This Aquarium Is Moving All Its Dolphins To A Seaside Sanctuary

Baltimore’s National Aquarium is taking an colossal step toward animal welfare with the creation of a “seaside sanctuary” where it will retire the eight Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in its care. The aquarium put an end to dolphin performances in 2012, but the animals have remained on display in their tanks, the Associated Press reports. Chief executive officer John Racanelli announced Tuesday that the aquarium would be establishing “the nation’s first seaside dolphin sanctuary," and that the dolphins will be living there by 2020. That means an outdoor, enclosed area of natural sea water, mimicking dolphins’ natural habitat as closely as possible, he explained a Baltimore Sun op-ed. The sanctuary will be in a tropical location which will give the dolphins "significantly more" room than they current have, he wrote. It will also provide them the opportunity to interact with natural fish and plant life. SeaWorld has opposed this type of facility in the past, arguing that a natural environment would be too dangerous for animals accustomed to tanks -- though marine biologist Naomi Rose has called this argument "off-the-charts irrational."  Racanelli acknowledged there will be some challenges to getting the dolphins used to their new home. But the animals won't be on their own --  experts will be present to assist the dolphins in the transition, and that the dolphins will have lifelong access to veterinary care.  So...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news