The Magical Beluga Whale, Capturing wild belugas

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• published: 09 Oct 2015
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The showman P.T. Barnum first placed live beluga whales on display at the Boston Aquarial Gardens and in the American Museum in New York in 1861. In the late 1950s, the beluga capture industry took off. Alaska quickly became the favored place to capture belugas until the 1970s. Canada became the predominant source for belugas destined for exhibition. This continued until 1992, when beluga capture was banned in Canada. When Canada ceased to be the source of these animals, Russia became the largest provider. Captive breeding of cetaceans is difficult, and most whales and dolphins currently in captivity around the world were deliberately captured—not rescued—from the wild. When the defenseless animals are surrounded by high speed boats and encircled with nets, they are scared and panicked, thrashing around. Many of them die - becoming entangled or drowning. Captors mostly prefer young, because it is believed that they will be easier to adapt, but most importantly that they are not too large to be transported. Newly captured belugas are transported to a sea pen such as in the Center for marine mammal adaptation near city of Nakhodka in the Russian Far East. In such places, white whales are held in quarantine for at least a month. Here they are taught to obey humans, live in a confined space, and eat dead fish. If the animal survives, it is transported to a final destination, and exposed to the new stress: a strong physiological load, prolonged lack of food, and dehydration. Beluga whales are delivered to Russian and Ukrainian dolphinariums, or sold abroad – to China, Thailand, Vietnam and Middle East. In 2012 Russians captured the largest number of live belugas in history (44 individuals), and the numbers are growing. In 2013, a permit for a catch quota of 260 beluga whales was issued by the Russian Commission for Fisheries. In 2013, in the Sea of Okhotsk, 81 beluga whales were caught. Approximately 34 were accidentally killed during the capture, seven died in the temporary detention, and 3 had to be released because of the risk of death. There are believed to be at least 230 beluga whales held captive across the world. Approximately 30 belugas are in the United States, 50 are in Canada, 20 are in Japan, and 40 are in China. Approximately 60 belugas are performing at stationary dolphinariums in Russia and ten or more are captive in Russian mobile dolphinariums. Captive cetaceans live a life of constant stress in a cement box; to which chlorine and other irritating chemicals are added. During performances or petting sessions, they are assaulted by blaring music and crowd noise. Captive cetaceans often work 12-hour days without a break. The animals are not being starved, but trainers can make the animal hungry enough to want to perform in shows for the rewards of dead fish. This is the price that white whales and other captive cetaceans pay to entertain people. Please Do Not Pay to See Whales or Dolphins in Captivity! Petition Defend dolphins, orcas and beluga whales in Russia. https://www.causes.com/actions/1779057-sign-the-petition-to-president-of-russian-federation-mr-vladimir-putin-prime-minister-of-russian-federation-mr-dmitry-medvedev-chairman-of For more info visit: http://www.scubaff.com Oceanic Dolphins, Family Delphinidae, Семейство Дельфиновые https://youtu.be/1Ivaq0oa4nI River Dolphins, Речные Дельфины https://youtu.be/Ct0kj3-zMkw Porpoises, Морские Cвиньи https://youtu.be/3nToST1Ku5Y Beaked Whales, Клюворылые киты https://youtu.be/9ZE6UFD5q74 Sperm Whales, Кашалоты https://youtu.be/dplK60sqFLM Monodontidae (beluga, narwhal), Нарваловые https://youtu.be/AZ6jr9uBM3Q