Wonderland, Captive Orcas Dream of Freedom, Sea Life Park, Kina dies & Lolita on 'A Whale of a Week'
- Don Lichterman
- Oct 25, 2019
- 4 min read
In 'Wonderland,' Captive Orcas Dream of Freedom
To the tune of Lene Lovich's quirky '80s song "Wonderland," captive orcas dream about diving deep, feeling the ocean currents, and finally living like orcas. With this new video, the artist has teamed up with PETA to call on SeaWorld to release the orcas to seaside sanctuaries, where their dreams of freedom would be a reality.
Sea Life Park announces death of Kina the false killer whale
Sea Life Park Hawaii announced today the death of Kina, the false killer whale that had been a beloved part of its family since 2015. She was about 44 years old.
“We are all so saddened at the sudden passing of Kina,” said Valerie King, general manager of Sea Life Park, in a news release. “She was an ambassador for her kind, not only through her interactions with the community in our educational programs, but in shedding new light on ways to protect the hearing of marine animals and possibly prevent fishing line entanglements — a particular threat for an endangered species of pseudorca right here in Hawaii’s waters. She has made an indelible impact on all who knew her, and will continue to help the future of pseudorcas around the world.”
Sea Life Park said Kina participated in breakthrough research on cetacean sonar and hearing capabilities at a U.S. Navy program as well as at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology until 2015.
The park said her involvement in research on marine mammal hearing also led to findings that were later used to set legislative guidelines for man-made sounds in the ocean. Her amazing echolocation abilities also helped researchers further understand why cetaceans can become entangled in lines and nets, and may one day inform ways to prevent it.
Kina’s transfer to Sea Life Park was controversial, and criticized by activists who oppose keeping dolphins and whales in captivity in marine parks.
Kina was captured during a Japanese dolphin drive decades ago, according to the Associated Press, and was sold by a fishery to a Hong Kong amusement park before the U.S. Navy acquired her.
She was transferred to the park accompanied by her long-time Atlantic bottlenose dolphin companions, Boris and BJ.
Sea Life Park said she interacted with schoolchildren in educational programs and continued to provide insights to the academic community that would help to create a safer marine environment for her counterparts in the wild.
Now more than 50 years old, Lolita has lived at the Miami Seaquarium since her capture from Puget Sound in 1970.
Lolita is kept in too small a space which also fails to provide sufficient shelter from the sun. She has also been deprived of proper orca companionship since 1980, when her last companion, Hugo, rammed his own head against the tank’s wall until he died.
The conditions Lolita is being kept in are clear violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), but despite the legal protection Lolita is entitled to under the AWA, the USDA failed to enforce the law and rubber-stamped the park’s license — allowing the Seaquarium to continually harm Lolita without facing consequences.
The captivity of wild animals in cruel conditions is the result of a legal system that too often regards animals as mere property.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed an appeal after a district court dismissed our lawsuit against the USDA for unlawfully transferring the park’s license to a new owner without requiring AWA compliance — we refuse to give up the fight for Lolita, but we need your help to win.
A new oil development in Alaska threatens to turn key habitat for polar bears, ice seals, whales and more into a massive industrial zone.
The development proposed by oil giant, ConocoPhillips, would build a huge oil field with hundreds of oil wells that would impact critical polar bear habitat and currently protected lands in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released their Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the development, but they're rushing to authorize it as quickly as possible, with little regard for the impacts to wildlife.
Here's why we’re worried about the BLM’s impact statement: The current administration is trying to shrink Special Areas that protect wildlife to facilitate even more oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
This statement comes as the BLM is revising the overall management plan for the area to expand drilling and reduce protected areas. Its priority is to support more oil and gas development, not to conserve wildlife, and that’s affecting its assessment of projects like the Willow development.
We need to stand up and make sure this agency is giving wildlife its due. Tell the BLM: Do your job and protect our wildlife and wild places!
Your voice is critical to making sure the public is included in this process and that the true impact of these oil and gas developments is being considered.
We can’t let the BLM gloss over the impacts and jeopardize the well-being of irreplaceable Arctic wildlife like polar bears, whales and seals. Speak up today!
Thank you for doing your part to protect Alaska's wildlife.
Scavenging Marine Life Devour Baleen Whale Remains
Deep-sea footage reveals scavenging marine life encompassing the remains of a baleen whale. Learn more about your favorite ocean creatures in our Marine Life Encyclopedia: http://bit.ly/2oc1zBb
