Whale dies at Vancouver Aquarium

[Catherine]

Sadly the Beluga Whale Aurora has died at Vancouver Aquarium. He daughter, Qila died nine days ago.

Whales do not do well in captivity.
http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0



http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...124&at=dt0


This is of course the tragic loss of a beautiful creature, made more tragic by the loss of her daughter 9 days ago.
It calls into question the keeping of whales in captivity. There is a  lot of pressure on places like Vancouver Aquarium to stop keeping whales.
The aquarium of course responds that there are educational reasons to continue whale exhibits.

I think the two opinions can never be reconciled. Some see the beauty of Beluga Whales in the open ocean and are happy to know they are there. Some like to possess the whales and use them for various purposes. If you could show that the whales were happy and living good lives and even breeding in captivity, at least you make a case that it was a conservation effort.
They don't do well in captivity. They don't breed. So a female like Aurora, who should have had many offspring in her life, only had one, who died. So by keeping Aurora in captivity they  excluded her from the Beluga gene pool. She lost out and the whole species lost out. All other arguments take second place to this one. Belugas are intelligent, sensitive creatures. No one should be able to deny them a chance to fulfill the biological imperative to reproduce.

I can only hope that Aurora's death will be the beginning of the end for the captive whale program at Vancouver Aquarium.

[Ruth]

That is really very sad. I think they should not keep whales in captivity anymore. Let them be free in the ocean where they belong. They do better there or have a better chance out there.

[Catherine]

Aurora had been free and happy in the cold Arctic Ocean and they forced her into captivity in a small aquarium. She had many babies that died. Then when she finally had a daughter to keep her company she lost her too. It is a sad life and it ended in her sad death.
It clearly doesn't work out to keep Beluga Whales like that. That is reason enough to stop doing it.

Also what gives us the right to imprison an intelligent creature like that, for the rest of her life, for our entertainment. We do not treat convicted murderers that way. We don't put them on show. Why would we do that to a Whale who has done nothing wrong.

It is time to end all whale captivity.

[Ruth]

I totally agree!

[Catherine]

I think with all the problems with whale shows and whale deaths we are seeing the end of whales in captivity. Public opinion is turning against them. The sooner the whales are freed the better.