Miami Seaquarium To Be Sued Over Violating the ESA For Orca Cruelty
A press release originally from Animal Legal Defense Fund states: For immediate release: Contact:
Megan Backus, ALDF
David Pearle, PETA MIAMI — PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), Orca Network, and two individuals sent a letter this morning to the Miami Seaquarium—where Lolita the orca is being held without the company of any others of her kind and imprisoned in a cramped tank with no protection from the hot sun—notifying the business of their intent to sue under th
J Pod Welcomes Third Calf
Photo by Capt. Jim Maya of Maya's Legacy Whale Watching Crews of the Pacific Whale Watching Association reported the sighting of a new baby in J pod on Monday afternoon. The birth was confirmed by Center for Whale Research on Monday night. Naturalist/researcher Jeanne Hyde was onboard with Capt. Spencer Domico of Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching shortly after noon yesterday watching the subgroup J16s with their three-month-old calf J50 off Galiano Island, BC. Hyde said in a news
Group Issues Notice of Intent to Prevent "Swim-With" Manatee Programs
Photo of manatees uninterrupted at Blue Spring State Park On Monday, PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) filed a Notice of Intent to Sue with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service citing safeguards for the endangered Florida manatee need to be significantly strengthened. The notice gives the Service 60 days to take action before the PEER-group is eligible to file suit in federal district court. One primary objective of the action is to prohibit “swim-with” tour
Massive Manatee Rescue in Satellite Beach
Photo credit: WKMG-TV Last night, officials from Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), SeaWorld Orlando and Satellite Beach Fire Department rescued 19 manatees from a storm drain in Satellite Beach. Workers spent nearly 10 hours retrieving the animals from the drain and returning them to the Indian River Lagoon system. Residents reported that several manatees they had been watching for the past few days had been missing. City workers discovered the manatees in the pipe. The ma
Another New Baby for Southern Resident J Pod
Photo by Traci Walter Photography After spending two weeks away, J pod returned to the interior waters of the Salish Sea to show off a new baby last Thursday. According to a Press Release from Center for Whale Research: Dave Ellifrit from the Center for Whale Research, and Jeanne Hyde who first heard the whales on Lime Kiln hydrophone this morning, embarked on theCenter ‘s research vessel “Chimo” to Haro Strait while CWR Senior Scientist, KenBalcomb, watched from shore and ma
A Big Day for Lolita, Now Included in Endangered Species Ruling of Southern Resident Killer Whales
Today, NOAA Fisheries made a ground-breaking decision to include Lolita into the Endangered Species Act listing of Southern Resident Killer Whales. Lolita is a female killer whale who was captured from the Southern Resident population in 1970, and is currently at Miami Seaquarium. On January 24, 2014 NOAA Fisheries announced a 12-month finding and proposal to revise and amend the ESA listing by removing the exclusion for captive members. The proposal was open for public comm
Almost All Doubt Gone That Slick J16 Is Mother to Southern Resident Calf J50
Center for Whale Research has made the official determination that Slick, J16, is indeed the mother of new Southern Resident Killer Whale Calf J50 according to WDC's Collen Weiler. Photo by Mark Malleson, Center for Whale Research The new calf, first spotted December 30 with Slick, brings new hope to the dwindling population of Southern Resident Killer Whales. With the loss of four this year, the new baby brings the population up to only 78. Following another encounter, the
Special Manatee Released For a Second Time With a Companion
A loveable manatee with a challenging past has been returned back to the wild for a second time. Tuesday, Pixie the manatee was released in Blue Spring State Park in Florida again along with Sarge, another manatee rehabilitated at SeaWorld Orlando. Both were fitted with satellite tracking tags and will be monitored by Sea to Shore Alliance and the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership. Ocean Advocate News first reported about Pixie the manatee last spring when she was recaptured
Are Satellite Tags Helpful or Harmful for Southern Resident Killer Whales?
On December 28, 2014, Blackberry J27 was tagged by NOAA’s North West Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). Blackberry is an adult male Southern Resident Killer Whale. He is the fifth Southern Resident to be tagged since the program began in 2012. The purpose of tagging is to determine coastal distribution in the winter and to designate Critical Habitat location according to the Recovery Plan for Southern Residents. The satellite tagging program has been a subject of controversy
New Southern Resident Calf Identified as a Female
Yesterday, the Center for Whale Research confirmed the sex of the new Southern Resident Killer Whale. It's a girl! Photo by J. Cogan, Center for Whale Research The new baby, dubbed J50, is alive and well. She was seen with her matrilineal family yesterday in Northern Georgia Strait British Columbia. Center for Whale Research stated yesterday that they are "working in coordination with researchers from Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to obtain facts and pho
