My thoughts on Marine Parks, and "Free Willy" Campaigns.

     I'm a scuba diver, and a huge softie for marine mammals, and a strong believer that they should be protected and allowed to live their lives in peace. That said, I don't disagree with them being kept in marine parks, one bit. I object to them being removed from the ocean, or being kept in poor conditions. Face facts - the vast bulk of marine mammals in places like Marineland are born in captivity. One thing that "free the whales" activists never seem to mention is the story of Keiko - the "Free Willy" Orca star -  who *was* eventually released.

   Keiko, it turns out, was a resident of a marine park that was woefully inadequate.  Arrangements were made to move him to a better facility, purpose built, and to restore him to a fit condition to move back to the ocean.  After months of rehabilitation, Keiko was released into the wild. Alone. Now, granted, he was monitored. he was trained on how to fend for himself. It took years, and millions of dollars. And when he was eventually released, near Iceland - after 4 years contained in a "natural" sea pen - he actually did attempt contact with other pods. He was not accepted into them. In fact, he swam from Iceland to Norway... and immediately sought out *human* contact, in the harbour of Halsa. Please note - this is a marine mammal, released, free, *choosing* human company over seeking out another whale pod. Keiko died, 2 years later, alone, in a cove where he was tended by humans. No amount of spin can make this a successful release.

    Yes, he was free, and managed to cope, mostly. But these are social creatures, you can't just dump 'em in the ocean and say "you're free!" It amounts to murder.

    Keiko was born wild. What happens when you release a whale born in captivity?

    Now, in fairness, there is also the story of Springer - an Orca calf that was taken into captivity when it was observed to be in trouble. Springer was found a year after he mother died, lost, separate from her pod, and starving. They captured her, took her to an aquarium, nursed her back to health, and released her in close proximity to her family pod... She was out of the ocean for about a month, 13 years ago. She's been seen with her pod every year since then, and in fact has recently given birth to her first calf.

   There is, though, one huge difference in this story. Springer was a part of the Northern Resident Community... one of the most studied populations of orcas in the world. They knew immediately where Springer came from, where her family was, and what the behaviour patterns of this group of whales was. They took her home, and released her to her family.

 There is a movement on, right now, to release another orca. The Miami Seaquarium houses Lolita... and has done for the last 43 years. Lolita was taken from the Southern Resident Community, near Puget Sound... right before that population was declared protected. The argument is that as a Southern Resident, the same protection should hold for Lolita. I don't disagree... but it was, in part, Lolita's capture that *initiated* these protections. That doesn't excuse the removal of this creature from the wild, but it is good coming from bad.

   There are groups that want Lolita returned. I have the same concerns with this that I had for Keiko - this is a mammal that has been reliant on humans for most of it's life. It's been alone - which is is disgrace for a social creature - other then its human companions. Worse - the seaquariums facilities are barely adequate. I don't argue any of those facts. I do, however, argue that putting her back in the ocean is the best thing for her. Granted, there is more chance of a successful reintegration then there was with Keiko - her family is known, and well documented. But it's been 43 years. Lolita's mother is actually still alive, so that might help... but is Lolita even up to the task? Wouldn't it be better to move her to a better facility, with other orcas? Even a sea-pen would be an improvement... that's what they'd have to do to start training her to survive, anyhow. 

    All of the cases above, are mammals that were born wild. I don't think that there is any case at all for releasing whales born in captivity. They will die. Not immediately, but they will die. They aren't equipped to survive on their own, and they certainly are not prepared to consider humans as dangerous. They *will* seek out human contact, at some point or another, and when that happens, so will accidents.

   Marine parks , as much as people want to deny it, serve a purpose. I decided to learn to dive because of time spent at Marineland. I learned everything I know about marine mammals... because of time spent at Marineland. I learned to care deeply for these animals, again, because of time spent at Marineland. Without that interaction with "captive" whales, I wouldn't have the same appreciation that I do, now. That can't be a bad thing, regardless of the popular "cause" that says they are evil.

   One last little anecdote - while I can't seem to put fingers on the news report about this to check my facts, there was a story a few years back, from the Florida Keys, about a number of dolphins that escaped from whatever enclosure they were in - IIRC it was a netted off cove - where they had been trained to perform for tourists. They were found a couple weeks later... in another cove, not far away, doing *exactly* the same thing... performing for tourists. For handouts, of course, but isn't it interesting that these now free creatures would *choose* to do what so many people have decided is cruel and unnatural?

 My personal opinion is that they're a lot smarter then we are... and they prove it on a regular basis.  They are social, they understand us, far better then we understand them.  To believe that we must somehow be smarter then they are is arrogance, as far as I'm concerned.  I can't seem to remember Whale War I.  They are social, they communicate, they learn from each other, and from us... and from who knows what else. If we spent more time learning from them, perhaps we'd be a better species altogether. Marine parks may not be the best solution, but they are a huge bridge between humans and marine mammals.  I can't fault them for opening people's minds to the world that exists just off shore.  More people should go experience it themselves.