What are your thougts in regards to Aquariums?

[UGAplaya]

I ask this because of the new Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. I recently had a chance to visit it and I was blown away at how awesome it really is. It's the only aquarium in the world to have 4 whale sharks. Until today. Now we only have 3. One of the whale sharks passed away last night and two weeks ago, a beluga whale died as well. The whale shark was 22 feet long when it died. For those who don't know what a beluga whale is, it's an arctic whale that is solid white......really beautiful to see. We had 3 belugas and now we only have two.
I'm certainly not one to say that we shouldn't have zoo's or aquariums but sometimes I wonder if it's not a little selfish to try and have too many species on display. Just something to think about.

If you guys have the chance to pass through Atlanta on business or pleasure, I highly suggest a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. Not only is it the worlds largest, in my opinion, it's the worlds best too. Take care.
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/

[MWC]

Hi Scott,
Is that aquarium the one that's the brainchild of the founder of Home Depot? It's supposed to be great.
This was certainly an ambitious project: Maybe they are doing too much too fast in terms of the wildlife. Up in Connecticut, we have Mystic Aquarium, which has at least 6 Beluga Whales. They do fine, and are quite talkative! So your aquarium down there may need to "tweak" a few factors to get it right. Knowledge/expertise that can only come with practice.
Also, depending on the supplier of the whales, that may have a lot to do with their longevity. I don't know for sure if the whale-class is a group that they are authorized to pluck healthy specimens from the ocean to exhibit. I believe a lot of them have some sort of rehabilitation issue -- which would mean it might be safer for them in captivity than out in the wild.

I know what you mean about the captivity issue -- but I think it's a Hobson's choice between citizens developing an appreciation for the delicacy of the lifeforms out there, or citizens having an "out of sight, out of mind" viewpoint.
It is easy to get tired of aquariums, though. Even my kids aren't as excited to go as they used to be.

[UGAplaya]

Originally Posted by MWC

Hi Scott,
Is that aquarium the one that's the brainchild of the founder of Home Depot? It's supposed to be great.
This was certainly an ambitious project: Maybe they are doing too much too fast in terms of the wildlife. Up in Connecticut, we have Mystic Aquarium, which has at least 6 Beluga Whales. They do fine, and are quite talkative! So your aquarium down there may need to "tweak" a few factors to get it right. Knowledge/expertise that can only come with practice.
Also, depending on the supplier of the whales, that may have a lot to do with their longevity. I don't know for sure if the whale-class is a group that they are authorized to pluck healthy specimens from the ocean to exhibit. I believe a lot of them have some sort of rehabilitation issue -- which would mean it might be safer for them in captivity than out in the wild.

I know what you mean about the captivity issue -- but I think it's a Hobson's choice between citizens developing an appreciation for the delicacy of the lifeforms out there, or citizens having an "out of sight, out of mind" viewpoint.
It is easy to get tired of aquariums, though. Even my kids aren't as excited to go as they used to be.

yes the founder of the aquarium is Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot. The belugas are awesome and very talkative. I read where they travel in pods of 10,000.....amazing!! The aquarium is hoping that the whale sharks will breed in captivity, something that has never happened before. The four whale sharks in Atlanta where named after the Honeymooners show. It was Ralphie who died yesterday.

[maas1114]

I love the National Aquarium here in Baltimore.
http://www.aqua.org/
It is very informative and interesting. They have actually rescued many sick or injured animals, nursed them back to health, and released them back to the sea (if they were well enough)
The Aquarium has great dolphin shows, and used to have seals- but not any more.
They recently opened a new wing, devoted to the Australlian Outback- sponsored by Animal Planet.
And, the shark tanks are really great. You walk down 5 levels and the sharks are swimming all around you.

[jtm1631]

I find them to be depressing and I'm not surprised to hear that some of the larger inmates are dying.

Dolphins, whales and most other species are not meant to live their lives in a bathtub.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by jtm1631

I find them to be depressing and I'm not surprised to hear that some of the larger inmates are dying.

Dolphins, whales and most other species are not meant to live their lives in a bathtub.

That.

The smaller fish, fine, whatever.
But for the larger ones, tanks, even 'big' tanks, are no substitute for the ocean. If the species is endangered and they are trying to breed more in captivity that might be different- but they live shorter lives in captivity, so that doesn't apply.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by jtm1631

I find them to be depressing and I'm not surprised to hear that some of the larger inmates are dying.

Dolphins, whales and most other species are not meant to live their lives in a bathtub.

I'm there. I think I went over my thoughts in my trip report when we visited Seaworld.

[MWC]

But if these bigger species are there for rehab issues, are you ok with that?

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by MWC

But if these bigger species are there for rehab issues, are you ok with that?

What do you mean, 'rehab'? Like a sprained ankle?
I tend to think it's better for species (of whales, etc.) overall to do things like stop the whaling/killing of endangered species and other practices that are detrimental to ocean life, instead of all the money and time wasted on an animal here and there.

[MWC]

Originally Posted by Rissask

What do you mean, 'rehab'? Like a sprained ankle?
.

Some of them have been weakened by viruses or injuries. At least once, some type of baby whale veered wildly off its migration course, and ended up in Long Island Sound. It was taken to Mystic to recover its strength before releasing it back into the wild.
That kind of thing.

And too much blow, of course, can really clog up the blowhole ...

[itsmysecondtime]

I would find no moral, ethical, or intellectual predicaments with that very specific option. Intervention for the sole purpose of rehabilitating is a laudable endeavor in my book, any day of the week.

However, incarcerating large migratory animals, or animals that need/depend upon vast areas of diverse habitat to survive, or animals about whom we have little information regarding their ordinary territorial range and/or habits, is simply a repugnant undertaking with no justification sufficient to validate such sadism.

[MWC]

And Atlanta does know not to put Coca-cola in the tank water, right?

[UGAplaya]

Originally Posted by itsmysecondtime

I would find no moral, ethical, or intellectual predicaments with that very specific option. Intervention for the sole purpose of rehabilitating is a laudable endeavor in my book, any day of the week.

However, incarcerating large migratory animals, or animals that need/depend upon vast areas of diverse habitat to survive, or animals about whom we have little information regarding their ordinary territorial range and/or habits, is simply a repugnant undertaking with no justification sufficient to validate such sadism.

But you have to admit, they are cool to look at.

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by Rissask

What do you mean, 'rehab'? Like a sprained ankle?
I tend to think it's better for species (of whales, etc.) overall to do things like stop the whaling/killing of endangered species and other practices that are detrimental to ocean life, instead of all the money and time wasted on an animal here and there.

Occasionally you really do surprise, in a positive manner of course, as in this particular issue.

Laudable position indeed.



However, why make these two issues mutually exclusive?

[itsmysecondtime]

Originally Posted by UGAplaya

But you have to admit, they are cool to look at.

Indeed they are.

No issue there, and precisely for that reason I find no such dilemma with the type of excursion that takes us into proximity with their natural habitat, as in whale watching for instance.