Special Issue Survey of Cetaceans in Captive Care

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312 CouquiaudThe greatest progression of new facilities was inMexico. There are possibly many more facilitiesin China, Russia, and other former Soviet Unionrepublics where military facilities were numerousand, when they closed down, they sold their animalsto display facilities. There are also several travelingshows in Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, and probablyother South American and Asian countries.The following map (Figure 3.1) shows therecorded facilities in 1997. The map clearly showsthat a large majority of institutions are located inthe Northern hemisphere, in warm and temperateclimates between latitude 20º N—just below theTropic of Cancer—and 60º N. They are mainlycoastal. The two countries with the longest historyof exhibiting cetaceans also have the largest numberof facilities: the United States and Japan. Each have39 display and research institutions.ResultsForty-four questionnaires were received over aperiod of 12 months from 22 countries, representing28% of the questionnaires sent.Participation from Asia was better than thatfrom North America, despite the language barrier.Participation from the Pacific region was good, andcountries in Europe were fairly well represented.This gives a wide geographical representation and,thus, enables comparisons of a variety of facilitiesacross a broad range of geographical locations.This survey helped to identify and understandvarious elements essential to the dolphins’ welfarein their controlled environments. It enabled thestudy of existing facilities around the world, whichprovided new insights into previously unknownfacilities in countries where language, communication,development, or economical factors oftenprevent them from participating in the activeinformation exchange of the international marinemammal professional community.The main results of the study are given in thefollowing section. They are all based on the statisticalanalysis of the survey data, except the sectionon cetacean species in captivity, which includesa comparison between the survey results and theentire database.Temporal Distribution of Cetacean FacilitiesThe temporal distribution of sampled facilities wasexamined to determine if the sample of surveyedfacilities was representative in construction dateand age and, therefore, would produce accurateinformation on questions related to design trends,construction techniques, and so on.Construction dates of sampled facilities (n =41) ranged from the early 1950s to the late 1990s(Figure 3.2). Construction was present in everydecade between 1950 and 2000; however, alldecades were not represented equally (KruskalWallis, H = 37.976, p < 0.0001). Many sampledfacilities were built in the late 1960s and in the1990s. The late 1960s period corresponded to thefirst surge of interest in dolphins—at the time ofthe Flipper TV series in the USA and Europe.The 1990s period witnessed a second surge ofFigure 3.1. World map of cetacean facilities in 1997 (indicated by a black dot)
3. Survey of International Cetacean Facilities 313interest in dolphins and whales due to dolphintherapy, whale watching, and so on. This periodsaw the creation of numerous SWTD facilities,mainly in Central America, the Caribbean Islands,and Southern Europe, as well as new display facilitiesin developing countries—especially in Asia.1950 - 19591960 - 19691970 - 19791980 - 19891990 - 2000Figure 3.2. Temporal distribution of cetacean facilities’construction datesThe temporal distribution of sampled facilitiesgives a good representation of old and new facilities,covering a wide variety of types and designs;therefore, the results give insight into problemsassociated with the age of the facility. It is alsopossible to trace the evolution of trends in thedesign of cetacean environments.Number of Cetaceans per FacilitiesPrevious censuses did not determine the averagenumber of cetaceans per facility (Cornell& Asper, 1978; Defran & Pryor, 1980; Collet,1984; Asper et al., 1988, 1990; Duffield & Wells,1990; Duffield & Shell, 1994, 1996; Nakahara &Takemura, 1997). Determining the average numberof animals per facility is relevant to understandingthe profile of the institutions, the possible impacton the social composition of the group, and theimpact on maintenance and financial issues.The median number of cetaceans per facilityis 7 (maximum = 39). Among sampled facilities(n = 42), 26% had < 5 animals and 45% of allsampled facilities had between 5 and 10 animals(Figure 3.3).It is likely that the high maintenance andoperational costs associated with keeping a largenumber of animals dictates the extent of the collection.A very large number of animals might notincrease the number of visitors substantially. Fivefacilities have only two animals, which is consideredthe absolute minimum group size since keepingsingle animals should be avoided. It should behighlighted that three of these five facilities areresearch institutions and, therefore, might haveeither financial or scientific reasons for keepingsuch a small number of animals.Figure 3.3. Number of cetaceans per facility0 - 45 - 910 - 1415 - 1920 - 2425 - 2930 - 40Cetacean Species in CaptivityThe facilities database enables a census of cetaceanspecies in captivity. At the time of the survey,21 species—all odontocetes—were kept in humancare. This represents approximately 30% of the 72species of odontocetes. Among the 21 species, 6species were kept in only one facility. Results showthat the bottlenose dolphin, the Pacific white-sideddolphin, the beluga whale, the killer whale, andthe false killer whale are the species most commonlykept in captivity, which is in accordancewith the results of the regularly updated NorthAmerican census (Cornell & Asper, 1978; Asperet al., 1988, 1990; Duffield & Shell, 1994, 1996).Table 3.1 shows the number of facilities displayingeach species of cetaceans as of 1997. Datadisplayed in this table are not limited to surveyedfacilities but are extracted from the whole database.Information on species was available for 144of the 166 facilities (87%) in the database.The bottlenose dolphin is the most commonlydisplayed species on all continents. This species isdisplayed in 89% of the facilities, with or withoutother species.The species variety was compared betweenAsian, North American, and European facilitiesfrom the data available in the facilities database(Figure 3.4).In 1997, Europe had 41 facilities in 17 countries,and data on the species were available for 35of those. European institutions displayed a total of7 species. The median number of species per facilitywas 1 (maximum = 4). Results showed that83% of the facilities only display 1 species, and94% displayed the bottlenose dolphin as a singlespecies or with other species.North America had 44 facilities in four countries(The Bahamas and Bermuda were included),and data on the species were available for all ofthem. Results showed that North American institutionsdisplay a total of 12 species, which is ingeneral concordance with the 11 species in thelatest update of the North American census, albeit
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8. Husbandry 373Figure 8.3. Milk sa
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8. Husbandry 375reintroducing a new
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8. Husbandry 377Rescue and Rehabili
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8. Husbandry 379Appendix II include
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8. Husbandry 381& R. J. Harrison (E
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Appendix 383Dolphinarium YaltaDolph
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Appendix 385Aomori Prefectural Asam
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