The Makah Harpooners vs. Willy the Whale, alias Killer Keiko [Originally published in September 1998] NEAH BAY, Washington; NEWPORT, Oregon––If the September 1998 media drama underway in the Pacific Northwest was a professional wrestling match, it would be billed as the Makah Harpooners vs. Willy the Whale, alias Killer Keiko, orca star of the hit […]
Vaquita captures suspended after death of female of breeding age
Two captures with only frozen tissue samples to show for it (Updates coverage of November 6, 2017.) SAN FELIPE, Mexico––VaquitaCPR and SEMARNAT, the Mexican Secretariat for the Environment & Natural Resources, have indefinitely suspended attempts to bring highly endangered vaquita porpoises into a captive breeding program, Sandra Dibble of the San Diego Union-Tribune and CBS News […]
Delivering vaquita damsels to the ogre: U.S. Navy dolphins sally forth
Sea of Cortez campaign may be more about saving the Navy Marine Mammal Program than saving vaquitas SAN FELIPE, Mexico; SAN DIEGO, California––Purported knights errant sent to save a damsel in distress, the U.S. Navy dolphins Andrea, Fathom, Katrina and Splash on October 5, 2017 arrived in San Felipe, Mexico, on the east coast of Baja California, to […]
Hurricanes: most famous fatality was Molly the dolphin
Molly’s life was microcosm of marine mammal captivity history MARATHON, Florida––Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria killed more than 200-and-counting humans among them, from Barbuda to the southern end of the Coastal Bend region of Texas, but the best-known victim so far was apparently a dolphin, Molly, who was among the oldest dolphins on record. Molly […]
Exhibitionist shark-draggers upstaged by “reality TV” star friend
“Look, ma! No decency!” MIAMI, Florida––Long seeking social media notice by posting images of himself and friends torturing animals, Michael Robert Wenzel, 21, of Palmetto, Florida, for a few days appeared to have at last achieved the notoriety he wanted with a video posted on July 24, 2017 showing himself and pals Robert Lee “Bo” […]
Campaign to pull the plug on Navy dolphin program takes to the air
Dolphin base looks like a sewage treatment plant SAN DIEGO, California––Campaigning for an end to marine mammal use by the U.S. Navy, former dolphin trainers Ric Trout and Russ Rector got a big boost on April 27, 2017 from CBS News 8 reporter Steve Price, who extensively aired recent video clips of the main […]
Thumbing nose at lawsuits, USDA-APHIS hides more info
Deletes documents posted in response to Freedom of Information Act requests WASHINGTON D.C.––Hit with a second lawsuit, draft legislation, and letters from 119 members of Congress demanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture restore web sites including Animal Welfare Act enforcement information, the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service has instead thumbed its collective […]
Did bad teeth kill Tilikum? Necropsy would tell us––if released
Chewed on steel gates in between killing three people ORLANDO, Florida––Tilikum, 36, the most notorious of orca whales, died at SeaWorld Orlando early on January 6, 2016 “surrounded by trainers, care staff and veterinarians,” SeaWorld said in a prepared statement. The death of Tilikum leaves SeaWorld with 23 orcas, including seven males and 16 […]
From the whales of Miami Beach to the seals of Puget Sound
Growing up & growing wiser with Lolita & Sidney by Beth Clifton California governor Jerry Brown on September 13, 2016 endorsed into law a bill prohibiting breeding orca whales in captivity, six months after SeaWorld announced that it would end attempts to breed orcas at its marine mammal parks in San Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio. […]
About Tilikum: an open letter to Sea World
by Russ Rector To: SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (9205 Southpark Center Loop #400, Orlando, FL 32819) Necropsy of wild animals is essential in conservation. Sea mammals of key interest include the orca or ‘killer whale’. Tilikum, a famous captive orca presented to the public as education for over 31 years, is regularly described as an […]