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As a scientist, I’ve dedicated my life to the protection of dolphins. My lab works with engineers to design specialized drones that help us assess the health of wild animals, and we study how human-made noise affects their ability to perform survival-critical behaviors.
I say this so you understand that I, too, want every one of these animals to have a happy ending, and our focus is always on their wellbeing.
The Dolphin Company’s (Miami Seaquarium) tenure in Miami left many frustrated, me included. However, these animals cannot be released, nor can they go to a sanctuary for simple, well-understood reasons.
Why can’t they be released?
Releasing dolphins born or long kept in human care is dangerous as they would not survive. They never learned the complex hunting tactics of their species, which are not instinctive. In North America and Europe, no healthy animals have been taken from the wild in over three decades, meaning all wild-born dolphins in human care are now too old and too dependent on people for release. Their only option is lifelong human care.
This isn’t just theory — we’ve seen it tried and fail. In Australia, then PhD student Kelly Waples and Dr. Nick Gales led an effort to rehabilitate and release nine bottlenose dolphins (three adult males, three adult females, and three zoo-born juveniles) from a closing marine park.
The plan included a sea pen stage. Some older dolphins caught fish in the pool, but none succeeded in the sea pen. When released in January 1992, most lost weight, failed to thrive, begged from humans, and one calf born during the sea pen stage died. Some were recaptured and returned; others disappeared. Dr. Waples later expressed reservations about the project in a PBS Frontline article.
Why not a sanctuary?
Until recently, “sanctuary” was just a word — there were no standards for what a cetacean sanctuary should be. In 2023, the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries issued guidelines, but without proof they would work, since no one has ever done this successfully.
An attempt with Chinese belugas in Iceland failed as the whales became stressed, stopped responding to trainers, and one even developed ulcers. The problem is that dolphins and whales under long-term human care prefer the safety and predictability of familiar enclosures and caretakers. Even when given access to “sanctuary”- like spaces, they rarely choose to leave their known environments.
So what do we do?
The best option for these animals is to go to quality accredited facilities that will give them the care that they need. It is easy to judge all zoos and aquariums by the worst actors, but that does not reflect the reality of the high standards of animal care and welfare in most accredited facilities. There are amazing facilities that support conservation and make it possible for scientists to do meaningful work that benefits both wild and zoo animals alike.
We also could repurpose or build new facilities as dolphin research institutes. These centers could advance conservation and education through cutting-edge science. Visitors could watch and participate in research focused on the health and protection of dolphins, inspiring them to want help conserve marine mammals in the wild.
Designing dolphin research is like teaching kindergarten — you must keep it fun or they’ll lose interest. Because the science is engaging, dolphins voluntarily participate (and even squeal with delight when they solve puzzles. Using this approach, we studied their sensory systems to design undetectable drones for noninvasive fieldwork.
Given the high projected cost of sanctuaries, such research-focused facilities could be a practical, humane, and scientifically valuable contribution, with some potentially even combining pools with sea pen access to provide animal choice.
This may not be the Free Willy ending many imagine but it is likely the best one for the dolphins’ safety, comfort and continued wellbeing.
Dr. Jason Bruck is an Associate Professor of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University.
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