Topline
Three of the fives whales that were transported to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut from Ontario in August 2021 have now died, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, the latest being a 9-year-old beluga named Kharabali, amid a string of deaths in captivity that animal rights advocates argue are proof such mammals shouldn't live in confinement.
The Beluga whale exhibit at the Mystic Aquarium in 2010.
Key Facts
Kharabali died Tuesday after she started swimming abnormally in November and spent time in the aquarium’s intensive care unit, the facility said—an exact cause of death has not yet been determined.
A male beluga whale named Havok died in August 2021 and Havana, a female, died the next year, according to the AP, though the aquarium said both of those animals arrived from Marineland, a themed zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with incurable conditions.
Kharabali, Havok and Havana are among dozens of whales who have died in captivity in the last two decades, one impact of living in tanks that the Whale & Dolphin Conservation says also include frustration, boredom, a heightened likelihood to attack, dorsal fin collapse and other physiological signs of stress.
Kiska, the orca dubbed the “world's loneliest whale,” died in March after living at Marineland for four decades—she was captured in Icelandic waters in 1979 alongside Keiko, the star of the "Free Willy" movie, and died four years after Canada banned whales from being held in captivity.
A 20-year-old whale named Kohana died decades short of her natural life expectancy last year at the Loro Parque zoo, making her the third orca to die at the Spanish facility in 18 months, and killer whale Nakai in August of 2022 became the 44th orca to die in captivity at a SeaWorld, according to PETA.
Arguably the world's most famous killer whale, Tilikum, who inspired the documentary "Blackfish" died in 2017 of a bacterial infection after 34 years in captivity—Tilikum was involved in three fatal attacks of humans at SeaWorld Orlando.
Crucial Quote
“Her spirit touched us all, and we are heartbroken by her passing. Kharabali received the utmost care and love during her time with us, and we will always cherish the moments we shared,” Allison Tuttle, the chief zoological officer at Mystic Aquarium, said in a statement.
Key Background
Kharabali is one of five whales that left an overcrowded habitat at Canada's Marineland—where 14 whales and one dolphin have died since 2019—for Mystic Aquarium in 2021. The belugas were moved to Connecticut after a legal battle that saw a Delaware animal rights group file a lawsuit to stop the move, claiming it would cause them physical and emotional harm. Officials at the time said they were bred in captivity and wouldn’t survive if released into the ocean. When the first whale to die after the transfer did so quickly after arriving, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted an inspection and found problems with the care of that whale and others at the aquarium, according to the Associated Press. A spokesperson at the time said the issues were being addressed. The move of the five whales comes amid a worldwide push to end the captive breeding of whales at amusement parks like Marineland, SeaWorld and other destinations, a practice that gained widespread popularity in the 1960s. The first cetaceans to be held in captivity were captured in the 1860s at the order of circus mogul P.T. Barnum and later housed in Barnum's American Museum. Mystic Aquarium employees carefully lower a beluga whale into a wheeled cart to finish the last leg ... [+]
Big Number
177. That’s at least how many orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or still-born calves, according to Whale & Dolphin Conservation. In total, an estimated 5,000 cetaceans—the class of sea mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoise—are thought to have died in captivity since the 1950s.
Tangent
James Irsay, the billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts, spent millions of dollars in March trying to save a killer whale named Lolita (later renamed Toki) from captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. She performed daily shows for the public for more than 50 years before becoming sick in late 2021, and Irsay funded medical care to the tune of $20,000 per month as the group Friends of Toki worked to relocate her to "home waters." Toki died in August of possible kidney failure. Toki was one of seven orcas captured from the wild in what is now called the Penn Cove Roundup, which saw 80 whales herded into nets in a Puget Sound bay in 1970. Five drowned and their bodies were weighed down to avoid detection. Toki's death spurred advocates to double down on efforts to free other whales and dolphins from captivity before their deaths.
Further Reading
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