by Beth Clifton We made the difficult but necessary decision to end Tommy’s eight-year life today. This morning Tommy woke up hungry and happy. That boy could eat! Tommy was a mix, but definitely had Great Dane and hound in him. Two veterinary clinics we visited with him agreed that he weighed just over 100 […]
Lolita was not just a money-making spectacle! by Beth Clifton
Arguably, it is because of Lolita that we no longer refer to the orcas as “killer whales.” Amid the sea of crocodile tears shed by those who in a variety of ways have exploited the life and death of Lolita the orca, and continue to exploit her memory, I feel strongly that I have something […]
The orca whale Lolita, 57, spent 53 years in prison without killing anyone
Jailed at four years old, Lolita spent 45 years at the Miami Seaquarium in solitary confinement MIAMI, Florida––The orca whale known to the world for most of her life as Lolita, 57, died on August 18, 2023 at the Miami Seaquarium, 53 years after her capture at Penn Cove, Washington. Initially dubbed Tokitae upon capture, […]
Bamboo, 56, last Seattle zoo elephant, euthanized in Oklahoma City
Her life story was the story of most U.S. zoo elephants OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma––“Where will Woodland Park Zoo elephants be sent to die?”, ANIMALS 24-7 asked on December 7, 2014, as the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle finalized plans to transfer Chai and Bamboo, the last two elephants to reside there, to the Oklahoma City Zoo. That […]
Winter, star of Dolphin’s Tale, showed aquariums can thrive as rescue centers
Winter’s 16 summers helped to bring a new dawn for captive wildlife CLEARWATER, Florida––Winter, 16, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin who spent almost her entire life at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium after losing her tail to a blue crab trap at just two months of age, died on November 11, 2021 from a twisted intestine. […]
Marine mammal activist Ben White, 53, dies of abdominal cancer
Long problematic career Ben White, 53, died on July 30, 2005, in Friday Harbor, Washington, after a six-month struggle against abdominal cancer. White “cut open dolphin-holding nets in Japan, scaled buildings to hang anti-fur banners, jumped in front of naval ships in Hawaii to stop sonar tests, and slept atop old-growth trees to protest logging,” […]
Former child star chimp Cobby, 63, had troubling hidden past
“Golden age of television” survivor had caregivers influential in the rise of animal rights opposition to zoos and circuses SAN FRANCISCO––The San Francisco Zoo chimpanzee Cobby, 63, who died on June 5, 2021, was remembered by mass media as “the oldest male chimp living in an accredited North American zoo.” But that may have been the […]
Animal deaths at Primarily Primates were not “acts of God”
Why was Primarily Primates less ready for the Texas freeze than a pizza parlor? SAN ANTONIO, Texas––“After 4 days without power, we finally have electricity back at the sanctuary!” Primarily Primates posted on the morning of February 19, 2021. “Due to the tenuous situation here in Texas,” the posting added, “we will be using […]
Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, follows tiger act partner Roy Horn, 75, in death
Illusionist Fischbacher, of Siegfried & Roy, created image of partner Horn as “positive reinforcement” trainer & conservationist Both were role models for “Joe Exotic” et al LAS VEGAS––Entertainer Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, died of pancreatic cancer on January 14, 2021, at the Las Vegas home he had shared with Roy Horn, his partner in life […]
Legendary giant turtle, believed extinct, resurfaces in Hanoi lake
Five years after the “last” giant softshell turtle died, one and possibly three more turn up, plus one in zoo HANOI, Vietnam––Five years after the January 2016 death of Cu Rua in Hoan Kiem Lake plunged Vietnam into national mourning for the legendary giant softshell turtle, then believed to have been the last of […]