and the relationship we have with them, as well as the respect we owe them as intelligent, emotionally sensitive and socially complex animals.

As one who has lived in two provinces where there are oceans and whales, I would like to note that the genesis for this tremendous achievement began here in this chamber with the introduction of Bill S-203 by our former colleague Senator Wilfred Moore and the subsequent sponsorship of Senator Murray Sinclair, which passed in the other place last year. I would like to thank all those senators who supported this legislation and Canadians across this country who refused to take no for an answer when it comes to the captivity of these majestic animals.

I look forward to the day when we see the first whale find its new home in the sea and for furthering our more respectful relationship with our environment in the years to come.

Thank you. Merci beaucoup.

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We look forward to working together with the people of Sherbrooke and the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s who have opened their home and their hearts to the whales.

Below is a copy of the announcement, and we look forward to posting more news, photos and information over the coming days and weeks about the site and the people of the region.

Many thanks to all of you who have supported the Whale Sanctuary Project throughout this extensive search, and especially to our lead sponsor, Munchkin, Inc., makers of unique products for babies and children, without whom we could not have begun this project.

Port Hilford, Nova Scotia

Whale Sanctuary Project selects Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, for North America’s first sanctuary for captive whales

Will work with local community to create a permanent seaside home for whales retired from marine parks

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Feb. 26, 2020 – The Whale Sanctuary Project has announced that it will work together with Sherbrooke and the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia to create a seaside sanctuary in Port Hilford for whales being retired from entertainment parks.

“Of the hundreds of locations that we’ve researched in British Columbia, Washington state and Nova Scotia, Port Hilford stands out as the premier location for a whale sanctuary,” said Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Port Hilford offers an expansive area that can be netted off for the whales in a bay that’s open to the ocean but is sheltered from storms. It has access to necessary infrastructure and plenty of room along the shore for the facilities that will be needed to care for the animals, as well as for an onsite education and interpretive center.

“It’s an ideal location for whales coming from marine parks and aquariums,” Vinick said, “You couldn’t ask for a more welcoming and eager community than the people of the Sherbrooke area.”

Intelligent and socially complex animals

The plan to locate a sanctuary in Nova Scotia comes in the wake of Parliament passing Bill S-203 in 2019 to bring an end to keeping whales and dolphins captive in Canada.

“Whales and dolphins are highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and socially complex animals,” said Dr. Lori Marino, president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “In the confines of a concrete tank at a marine park they suffer chronic stress and then often fatal illness. Relocating them to an ocean environment will give them a healthier life where they can thrive.”

Marino added that the whales captured the imagination of the people of Sherbrooke from the very first meeting. “They’ve been holding special activities for the kids,” she said. “It’s as though they’ve already made the whales part of their community. And the town already has the feel of a sanctuary.”

Support from local community

Dr. Stephen Flemming, executive director of Sherbrooke Village Museum, is delighted at the prospect of having a whale sanctuary nearby.

“The Museum, through the Rural Institute for Cultural Heritage and Environmental Sustainability, has been pleased to assist the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project to date, and looks forward to continuing its efforts to help see this project through to fruition,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased that this group of distinguished cetacean experts chose Nova Scotia for their first sanctuary.”

Minister Lloyd Hines, Member of Legislative Assembly for Nova Scotia, added that the Sherbrooke community is looking forward to playing host to North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary.

“We are truly honored to participate in this very special project,” he said.

Next steps

The next steps in working toward the creation of a sanctuary will be to work with local fishers and community members to further define the vision for the whale sanctuary, and to initiate the regulatory processes needed to establish the site.

The Whale Sanctuary Project’s objective is to have the sanctuary ready to receive whales in 2022.

Dozens of considerations went into selecting the best location for a seaside sanctuary: from water analysis to sea-floor conditions, to tides and currents, to potential impacts of local wildlife on the whales and vice-versa. Members of the organization visited locations along the south and the eastern shores, and met with communities in Shelburne, Liverpool, Port Hawkesbury and Sheet Harbour as well as Sherbrooke to seek proposals for potential sites.

“As important as the physical properties of the location are in deciding on a site location, we also knew that the relationship the sanctuary would have with its host community would be pivotal,” Vinick explained. “The Sherbrooke community has exceeded all our expectations.”

Plans for the sanctuary include a visitor center, nature trail and viewing spots. The sanctuary will also work with schools and museums to offer educational programs about the whales at the sanctuary and their counterparts in the wild.

Funding for the creation and operation of the sanctuary will be through private donations. Funding for the two-year search for an ideal site for the sanctuary has been led by Munchkin, Inc., makers of unique products for babies and children.

The mission of the Whale Sanctuary Project is to establish a model seaside sanctuary where whales and dolphins can be rehabilitated or can live permanently in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat.

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“Belugas swimming past me, not bothered by my presence, just cruising.”

You don’t often see really good photos of beluga whales in the wild. In fact, you don’t often see any photos of belugas in the wild. That’s because, while most other whales roam far and wide in the ocean, belugas make their homes in the arctic and sub-arctic regions and don’t venture south very much.

But award-winning wildlife photographer Ellen Cuylaerts has a passion for belugas, and the photos she has captured on her expeditions to Hudson Bay are unlike any others. She says it began when she was growing up in Belgium and went to a dolphinarium.

“Of course, as a kid it’s amazing to see such animals closely. But I could also feel the hurt and the suffering, and since then, I’ve always felt strongly about marine mammals of all kinds in captivity. These creatures are intelligent, they live in complicated family structures, and they roam the oceans in freedom.”

Ellen migrated from Europe to the Caribbean in 2009 and soon began diving. “I wanted to capture the soul of my subjects and tell the story about their nature and habitat,” she explains. “I dived and snorkeled with sharks after learning how to behave with them in the water, and how to read them.”

“Beluga whales lack a very pronounced rostrum or beak like most dolphin species have. Instead they have a flat snout. And instead of a dorsal fin, they have a tough dorsal ridge that preserves body heat (less surface area to lose heat) and allows them to swim easily under ice floes. Its a characteristic of all Arctic whales.”

And then, one day, she was approached by a solitary dolphin. “I realized that being in the water with very intelligent and complex creatures was more difficult, and you need to be even more switched on to react correctly. They feel your vibes and they’re very picky about any interaction.”

Ellen spent time with spinner and bottlenose dolphins in Hawaii and with sperm whales in Dominica. And then her fascination with whales and dolphins took her to Canada to photograph belugas.

“I was determined to show the belugas
in their world”“I’d learned about how they migrate to Hudson Bay during the summer to feed and to give birth to their young. But I’d also seen images of them that had been taken under the ice, and I’d learned that those animals were kept in a closed sea pen and that some wildlife photographers were not concerned about ethics and didn’t care about their subjects. Taking an image of an animal in captivity is not showing them in their natural habitat. I was determined to show the belugas in their world, so I decided to go to Churchill further north, and by myself, even though going alone can be quite challenging when you’re traveling with photo gear and drysuit and there are lots of logistics.”

The first year Ellen visited Churchill, the weather conditions were not the best and the visibility underwater was no more than one foot. “I could hear the belugas with all their vocalizations, but I hardly saw them at all!”

A year later, however, she was back in Churchill and the water was a bit clearer.

“Once I caught the interest of the belugas, they swam closer to me and checked me out, circling sometimes and nodding. Unlike in other dolphin and whales, the neck vertebrae of belugas are not fused, which allows them to move their head from side to side and nod.”

Beluga whales are known for their curiosity and intelligence, their playfulness, and their spirited personalities. But Ellen says that as a photographer, you need to keep them interested. If they’re not engaging with you, they will just swim past, nod their head a few times, and move on.

“So, I tried to move in the water like they did, twisting and turning, nodding my head and being vocal. Mothers with calves made several swim-by’s, and females without calves would turn around and sometimes come straight up to me to check their reflection in my dome. The males were mostly bolder, and one day I had two pods of males come up to me. They started bumping each other and me, and it felt like they were trying to impress me with dominance behavior, so I got out of the water. Still, they stayed next to the boat for the next half hour and were very loud!”

“Two pods of male belugas displayed some dominance behavior by snapping at each other while being extremely vocal. The image is a bit blurry in the background due to two layers of water with a different temperature coming together and causing a thermocline.”

Swimming with belugas is now restricted in Churchill, and Ellen has mixed emotions about that. She hopes the whale watching tours will continue in a way that’s respectful toward the animals. And she adds that her interactions with them in the ocean have only added to her conviction that whales and dolphins simply do not belong in captivity.

“They suffer when they’re held in small concrete tanks and sea pens where they’re out of their normal social network,” she says. And she sees no merit in any of the claims that keeping them captive has education and conservation value.

“We should observe them responsibly in the wild to learn more about their natural needs in order to better protect their habitats while we can.”

(You can find out more about Ellen Cuylaerts and her work on her website and on her Instagram page.)

The post Photographing Belugas in the Wild appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The 5½-minute film opens with stunning footage of orcas in the wild. Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, draws on his work returning the captive orca Keiko to the ocean in 1998 to describe what life is like for whales in the open ocean, where they can travel 100 miles a day.

And Lori Marino, our President, draws on her experience as a neuroscientist to show us the amazing complexity of the orca brain (“They’re right up there with us”) and how these highly intelligent and sensitive animals simply shut down in the confines of a concrete tank.

Public opinion in North America and Europe is increasingly calling for an end to keeping these animals at entertainment parks and aquariums. And since whales who were born in captivity don’t have the skills to live successfully in the open ocean, the solution is to create seaside sanctuaries for them.

The film concludes by giving us a real sense of what life will be like for them when they are retired to sanctuaries.

Many thanks to Matt Stamm of Oceanic Preservation Society (producers of The Cove) for his work in directing and editing the film. And to you, as always, for your support as we work together to create the first seaside sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales.

Enjoy the film and please share this post with friends, family and anyone you feel may be interested.

The post Short Film about Whale Sanctuary Project Premieres at Film Festival appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The new show has been playing at SeaWorld San Diego for two years, and soon after it opened, it was filmed by “Behind the Thrills,” a website about theme parks and attractions. Parts of the show have been revised since then, largely because many SeaWorld aficionados complained that it was dull compared to the old show. But the video below is still essentially what people will see when it opens in Orlando (and soon, according to SeaWorld, in San Antonio).

Here’s the complete show. It runs just over 25 minutes:

Behind the display tank where the orcas perform, you see a large projection screen picturing an ocean scene with orcas swimming close to shore. It’s designed so that the display tank almost looks connected to the ocean scene. And as the screen shows orcas breaching, spy-hopping and working together in the ocean, the whales in the tank are trained to display similar behaviors.

Discussing the opening in Orlando, SeaWorld’s chief zoological officer Chris Dold writes:

“Guests will learn about killer whales’ role in the ocean ecosystem, behaviors the animals exhibit in the wild, the importance of conservation to their habitat and animal welfare practices at SeaWorld. This educational presentation reflects our company’s mission to inspire people and protect the animals and wild wonders of our world through education, research, animal rescue and conservation.”

But however much the display tank is designed to look like an extension of the ocean background, it’s still nothing more than a small space that the captive whales can circle in just a few seconds. And you can’t help but notice that the second whale to go around the pool has a collapsed dorsal fin – a common condition among captive male orcas. (It’s caused by the fact that they spend most of their lives simply logging on the surface of the water for hours and hours with nothing to keep that dorsal fin from eventually collapsing.)

As for education, the projection screen tells you some facts about orcas around the world, but the orcas in the tank can tell you nothing about life in the ocean. Instead, you can only imagine what it must be like being confined to a barren, claustrophobic tank where their primary form of communication – echolocation – just bounces back at them from the smooth, deadening walls of their prison.

For the orcas on display, nothing has changed.And while SeaWorld touts the new show as being educational and promoting conservation, the one thing the company does not address at all is whether or how their new show has made life any better for the animals themselves.

But it’s all plain to see from the video itself: Very simply, for the orcas on display, nothing has changed. They’re still totally captive in a concrete tank performing tricks in exchange for being fed. It’s a life of utter tedium, as described in this article by Lori Marino, Founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and a leading expert on the brains of whales and dolphins:

“The chronic stress of trying to adapt to such a barren and artificial environment leads to psychological and behavioral abnormalities that eventually wear down the whales’ immune system, resulting in increased infection rates and early death.

“Common behavioral problems include stereotypies – repetitive actions without purpose, e.g. endless circling of the tank, grating the teeth on tank walls and gates. The result of the latter is that 61 percent of captive orcas have dental pathology so that their teeth must be drilled out and then rinsed daily to try to prevent infection.”

For the orcas, then, what’s new is old: an endless repetition of the same daily routine in a small, empty world devoid of the rich experiences and complex relationships they would have known in the ocean that’s portrayed on a two-dimensional screen behind them.

And what of the young people being “educated” by this show? What are they actually learning? Primarily, and regardless of whatever other messages may be being displayed, that it’s OK to treat our fellow animals this way and that they exist for our benefit and entertainment.

Basically, it’s a message of dominance and power. And in particular, when the victims are orcas, it’s a message to young people that we are superior even to the capstone species of the ocean. “You orcas may be the kings and queens of the ocean,” we learn as we leave the stadium, “but when all’s said and done, the fact is you’re the ones who’ll be staying here in the tank.”

More than ever, we need to be offering our children a different kind of education: one that demonstrates a more authentic and humble relationship to our fellow animals; one that would promote an attitude of redress and reconciliation and that would give back to them, in the form of a seaside sanctuary, something of the life that’s been taken from them.

The post What Does SeaWorld’s New “Orca Encounter” Teach Us? appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Since its premier in January 2020 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, our short film has made some waves in the film festival circuit as an official selection of several North American film festivals and as an award recipient at several of them.

The 5½-minute film opens with stunning footage of orcas in the wild. Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, draws on his work returning the captive orca Keiko to the ocean in 1998 to describe what life is like for whales in the open ocean, where they can travel 100 miles a day.

And Lori Marino, our President and leading expertise on the intelligence and cognition of whales and dolphins, shows us the amazing complexity of the orca brain (“They’re right up there with us”) and how these highly intelligent and sensitive animals simply shut down in the confines of a concrete tank.

The film concludes by giving us a real sense of what life will be like for whales when they are retired to sanctuaries.

Please feel free to share the film widely and support the work of creating a seaside sanctuary for these amazing marine mammals.

Whales Without Walls

Official Selection:
• Santa Barbara International Film Festival
• Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
• Florida Environmental Film Festival
• Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition
• International Ocean Film Festival
• Niagara Falls International Short Film Festival
• DocLands Documentary Film Festival
• Mountainfilm Festival