The Free Willy films of the early 90’s were box office hits, but after the filming the real-life orca Keiko was left to languish in a small tank at an amusement park in Mexico City. But that was not the end of the story. Join this remarkable discussion of Keiko’s return to the ocean and his legacy today.
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Dr. Lori Marino will be speaking on the topic of "The Whale Sanctuary Project: Scholar Advocacy in Action at the conference of the American Cetacean Society."
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Canadian Senator Daniel Christmas joins Dr. Lori Marino for a conversation about the whale sanctuary and about Canada's new law that will bring an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. They will also discuss the Senator's aboriginal heritage and how it includes the concept that a human can “become” a whale and vice versa.
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At this special event from the Lewis & Clark Center for Animal Law, Dr. Lori Marino will talk about The Whale Sanctuary Project – Creating A New Future for Captive Cetaceans.
Why, in this day and age, is it still so hard for judges in courts of law to recognize even the most intelligent of nonhuman animals as having the fundamental legal right to bodily liberty and bodily integrity? We'll explore the inherent biases in how we humans view other animals.
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Soon after sperm whales started being hunted down mercilessly with harpoons, the success of the whalers dropped dramatically. What happened? The whales learned to foil the hunters. Better yet, they taught their neighboring populations how to do it, too.
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Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Charles Vinick, Executive Director, will talk about the four questions you need to ask before visiting any sanctuary. If the answer to any of them is Yes, then it’s not an authentic sanctuary.
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We explore the potential harms of confinement in zoos and aquariums on the brains of elephants and cetaceans. We discuss the general brain mechanisms that come into play in all animals who are forced to live in chronically stressful, impoverished and highly artificial environments.
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Sanctuaries will provide a more natural setting than aquariums, along with a potentially more accessible and convenient way of studying communication among whales than in the wild. Therefore, sanctuaries will be able to catalyze ways to validate and explore innovative methods of studying whale communication.
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At a sanctuary for whales and dolphins – as at any authentic animal sanctuary – health assessments and other essential studies should be as non-invasive and non-intrusive as possible. Therefore, an important aspect of sanctuary work is the development of methods that do not disturb the whales. Three experts who study whale health and behavior in the wild join us for a fascinating conversation.
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Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) is a type of dolphin swim program that is purported to be an effective treatment for autism and other conditions. Parents and others are charged thousands of dollars and led to believe that they are engaging in real therapy. We'll discuss why it is a pseudoscience and how the practices that force dolphins into DAT performances are exploitive and abusive.
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Join Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder, and Charles Vinick, Executive Director, for a year-end chat about the Whale Sanctuary Project, including major accomplishments of this year and what we're looking to achieve next year.
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