The last of the nearly 100 whales held captive in what’s been termed a “whale jail” in Russia’s Far East have finally been freed back into the ocean — although the releases have been far from ideal, conservationists say. Late last year, drone footage revealed 87 beluga whales and 11 orcas packed in cramped, icy […]
Tag: BELUGA WHALE
Canada passes ‘Free Willy’ bill to ban captivity of all whales, dolphins
Canada has made it illegal to catch and hold whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity. On June 10, Canada’s House of Commons passed Bill S-203, or the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, banning the practice of keeping cetaceans in captivity in the country. The new legislation also prohibits the trade, breeding and […]
Another Captive Beluga Loses Her Baby at the Georgia Aquarium
Earlier this year the Georgia Aquarium announced that its beluga Qinu was pregnant with her first calf, and last week she started going into labor. Tragically, just a day later the aquarium followed up with news that the calf had died before even being born. The Georgia Aquarium said in an update, “The position and […]
Shrinking Arctic sea ice threatens the majestic Beluga whale
The beluga whale is one of the most extraordinary species of marine creature known to science. It is a gregarious, pure white Arctic dweller that emits strange, high-pitched twitters that have given it its nickname: the sea canary. Belugas are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s “near threatened” list, because of past […]
Cat Pathogens Found in Arctic Belugas
The occurrence of human diseases in marine mammals is rapidly on the rise and an alarming development for our oceans. The latest species to succumb is the canary of the sea: the beluga whale. Researchers from the University of British Columbia recently discovered Toxoplasma gondii, a devastating parasite, in a western Arctic population of beluga […]
PETITION: Stop Georgia Aquarium Importing 18 Wild Belugas
Georgia Aquarium wants to import 18 wild-caught belugas, despite the National Marine Fisheries Service ruling that it can’t because of conservation issues. The whales would come from Russia, torn from their family groups and destined for a miserable life behind glass. According to the Fisheries Service, five of these whales could still be nursing, i.e. […]