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Orcas: Top news

Sanctuaries for Retirement: Hope For Captive Orcas, Belugas and Dolphins

New seaside sanctuaries for dolphins and whales are open or in the process of being built -- providing a great, expansive home for captive and stranded cetaceans. The expense is high, but the results are well worth the price.
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Tokitae/Lolita: Another Step Toward a New Home

The Miami Seaquarium owners have stated they are all in favor of efforts to move Tokitae, the female orca who has performed for 50 years, into retirement, possibly to a seaside sanctuary in her home waters. A major barrier to bringing her home has been removed.
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A Tribute to Whale Researcher and Advocate, Ken Balcomb

No one is better known in the whale research community than Ken Balcomb. He died last December 15th, leaving a lasting legacy of orca and whale research, conservation advocacy, and his many students and friends.
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Wildlife Advocates Ask Court to Unseal SeaWorld’s Orca Health Records

The health records for captive orcas and other cetaceans should be open to the public -- the orcas, after all, do no belong to SeaWorld. They only hold them in trust -- the public are the real owners. IMMP is going to court to get some of those records for science and for the public.
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SWIMS Act in Congress Will Phase Out Captivity for Small Whales

New legislation introduced into Congress would phase out the captivity of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales, all species that do poorly in small concrete tanks. If passed the SWIMS Act would prohibit breeding in captivity, importing and exporting these species, with an exception for moving the animals to seaside sanctuaries.
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SeaWorld Orcas Continue to Die Much Too Young

Yet another SeaWorld orca has died, this one a male only 20 years old. In the wild, males can live up to 50 years. Orcas do poorly in captivity.
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Tokitae/Lolita Gets a Health Check

Tokitae, also known as Lolita, at the Miami Seaquarium, received a thorough check-up by two outside veterinarians. She had a serious illness earlier in the year, but appears to be improving.
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A Tribute to Pacific Northwest Orcas
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Palmer, IMMP

A great and moving tribute to the endangered orcas of the Pacific Northwest, "Spirits of the Coast" is a book for every orca lover.
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Tokitae (Lolita) the Orca to Be Retired from Shows
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Shutterstock Kamira

Tokitae (also known as Lolita) is one of the oldest orcas in captivity, where she has languished for years in the Miami Seaquarium, alone except for dolphin companions. Now, a new owner is retiring Tokitae, so she will no longer do shows for tourists.
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Young Artist Points to the Harm of Orca Captivity

A young artist put together a nice graphic for the International Marine Mammal Project about the harm captivity does to orcas.
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Campaign Top News

International Marine Mammal Project >
  • From freeing Keiko to saving millions of dolphins from dying in tuna nets, to closing down marine parks including the notorious Whale Jail in Russia, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute has been in the forefront of efforts to end whaling, the killing of dolphins and protecting the ocean homes of these magnificent beings.
  • From the cold reaches of the Russian coast, to Japan's notorious Cove, to global tuna fleets, to Barataria Bay, to the concrete tanks of SeaWorld - the International Marine Mammal Project had key accomplishments for whales and dolphins, thanks to your support!
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    OPS

  • There's a lot of whale and dolphin jargon out there. Here's some explanations about what we know about cetaceans.
Save Japan Dolphins >
  • Sale of live dolphins caught in the bloody Cove of Taiji, Japan, subsidizes the subsequent slaughter of the remaining dolphin pod. So a dolphin is torn from its family, and then will hear its own family die as it is dragged away to a miserable existence in concrete tanks for the rest of its life.
  • TAIJI DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER: Police in Taiji like to put on a big show for locals by charging around in zodiacs, pretending to catch "eco-terrorists" who might (but never have) interfered with the dolphin slaughter. To them, the hunts are a big joke. Japanese tax dollars at work!
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    The Notorious Cove Fills With Blood During Dolphin Hunts. Photo Copyright: Kunito Seko

  • Taiji's town government appears to be doubling down on whaling and the slaughter of dolphins. They have a new International Cetacean Center that appears to be dedicated to killing cetaceans. But the $12.2 million Center is virtually empty -- see our photos.
Dolphin + Whale Project >
  • The recent International Whaling Commission meeting in Lima, Peru, passed an excellent resolution complaining that whaling countries -- Japan, Iceland and Norway -- are using population estimates larger than the IWC Scientific Committee. But a proposal for a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary fell short by one vote.
  • Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) have evolved amazing and complex sensory mechanisms to live in the ocean. But those senses are badly compromised when cetaceans are held in small concrete tanks for entertainment. Learn about why captivity is bad for cetacean senses.
  • Josh Floum, attorney and president of Earth Island Institute, has led the legal effort to protect dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine life. In legal victory after victory, he's made our oceans safer for all our lives.
Keiko Whale Rescue >
  • We are deeply saddened at the death of orca whale Tokitae. Calls for her release were denied for decades and it’s shameful that she never got a chance to go home.
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    Tokitae (also known as Lolita) has died. Photo Credit: Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust

  • 30 years ago, the movie "Free Willy" was a huge hit. The plight of its orca star, Keiko, touched the public along with the moving story. Read how the International Marine Mammal Project took that spark of concern and returned Keiko to his home waters. SeaWorld and other captive dolphin parks would never be the same!
  • The last captive orca in Canada, Kiska, has died, after being kept alone for twelve years at the notorious MarineLand park in Niagara Falls. If Tokitae (Lolita) goes home to a seaside sanctuary, the only North American captive orcas will be those in SeaWorld's three parks.
Dolphin Safe Fishing >
  • Dr. Angel Herrera is the Director of the International Marine Mammal Project’s (IMMP’s) Dolphin Safe (DS) Tuna Monitoring Program in Latin America. As a representative of Earth Island Institute since 1993, his DS monitoring work spans countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panamá, Peru, and Uruguay.
  • For more than 30 years, Trixie Concepcion and her staff have worked to protect dolphins and other marine life in the Philippines, monitoring tuna fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Oceans to ensure the tuna is caught by Dolphin Safe methods, saving the lives of tens of thousands of dolphins annually.
  • The history of the drowning of millions of dolphins by the tuna industry turned a corner in 1990, when US tuna giants agreed to work with the International Marine Mammal Project to establish Dolphin Safe fishing standards that avoid harm to dolphins and other marine life.
Freeing Orca Whales from Captivity >
  • Serial Podcast "The Good Whale" Q+A With Dave Phillips, Executive Director, International Marine Mammal Project. Founder, Free Willy Keiko Foundation. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the new 6-part podcast about Keiko, the good whale.
  • Behind the life and hopes with Keiko, the orca star of "Free Willy", was an enormous effort to bring him home. A new Serial podcast features a 6-part series on Keiko and his legacy. First two episodes drop on November 14th and can be found on most podcast sites. It features the role of IMMP in coordinating the Free Willy Keiko Foundation.
  • There are just 18 orcas left stranded in concrete tanks in North America. They can continue to languish in small tanks doing tricks each day, or they can be retired to seaside sanctuaries, such as the Whale Sanctuary Project.
Freeing Wikie & Keijo >

Topics

Angel - Bans, Legislation - Belugas - Biden Administration - Captivity Industry - Cetacean Habitat - China - Climate Change - Covid-19 - Demonstrations - Dolphin And Whale Trade - Dolphin Safe Tuna - Dolphins - Dugong - Earth Day - Entanglement - Grey Whales - Grindadrap - Iceland - International Whaling Commission - Japan - Keiko - Lawsuit - Marine National Monuments - Navy, Military - Norway - Offshore Oil & Oil Spills - Orcas - Philippines - Pilot Whales - Plastic Pollution - Pollution - Rehabilitation, Release - Russia - Sanctuaries - Science - Seaworld - Slaughter - Solomon Islands - Taiji, Japan - Trump Administration - Tuna Industry - Vaquita - Whales - Whaling - Mystic Aquarium - Marineland - Seals & Sea Lions - Marine Protected Areas - Sperm Whale - Sea Otter - Lolita - Tokitae - Miami Seaquarium - Latin America - Ship Strikes - Ocean Noise - Salmon - Blue Whale - Fin Whale - Right Whale - Us Marine Mammal Protection Act - Environment - Minke Whale - Humpback Whale - Gray Whale