Captive dolphins kill each other
In nature dolphins live in groups or families. Cases of killing group or family members are not known from their natural habitat. In nature it is possible to avoid conflict escalation by creating physical distance to each other till the situation calmed down. In captivity dolphins that came from different groups or even oceans are torced to live together in a small area that does not allow to escape aggressive situations. They have to develop new hierarchies which then involves high levels of aggression. The resulting fights can lead to the death of dolphins.
In the zoological park of Duisburg two dolphins were killed by the other dolphins. In the former dolphinarium of Hagenbeck zoo in Germany a bottlenose dolphin was killed by the others.
The aggression and violence of which orcas are capable were clearly witnessed at Sea World San Diego in August 1989, when an Icelandic female (Kandu V) rammed a northeastern Pacific female (Corky II) during a show. Although trainers tried to keep the show going, blood began to spurt from a severed artery near Kandu’s jaw. Sea World staff then quickly ushered away the watching crowd. Forty-five minutes after the blow, Kandu V died. It should be noted that two orcas from different oceans would never have been in such proximity naturally, nor is there any record of an orca being killed in a similarly violent encounter in the wild.
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Hotel Los Delfines – Dolphin jail or conservation project?
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Page author: Stefan Austermühle
Read more about dolphin captivity and the Hotel los Delfines at:
- What you can do to free Wayra and Yaku
- Life-capture kills
- Dolphins suffer during transport
- Life in captivity is hell
- Captivity makes dolphins sick
- Captivity kills
- No chance for dolphin calves
- Dolphins must be free
- The Hotel Los Delfines
- CILDE – a smoke screen NGO
- Pre-birth stimulation- a dangerous game
- Dolphin therapy
- Does captivity educate our children to care?
- Swimming with captive dolphins is dangerous
You can also read the HSUS report “The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity“.
Related links:
Whale and dolphin species of Peru
Whale watching as an alternative to dolphin killing
Be a dolphin conservation volunteer
Stop dolphin slaughter in Peru
Mundo Azuls whale and dolphin research
