[LINK] "Two beluga whale deaths confirmed by Marineland"

[rfmcdonald]

I've fond memories of my visits to Niagara Falls' Marineland, substantially because of my fondness for the belugas it holds, notwithstanding the ongoing controversy surrounding the standard of care and quality of life provided these and other intelligent marine animals. John Law's Niagara Falls Review article noting the deaths of two belugas thus saddens me.



I photographed this beluga in 2007. I hope that it's doing OK.

”Young animals sometimes die in both aquariums and in the wild, and it is always sad,” said park spokesman John Beattie, who indicated beluga Charlotte died in 2012 and Luna sometime this year. Specific dates weren’t provided in his e-mailed response to The Review’s inquiry about the deaths, sparked by local animal activists and the aquatic inventory website Ceta-Base.com, which tracks the number of beluga whales currently on site at Marineland.

The site lists Luna, born June 17, 2012, and Charlotte, born July 9, 2012, as both deceased. They join a list of 18 other beluga deaths over the years, dating back to 1999, according to the site.

The same website lists 39 belugas currently alive at Marineland.

“From seeing the facility first hand this year, I have to wonder if Marineland just has too many belugas in one space,” says activist Alex Louise Dorer of the group Occupy Marineland. “Arctic Circle holds 11 juvenile belugas ranging from one years to 11 years of age, and although the pool area is large (it) is not large enough for that many mammals.”

[. . .]

Beluga whales, ranging from 13 to 20 feet, generally live 50 to 60 years in the wild according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation website. In captivity, it states they rarely last more than 25 years.

Beattie says two-thirds of baby beluga whales born in the wild do not survive, while the survival rate at Marineland “vastly surpasses the success rate of wild births.”