Depressed Dolphins at The Living Seas

[rt06]

Has anyone ever noticed the depressed dolphin that just floats listlessly in the tank? If you go to the dolphin section look far back and up and you will see a dolphin near what I think is a gate. I was in the aquarium for a good hour and the dolphin never moved from its spot.

Another dolphin swam about, but followed the same exact pattern throughout. Back and forth, back and forth, I could have drawn lines across the glass and the dolphin would have stayed within them.

If anyone is (was) familiar with the plight of Gus the Depressed Polar Bear at the Central Park Zoo here in NYC, it's similar type behavior: neurotic and compulsive.

This isn't a clown fish swimming in circles. These are beautiful, intelligent, majestic creatures.

And no, I haven't seen "Blackfish" yet.

 

[Voxel]

Has anyone ever noticed the depressed dolphin that just floats listlessly in the tank? If you go to the dolphin section look far back and up and you will see a dolphin near what I think is a gate. I was in the aquarium for a good hour and the dolphin never moved from its spot.

Another dolphin swam about, but followed the same exact pattern throughout. Back and forth, back and forth, I could have drawn lines across the glass and the dolphin would have stayed within them.

If anyone is (was) familiar with the plight of Gus the Depressed Polar Bear at the Central Park Zoo here in NYC, it's similar type behavior: neurotic and compulsive.

This isn't a clown fish swimming in circles. These are beautiful, intelligent, majestic creatures.

And no, I haven't seen "Blackfish" yet.

I hate seeing Dolphins and Killer whales in captivity (my opinion was changed when I got to swim with wild dolphins in Georgia), but at the same time I understand why they are in captivity. Sea World and the Sea have done so much for raising awareness for these animals and sometimes the only way to do that is to let people see this animal in real life not in pictures. So it goes down to, do you "harm" a few for the betterment of the whole. Its a moral question Humanity has been struggling with for years. (I went way to philosophical on this)

 

[Britt]

I feel that way about every shark I've ever seen in captivity!

 

[Laura Ellen]

I think WDW puts the safety of their animals first before anything else, unlike a close neighbor...

Everytime i have seen the dolphins they seem fine and well looked after. I'm not 100% sure but i think they are rescues? I know that the manatees are. I know more about their manatee's than their dolphins. Its sad to see the poor condition the manatees were brought to disney in, and they would have died if they were not in captivity. I think one has 90% of its tail missing.

 

[Bairstow]

When I was there in September there was a dolphin that swam the same pattern several times, upside-down and near the bottom.

 

[Clamman73]

Even the dolphins are depressed about the state of Futureworld...

 

[Runmyhorse]

I hate seeing Dolphins and Killer whales in captivity (my opinion was changed when I got to swim with wild dolphins in Georgia), but at the same time I understand why they are in captivity. Sea World and the Sea have done so much for raising awareness for these animals and sometimes the only way to do that is to let people see this animal in real life not in pictures. So it goes down to, do you "harm" a few for the betterment of the whole. Its a moral question Humanity has been struggling with for years. (I went way to philosophical on this)

Are you talking about sea world??? I think there dolphins are taking care of just as much as disney. I really have never seen sea world dolphins just laying around.

 

[Bairstow]

Are you talking about sea world??? I think there dolphins are taking care of just as much as disney. I really have never seen sea world dolphins just laying around.

They certainly seem to have a nicer place to live.

 

[Runmyhorse]

They certainly seem to have a nicer place to live.

I agree.

 

[AndyS2992]

When I went in 2011 there was a dolphin near the top not doing anything, just sat there lifeless, same one? If so he has been like it for a long time.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I wonder how many of you people have pets?....But hate to see animals in captivity. It's so bad when a theme park (which actually takes care of their animals with dedicated teams of scientist, and vets) does it? Yet, you'll go see them, then come on the forum and throw a pity party about not liking them?

Guess I'm the only one who appreciates theme parks trying to incorporate the animal/life science side into the parks though. I'd much rather see a dolphin,shark,whale etc getting treatment at a theme park than suffering as most of them are usually found.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Many times these are animals that could not survive in the wild for one reason or another. You put these animals back in the wild and you sentence them to death.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Plus, they've been removed from the food chain and are safer. Maybe it was almost feeding time and the gate is where they're fed.

 

[EpcoTim]

I wonder how many of you people have pets?....But hate to see animals in captivity. It's so bad when a theme park (which actually takes care of their animals with dedicated teams of scientist, and vets) does it? Yet, you'll go see them, then come on the forum and throw a pity party about not liking them?

Guess I'm the only one who appreciates theme parks trying to incorporate the animal/life science side into the parks though. I'd much rather see a dolphin,shark,whale etc getting treatment at a theme park than suffering as most of them are usually found.

If you're the only one who appreciates them, then who the hell is keeping Sea World afloat?

Where do you see all these suffering fish that aren't already in captivity?

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I can tell you everything in the ocean is out to eat everything else, it's a free for all out there. Everything has teeth. I ran into a sea turtle on the beach that was bitten in half, it was a 300-400 lbs turtle. My first thought was how big was the tiger shark that did that??? Tiger sharks come to our area specifically for sea turtle hunting. Theyr'e not suffering it's just the way it goes. Circle of life stuff.

Beat me to it. I thought it was common sense what happens in the ocean. Guess not.

 

[FettFan]

Depressed Dolphins at The Living Seas

They blew all their money on instant lottery tickets.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

Well maybe they should have stopped picking on the sea turtles knocking them all over the place in the tank! Which caused them to have to be separated from the general under water population. I'm pretty sure they have great enrichment programs for the animals all over property so I am certain the animals are treated pretty well if not amazing

 

[EpcoTim]

Also......explain your logical relation of my dog and shamu, if you don't mind

Beat me to it. I thought it was common sense what happens in the ocean. Guess not.

Its the circle of life. What kind of common sense tells you that any animal would rather be locked up against his will in a swimming pool than among his family and peers? Death is a natural part of life, has been since the dawn of time. You call that suffering? That's life. But oh, this dolphin will be much happier in a bathtub since he won't be eaten by something. Life without risk isn't life.

 

[Britt]

I wonder how many of you people have pets?....But hate to see animals in captivity. It's so bad when a theme park (which actually takes care of their animals with dedicated teams of scientist, and vets) does it? Yet, you'll go see them, then come on the forum and throw a pity party about not liking them?

Guess I'm the only one who appreciates theme parks trying to incorporate the animal/life science side into the parks though. I'd much rather see a dolphin,shark,whale etc getting treatment at a theme park than suffering as most of them are usually found.

There is a huge difference in a domestic animal vs an animal in the wild. My dog, in no way compares to a shark in captivity. Put that dog in a cage and leave him there day in and day out and you might have something.

 

[FettFan]

Exactly....domesticated animals have a long history with human beings. The domestic dog alone goes back with us some 10,000 years to when wild canines first began scavenging around human settlements. From there, both species grew together.

With the rise of cities and agriculture 7,000-8,000 years ago, we branched out. We adapted livestock for our needs....sheep, goats, cattle, horses. With thousands of years of interdependence, if humans were to drop off the face of the earth tomorrow, most domesticated animals would drop dead real quick.(especially white turkeys, since 1. they cannot breed naturally and have to be artificially inseminated by us, and 2. they're SHOCK WHITE, which kind of makes it hard to evade natural predators)

Dolphins and whales...not so much. We only have a few hundred years of interaction with them, and even then the majority of that stemmed from hunting.