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Tag: Dolphins and porpoises

  • Venice’s newest marvel is a wild, acrobatic dolphin. His refusal to leave puts him in danger

    MILAN — Venice has been charmed by a recent visitor: An acrobatic, wild dolphin. The feeling appears to be mutual — he so far refuses to leave — but proximity to humans has put him in danger.

    The dolphin nicknamed Mimmo has been delighting tourists and Venetians for months with his acrobatic flips. Experts are now eager to move him into open water, especially after verifying wounds indicating that the dolphin had been likely hit by a boat propeller.

    Multiple agencies used low-intensity acoustic devices to nudge Mimmo away from the heavily trafficked St. Mark’s Basin on Saturday — and it worked briefly. But the dolphin came back within an hour, as experts feared he would.

    “It’s very worrying because it’s a hot spot with lots of boat traffic,’’ said Guido Pietroluongo, a veterinarian at the University of Padua’s emergency response team for stranded dolphins, whales and porpoises, known by the acronym CERT.

    St. Mark’s Basin, the shallow expanse of water in front of St. Mark’s Square connecting to both the Giudecca and Grand Canals, is heavily trafficked by ferries, vaporetti buses, water taxis, and private boats.

    During the failed operation, experts confirmed Mimmo had suffered superficial lesions, likely from a boat propeller, Pietroluongo said. It was the first time they had noted injuries to the dolphin, and his wounds are expected to fully heal. But experts are worried about his continued safety in such proximity to human activity.

    They don’t plan any immediate action, and are hoping that colder seasonal temperatures will lure him, and his fish prey, out of the lagoon toward warmer waters, Pietroluongo said.

    Mimmo’s arrival in the Venetian lagoon was registered on July 23, and experts say the coastal creature likely followed a school of fish into the brackish waters separated from the open sea by barrier islands. He was nicknamed for the sailing instructor who first spotted him off the Venetian lagoon fishing town of Chioggia.

    Mimmo follows the pattern of a so-called social loner, typically a young male dolphin that breaks away from the pod for food or for social reasons and then comes into contact with the human world, said Sandro Mazzariol, a CERT veterinarian.

    “Around 100 cases have been documented around the world in which these animals are absolutely at ease and remain healthy despite not interacting with their peers,’’ Mazzariol said in a Facebook video post.

    Dolphins sightings in Venice are rare but not unheard of, Mazzariol said.

    The most recent incident involved a pair of striped dolphins spotted in February 2021 that were quickly guided back to the open sea with acoustic devices. They never returned.

    Mimmo has been closely monitored during his lagoon sojourn, and has been reported in good health and nutrition as he feasts on a diet befitting any Venetian tourist: mullet, sea bass and sea bream. His behavior also has been deemed normal, including his playful aerial flips.

    The University of Padua team has been going out weekly to check on the animal, and they get regular updates from citizens who share sightings, including photos and videos.

    Authorities are warning citizens and boaters not to feed or interact with the dolphin, which is a criminal offense. Dolphins are protected under Italian, EU and international law. But the fact that Mimmo’s fame is spreading is part of the problem.

    “The dolphin has become an attraction. Boats stopping to watch him can stress the animal,’’ Pietroluongo said.

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  • The cherished and controversial Miami Seaquarium closes its doors

    MIAMI — The Miami Seaquarium, an old-Florida style tourist attraction that gained international attention as the filming location for the 1960s television series “Flipper” and thrilled generations of tourists with trained dolphin and orca shows, has closed its doors.

    Sunday’s closure of the park that opened in 1955 was celebrated by animal rights activists who had lobbied for decades to free the marine mammals inside. Located across a causeway from downtown Miami and overlooking Biscayne Bay, the park was beloved by those who grew up visiting the landmark, but plagued by persistent animal welfare complaints.

    Last year, the aquarium’s parent company received an eviction notice for the waterfront property it leases from Miami-Dade County. Local cited a “long and troubling history of violations.” The action followed a series of federal inspections that found multiple problems, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings.

    For years, families hoping to make cherished memories at the attraction have had to weave around the animal rights protestors stationed on the sidewalk outside, equipped with signs, bullhorns, rosary beads and incense.

    In recent years, activists focused on the fate of Lolita, an orca whale held captive in a shallow pool for more than a half-century. She died just as caregivers were preparing to move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest.

    Efforts to redevelop the Seaquarium site are already in the works, with plans for a new “accredited aquarium” with no marine mammals, as well as a research center, shops, restaurants and a publicly accessible baywalk.

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  • Endangered pink river dolphins face a rising mercury threat in the Amazon

    PUERTO NARINO, Colombia — A flash of pink breaks the muddy surface of the Amazon River as scientists and veterinarians, waist-deep in the warm current, patiently work a mesh net around a pod of river dolphins. They draw it tighter with each pass, and a spray of silver fish glistens under the harsh sun as they leap to escape the net.

    When the team hauls a dolphin into a boat, it thrashes as water streams from its pink-speckled sides and the crew quickly ferries it to the sandy riverbank where adrenaline-charged researchers lift it onto a mat. They have 15 minutes — the limit for how long a dolphin can safely be out of the water — to complete their work.

    Fernando Trujillo, a marine biologist leading the effort, kneels beside the animal’s head, shielding its eye with a small cloth so it can’t see what’s happening. He rests his hand gently on the animal and speaks in low tones.

    “They’ve never felt the palm of a hand. We try to calm them,” said Trujillo, sporting a pink dolphin bandana. “Taking a dolphin out of the water, it’s a kind of abduction.”

    One person counts the dolphin’s breaths. Another wets its skin with a sponge while the others conduct multiple medical tests that will help show how much mercury is coursing through the Amazon’s most graceful predators.

    Trujillo directs the Omacha Foundation, a conservation group focused on aquatic wildlife and river ecosystems, and leads health evaluations of river dolphins. It’s a painstaking operation involving experienced fishermen, veterinarians and locals that takes months of planning and happens a couple of times a year.

    “We take blood and tissue samples to assess mercury,¨ Trujillo told The Associated Press from the Colombian riverside town of Puerto Narino. “Basically, we’re using dolphins as sentinels for the river’s health.”

    Mercury contamination comes mainly from illegal gold mining — a growing industry across the Amazon Basin — and forest clearing that washes mercury that naturally occurs in soil into waterways.

    The miners use mercury to separate gold from sediment, then dump the sludge back into rivers, where it enters fish eaten by people and dolphins. Rising global gold prices have fueled a mining boom, and mercury pollution in remote waterways has increased.

    Mercury can damage the brain, kidneys, lungs and immune system and cause mood swings, memory loss and muscle weakness in people, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pregnant women and young children are most at risk, with prenatal exposure linked to developmental delays and reduced cognitive function.

    “The maximum any living being should have is 1 milligram per kilogram,” Trujillo said. “Here, we’re seeing 20 to 30 times that amount.”

    In previous years, his team found 16 to 18 milligrams per kilogram of mercury in dolphins, which can suffer the same neurological damage, organ damage and other problems as humans. In Colombia’s Orinoco River, levels in some dolphins have reached as high as 42, levels scientists say are among the most extreme ever recorded in the species.

    Trujillo said it’s difficult to prove the toxin is directly killing dolphins. Further studies are underway, he added, noting that “any mammal with a huge amount of mercury will die.”

    When Trujillo and his team tested their own blood three years ago, his results showed more than 36 times the safe limit — 36.4 milligrams per kilogram — a level he attributes to decades working in mercury-affected areas and a diet heavy in fish. With medical assistance, his levels have dropped to about 7 milligrams.

    “Mercury is an invisible enemy until it builds up to a sufficient amount, then it starts to affect the central nervous system,” Trujillo told AP after his team managed to capture and test four pink dolphins. “We’re already seeing evidence of it in Indigenous communities.”

    A series of scientific studies and reports — including work by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and academic researchers — have found high mercury exposure among Indigenous peoples across the Amazon, including in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Suriname and Bolivia. Hair samples showed averages well above WHO’s safe threshold of 1 part per million, with one Colombian community registering more than 22 milligrams per kilogram.

    Dolphin populations in this part of the Amazon have plunged, with Trujillo’s monitoring showing a 52% decline in pink dolphins and a 34% drop in gray river dolphins, a different species, in recent decades. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the pink dolphin as endangered in 2018. Trujillo said exact numbers for the Amazon are unknown, but his organization estimates 30,000 to 45,000 across the basin.

    Pink river dolphins also face threats from overfishing, accidental entanglement in nets, boat traffic, habitat loss and prolonged drought.

    Colombia says it’s tackling illegal mining and mercury pollution. It banned mercury use in mining in 2018, ratified the Minamata Convention aimed at reducing mercury in the environment and submitted an action plan in 2024. Authorities cite joint operations with Brazil and recent enforcement sweeps, but watchdogs say efforts remain uneven and illegal mining persists across much of the country.

    Other Amazon nations say they’re stepping up. Brazil has launched raids and moved to restrict satellite internet used by illegal gold-mining camps that use mercury, aiming to disrupt logistics and supply lines. Peru recently seized a record 4 tons of smuggled mercury. Ecuador, Suriname and Guyana have filed action plans to cut mercury use in small-scale gold mining.

    The dolphin testing operation relies on José “Mariano” Rangel, a charismatic former fisherman from Venezuela. He leads the charge when it’s time to haul the animals — which can weigh as much as 160 kilograms (about 353 pounds) — into the small boats. It’s a moment that can end with a stinging blow to the jaw as the dolphins thrash to break free.

    “The most difficult part of the captures is enclosing the dolphins,” Rangel said.

    A portable ultrasound machine scans lungs, heart and other vital organs for disease. The team checks for respiratory problems, internal injuries and signs of reproduction, photograph the animals’ skin and scars, swab blowholes and genital openings for bacterial cultures, and collect tissue for mercury testing. Microchips are implanted so researchers can identify each animal and avoid duplicating tests.

    Omacha has recorded antimicrobial resistance — bacteria that can’t be killed by common medicines — and respiratory problems. They have also identified possible emerging diseases, such as papilloma virus, that could pose risks to both dolphins and humans.

    After a long morning hauling and testing dolphins, the scientists return to a laboratory in Puerto Narino that’s covered with posters of dolphins and manatees and the bones and skulls of dolphins and other animals. They test some samples, prepare others to send to larger facilities and end their day repairing nets and refilling kits to do it all again at dawn.

    For Trujillo, each capture, scan and blood test is part of a larger fight.

    “We are one step away from being critically endangered and then extinct,” Trujillo said.

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    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Animal rescuers try to keep dozens of dolphins away from Cape Cod shallows after mass stranding

    Animal rescuers try to keep dozens of dolphins away from Cape Cod shallows after mass stranding

    WELLFLEET, Mass. — Animal rescuers were trying to keep dozens of dolphins away from shallow waters around Cape Cod on Saturday after 125 of the creatures stranded themselves a day earlier.

    Teams in Massachusetts found one group of 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins swimming in a dangerously shallow area at dawn on Saturday, and managed to herd them out into deeper water, said the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

    Scouts also found a second group of 25 dolphins swimming close to the shore near Eastham, the organization said, with herding efforts there ongoing as the tide dropped throughout the morning.

    Ten dolphins died during the stranding Friday at The Gut — or Great Island — in Wellfleet, at the Herring River.

    The organization said it was the largest mass-stranding it had dealt with on the Cape during its 26-year history in the area. The Gut is the site of frequent strandings, which experts believe is due in part to its hook-like shape and extreme tidal fluctuations.

    Misty Niemeyer, the organization’s stranding coordinator, said rescuers faced many challenges Friday including difficult mud conditions and the dolphins being spread out over a large area.

    “It was a 12-hour exhausting response in the unrelenting sun, but the team was able to overcome the various challenges and give the dolphins their best chance at survival,” Niemeyer said in a statement.

    The team started out on foot, herding the creatures into deeper waters and then used three small boats equipped with underwater pingers, according to the organization.

    Those helping with the rescue effort include more than 25 staff from the organization and 100 trained volunteers. The group also had the support of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the Center for Coastal Studies, AmeriCorps of Cape Cod and the New England Aquarium.

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  • Animal rescuers try to keep dozens of dolphins away from Cape Cod shallows after mass stranding

    Animal rescuers try to keep dozens of dolphins away from Cape Cod shallows after mass stranding

    WELLFLEET, Mass. — Animal rescuers were trying to keep dozens of dolphins away from shallow waters around Cape Cod on Saturday after 125 of the creatures stranded themselves a day earlier.

    Teams in Massachusetts found one group of 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins swimming in a dangerously shallow area at dawn on Saturday, and managed to herd them out into deeper water, said the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

    Scouts also found a second group of 25 dolphins swimming close to the shore near Eastham, the organization said, with herding efforts there ongoing as the tide dropped throughout the morning.

    Ten dolphins died during the stranding Friday at The Gut — or Great Island — in Wellfleet, at the Herring River.

    The organization said it was the largest mass-stranding it had dealt with on the Cape during its 26-year history in the area. The Gut is the site of frequent strandings, which experts believe is due in part to its hook-like shape and extreme tidal fluctuations.

    Misty Niemeyer, the organization’s stranding coordinator, said rescuers faced many challenges Friday including difficult mud conditions and the dolphins being spread out over a large area.

    “It was a 12-hour exhausting response in the unrelenting sun, but the team was able to overcome the various challenges and give the dolphins their best chance at survival,” Niemeyer said in a statement.

    The team started out on foot, herding the creatures into deeper waters and then used three small boats equipped with underwater pingers, according to the organization.

    Those helping with the rescue effort include more than 25 staff from the organization and 100 trained volunteers. The group also had the support of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the Center for Coastal Studies, AmeriCorps of Cape Cod and the New England Aquarium.

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  • Greenpeace urges Greece to scrap offshore gas drilling project because of impact on whales, dolphins

    Greenpeace urges Greece to scrap offshore gas drilling project because of impact on whales, dolphins

    ATHENS, Greece — Greenpeace on Thursday urged Greece to abandon a deep-sea gas exploration project in the Mediterranean, citing newly published research to argue that its impact on endangered whales and dolphins would be greater than previously believed.

    The environmental group said a survey last year in waters off southwestern Greece and Crete that are earmarked for exploratory drilling found sea mammals were present there in the winter, as well as the summer, as had been already established.

    The area being explored for gas largely overlaps the Hellenic Trench, which includes the Mediterranean’s deepest waters, at 5,267 meters (17,300 feet). It is a vital habitat for the sea’s few hundred sperm whales, and for other marine mammals already threatened by fishing, collisions with ships and plastic pollution.

    Current environmental safeguards in place for the project limit prospection to the winter, to less impact whale and dolphin, or cetacean, breeding periods.

    But the survey published Thursday in the Endangered Species Research journal found that at least four species of cetaceans — including sperm whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales — were present in the area all year round.

    Kostis Grimanis from Greenpeace Greece said that part of the Mediterranean is of “huge” ecological importance.

    “And yet, the government and oil companies are obsessively pursuing hydrocarbon exploration in these waters,” he said. “This is an absurd crime against nature. It will not only be detrimental to these iconic marine fauna species, but to our fight against the climate crisis,” by seeking to exploit undersea fossil fuels.

    Greenpeace called on the government to cancel all offshore drilling permits.

    In 2019, Greece granted exploration rights for two blocks of seabed south and southwest of the island of Crete to an international energy consortium, and smaller projects are under way farther north. This year, ExxonMobil and Greece’s Helleniq Energy completed a three-month seismic survey of the seabed in the two big blocks, and the Greek government says initial exploratory drilling could start there in 2025.

    Officials say the strictest environmental standards are being followed.

    The seismic survey bounces sonic blasts off the seabed to identify potential gas deposits, a process that would be deafening to sound-sensitive cetaceans. Sonar used by warships has been shown to have deadly effects on whales, and experts say seismic surveys can do the same. Drilling and extracting gas would also cause significant undersea noise, according to environmentalists.

    The new report, by Greenpeace Greece, the University of Exeter and the Athens-based Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, detected at least five species of cetaceans in 166 encounters — including 14 sperm whales — in winter 2022. It followed similar research during summer months.

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  • Greenpeace urges Greece to scrap offshore gas drilling project because of impact on whales, dolphins

    Greenpeace urges Greece to scrap offshore gas drilling project because of impact on whales, dolphins

    ATHENS, Greece — Greenpeace on Thursday urged Greece to abandon a deep-sea gas exploration project in the Mediterranean, citing newly published research to argue that its impact on endangered whales and dolphins would be greater than previously believed.

    The environmental group said a survey last year in waters off southwestern Greece and Crete that are earmarked for exploratory drilling found sea mammals were present there in the winter, as well as the summer, as had been already established.

    The area being explored for gas largely overlaps the Hellenic Trench, which includes the Mediterranean’s deepest waters, at 5,267 meters (17,300 feet). It is a vital habitat for the sea’s few hundred sperm whales, and for other marine mammals already threatened by fishing, collisions with ships and plastic pollution.

    Current environmental safeguards in place for the project limit prospection to the winter, to less impact whale and dolphin, or cetacean, breeding periods.

    But the survey published Thursday in the Endangered Species Research journal found that at least four species of cetaceans — including sperm whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales — were present in the area all year round.

    Kostis Grimanis from Greenpeace Greece said that part of the Mediterranean is of “huge” ecological importance.

    “And yet, the government and oil companies are obsessively pursuing hydrocarbon exploration in these waters,” he said. “This is an absurd crime against nature. It will not only be detrimental to these iconic marine fauna species, but to our fight against the climate crisis,” by seeking to exploit undersea fossil fuels.

    Greenpeace called on the government to cancel all offshore drilling permits.

    In 2019, Greece granted exploration rights for two blocks of seabed south and southwest of the island of Crete to an international energy consortium, and smaller projects are under way farther north. This year, ExxonMobil and Greece’s Helleniq Energy completed a three-month seismic survey of the seabed in the two big blocks, and the Greek government says initial exploratory drilling could start there in 2025.

    Officials say the strictest environmental standards are being followed.

    The seismic survey bounces sonic blasts off the seabed to identify potential gas deposits, a process that would be deafening to sound-sensitive cetaceans. Sonar used by warships has been shown to have deadly effects on whales, and experts say seismic surveys can do the same. Drilling and extracting gas would also cause significant undersea noise, according to environmentalists.

    The new report, by Greenpeace Greece, the University of Exeter and the Athens-based Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, detected at least five species of cetaceans in 166 encounters — including 14 sperm whales — in winter 2022. It followed similar research during summer months.

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  • More than 100 dolphins found dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar

    More than 100 dolphins found dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar

    SAO PAULO — More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say.

    The Mamiraua Institute, a research group of Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, said two more dead dolphins were found Monday in the region around Tefe Lake, which is key for mammals and fish in the area. Video provided by the institute showed vultures picking at the dolphin carcasses beached on the lakeside. Thousands of fish have also died, local media reported.

    Experts believe high water temperatures are the most likely cause of the deaths in the lakes in the region. Temperatures since last week have exceeded 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Tefe Lake region.

    The Brazilian government’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, which manages conservation areas, said last week it had sent teams of veterinarians and aquatic mammal experts to investigate the deaths.

    There had been some 1,400 river dolphins in Tefe Lake, said Miriam Marmontel, a researcher from the Mamiraua Institute.

    “In one week we have already lost around 120 animals between the two of them, which could represent 5% to 10% of the population,” said Marmontel.

    Workers have recovered carcasses of dolphins since last week in a region where dry rivers have impacted impoverished riverside communities and stuck their boats in the sand. Amazonas Gov. Wilson Lima on Friday declared a state of emergency due to the drought.

    Nicson Marreira, mayor of Tefe, a city of 60,000 residents. said his government was unable to deliver food directly to some isolated communities because the rivers are dry.

    Ayan Fleischmann, the Geospatial coordinator at the Mamirauá Institute, said the drought has had a major impact on the riverside communities in the Amazon region.

    “Many communities are becoming isolated, without access to good quality water, without access to the river, which is their main means of transportation,” he said.

    Fleischmann said water temperatures rose from 32 C (89 F) on Friday to almost 38 C (100 F) on Sunday.

    He said they are still determining the cause of the dolphin deaths but that the high temperature remains the main candidate.

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  • Dolphin moms use baby talk to call to their young, recordings show

    Dolphin moms use baby talk to call to their young, recordings show

    WASHINGTON — You know instantly when someone is speaking to an infant or small child. It turns out that dolphin mothers also use a kind of high-pitched baby talk.

    A study published Monday found that female bottlenose dolphins change their tone when addressing their calves. Researchers recorded the signature whistles of 19 mother dolphins in Florida, when accompanied by their young offspring and when swimming alone or with other adults.

    The dolphin signature whistle is a unique and important signal — akin to calling out their own name.

    “They use these whistles to keep track of each other. They’re periodically saying, ‘I’m here, I’m here’,” said study co-author Laela Sayigh, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine biologist in Massachusetts.

    When directing the signal to their calves, the mother’s whistle pitch is higher and her pitch range is greater than usual, according to the study published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    “That was true for every one of the moms in the study, all 19 of them,” said biologist Peter Tyack, a study co-author from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

    Obtaining this data was no simple feat. Over more than three decades, scientists placed special microphones multiple times on the same wild dolphin mothers in Florida’s Sarasota Bay to record their signature whistles. That included years when they had calves and when they didn’t — dolphin calves stay with their mothers for an average of three years in Sarasota, and sometimes longer. Fathers don’t play a prolonged role in parenting.

    “This is unprecedented, absolutely fantastic data,” said Mauricio Cantor, an Oregon State University marine biologist who was not involved in the study. “This study is the result of so much research effort.”

    Why people, dolphins or other creatures use baby talk isn’t certain, but scientists believe it may help offspring learn to pronounce novel sounds. Research dating back to the 1980s suggests that human infants may pay more attention to speech with a greater pitch range. Female rhesus monkeys may alter their calls to attract and hold offspring’s attention. And Zebra finches elevate their pitch and slow down their songs to address chicks, perhaps making it easier to learn birdsong.

    For the dolphin study, the researchers focused solely on the signature call, so they don’t know if dolphins also use baby talk for other exchanges — or whether it helps their offspring learn to “talk” as it seems to do with humans.

    “It would make sense if there are similar adaptations in bottlenose dolphins — a long lived, highly acoustic species,” where calves must learn to vocalize many sounds to communicate, said Frants Jensen, a behavioral ecologist at Denmark’s Aarhus University and a study co-author.

    Another possible reason for using specific pitches is to catch the kids’ attention.

    “It’s really important for a calf to know ‘Oh, Mom is talking to me now’ __ versus just announcing her presence to someone else,” added Janet Mann, a marine biologist at Georgetown University, who was not involved in the study.

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    Follow Christina Larson on Twitter at: @larsonchristina

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

    A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

    ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. theme park chain SeaWorld, mired in controversy in recent years over its treatment of killer whales and other marine mammals, has opened a massive new aquatic life park in the United Arab Emirates, its first outside the United States.

    The $1.2 billion venture with state-owned developer Miral features the world’s largest aquarium and a cylindrical LED screen. There are no orcas here, but the park houses animals like dolphins and seals, whose captivity and training for profit and entertainment purposes are also often criticized as unethical by animal rights advocacy groups.

    The new facility, which opened to visitors last month, gives the Orlando, Florida-based company a foothold in a fast-growing international tourism destination and the opportunity to continue its rebranding after years of criticism and allegations of animal cruelty.

    SeaWorld and Miral declined multiple interview requests from The Associated Press. They also did not answer written questions or grant AP journalists access to the park.

    Scrutiny of SeaWorld reached a crescendo following the release of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.” The documentary focused on the life of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca that killed trainer Dawn Brancheau when he dragged her into a pool at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010. The film implied that orcas become more aggressive in captivity.

    The film caused visitor numbers to plummet across SeaWorld’s three parks in the United States. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. later agreed to pay $65 million to settle a lawsuit in which it was accused of misleading investors over the impact the documentary was having on its bottom line.

    In the face of mounting criticism, SeaWorld halted its orca breeding program and live performances featuring the whales in 2016. That same year, it announced plans to build a park without orcas in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

    The company’s promotional materials say it is committed to rescuing and rehabilitating animals, and that a full-time staff of veterinarians ensures they are well cared for. Last year, its Orlando theme park opened a facility to care for Florida manatees that were dying from starvation in their natural habitat. The company says it has raised $17 million to support hundreds of research and conservation projects around the globe.

    “By leveraging a fundamental SeaWorld design principle of putting animal well-being and care at the core of the design, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is set to redefine the standards of excellence for marine life theme parks across the world,” the company’s chairman, Scott Ross, said in a statement.

    The park is certified by the international brand of American Humane, which is behind the end-credit certifications that no animals were harmed in the making of films. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, widely seen as the gold standard for humane certifications, has certified SeaWorld’s U.S. facilities, but the Abu Dhabi park has not submitted an application for accreditation, according to Jennifer DiNenna, director of accreditation at the AZA.

    Steps taken since the “Blackfish” controversy have yet to silence some of SeaWorld’s critics.

    “SeaWorld is part of an industry built on the suffering of intelligent, social beings who are denied everything that’s natural and important to them,” said Jason Baker, senior vice president of international campaigns at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

    “In nature, dolphins live in large, complex social groups and swim vast distances every day. In captivity, they can only swim in endless circles inside tanks that, to them, are the equivalent of bathtubs.”

    During a scheduled inspection of SeaWorld Orlando last December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the company for animal welfare violations after discovering a dolphin “actively bleeding” from “many deep rake marks,” and excessive chlorine levels in the dolphin tanks.

    There have been no reports of abuse at the newly opened Abu Dhabi park which did not answer questions about its treatment of dolphins.

    “In the wild, if there is aggression between two animals, they can simply swim away into the open ocean,” said John Jett, a former orca trainer at SeaWorld Orlando who spoke out against it in “Blackfish.” “But in captivity, the animals are trapped, and what you find is dolphin-on-dolphin aggression that is manifested quite often in broken teeth and rakes up and down their bodies.”

    At the same time, he says, such animals would be poor candidates for being released into the wild, as most are born in captivity and rely on humans to survive. Plans to release Lolita, a killer whale held captive at the Miami Seaquarium for more than a half-century, have raised fears among some of her former caregivers that she might not survive the ordeal.

    For the United Arab Emirates, home to the futuristic city of Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the arrival of SeaWorld adds yet another major tourist attraction.

    The partnership with Miral brings SeaWorld into a larger plan to transform Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island into a theme park hub to rival Orlando. The island already boasts a Formula 1 circuit, a water park and a Warner Bros. theme park, and celebrities like Kevin Hart and Jason Momoa have been enlisted to promote it.

    “It’s a form of non-oil diversification and soft power,” said Christopher Davidson, a former professor of Middle East politics at Durham University in Britain. “Association with big brands like this serves as a ready-made import to the UAE and will automatically translate into increased tourist numbers.”

    SeaWorld pays homage to Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage with a themed “realm” of traditional houses and sailboats evoking a simpler time before the discovery of oil, when the sparsely populated emirates largely relied on fishing and pearl-diving.

    An in-house research facility will study aquatic life in the Persian Gulf and support the conservation of local species, including the manatee-like endangered dugong.

    Jett, the former orca trainer, acknowledges that companies like SeaWorld have a role to play in conservation, saying they’ve done “really good work” on animal rescue and rehabilitation.

    “I wish they would focus more of their energy, expertise, and finances on taking a lead role in moving global policy and helping animals in the wild, rather than figuring out ways to keep them alive in captivity,” he said.

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  • Hawaii authorities say 33 swimmers were harassing dolphins

    Hawaii authorities say 33 swimmers were harassing dolphins

    Hawaii authorities say they have referred 33 people to U.S. law enforcement after the group allegedly harassed a pod of wild dolphins in waters off the Big Island

    ByAUDREY McAVOY Associated Press

    HONOLULU — Hawaii authorities on Tuesday say they have referred 33 people to U.S. law enforcement after the group allegedly harassed a pod of wild dolphins in waters off the Big Island.

    It’s against federal law to swim within 50 yards (45 meters) of spinner dolphins in Hawaii’s nearshore waters. The prohibition went into effect in 2021 amid concerns that so many tourists were swimming with dolphins that the nocturnal animals weren’t getting the rest they need during the day to be able to forage for food at night.

    The rule applies to areas within 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) of the Hawaiian Islands and in designated waters surrounded by the islands of Lanai, Maui and Kahoolawe.

    The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release that its enforcement officers came upon the 33 swimmers in Honaunau Bay on Sunday during a routine patrol.

    Aerial footage shot by drone shows snorkelers following dolphins as they swim away. The department said its video and photos showed swimmers “who appear to be aggressively pursuing, corralling and harassing the pod.”

    Enforcement officers contacted the group while they were in the water, and told them about the violation. Uniformed officers met the swimmers on land where state and federal officials launched a joint investigation.

    Hawaii’s spinner dolphins feast on fish and small crustaceans that surface from the ocean’s depths at night. When the sun rises, they head for shallow bays to hide from tiger sharks and other predators.

    To the untrained eye, the dolphins appear to be awake during the day because they’re swimming.

    But because they sleep by resting half of their brains and keeping the other half awake to surface and breathe, they may be sleeping even when they’re maneuvering through the water.

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  • Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas

    Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas

    WASHINGTON — For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas — nearly half the planet’s surface — concluding two weeks of talks in New York.

    The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force in 1994, before marine biodiversity was a well-established concept.

    An updated framework to protect marine life in the regions outside national boundary waters, known as the high seas, had been in discussions for more than 20 years, but previous efforts to reach an agreement had repeatedly stalled. The unified agreement treaty was reached late Saturday.

    “We only really have two major global commons — the atmosphere and the oceans,” said Georgetown marine biologist Rebecca Helm. While the oceans may draw less attention, “protecting this half of earth’s surface is absolutely critical to the health of our planet.”

    Now that long-awaited treaty text has been finalized, Nichola Clark, an oceans expert at the Pew Charitable Trusts who observed the talks in New York, said, “This is a once in a generation opportunity to protect the oceans — a major win for biodiversity.”

    The treaty will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas. And Clark said that’s critical to achieve the U.N. Biodiversity Conference’s recent pledge to protect 30% of the planet’s waters, as well as its land, for conservation.

    The treaty also establishes ground rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in the oceans.

    “It means all activities planned for the high seas need to be looked at, though not all will go through a full assessment,” said Jessica Battle, an oceans governance expert at the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

    Many marine species — including dolphins, whales, sea turtles and many fish — make long annual migrations, crossing national borders and the high seas. Efforts to protect them — and human communities that rely on fishing or tourism related to marine life — have previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws.

    “This treaty will help to knit together the different regional treaties to be able to address threats and concerns across species’ ranges,” said Battle.

    That protection also helps coastal biodiversity and economies, said Gladys Martínez de Lemos, executive director of the nonprofit Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense focusing on environmental issues across Latin America.

    “Governments have taken an important step that strengthens the legal protection of two-thirds of the ocean and with it marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal communities,” she said.

    The question now is how well the ambitious treaty will be implemented.

    The high seas have long suffered exploitation due to commercial fishing and mining, as well as pollution from chemicals and plastics. The new agreement is about “acknowledging that the ocean is not a limitless resource, and it requires global cooperation to use the ocean sustainably,” said Malin Pinsky, a biologist at Rutgers University.

    ___

    Follow Larson on Twitter at @larsonchristina and Whittle at @pxwhittle

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Hasty Pudding celebrates Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

    Hasty Pudding celebrates Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dressed up as a dolphin and forced to give someone a lightning-fast makeover, “The White Lotus” actress Jennifer Coolidge was roasted Saturday before being honored as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

    As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.”

    Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series “The White Lotus,” headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a leopard print coat and donning a fluffy pink hat, she waved to the crowd that had come out despite unusually frigid temperatures.

    Coolidge, who also played Stifler’s sultry mom in the film “American Pie” and sage manicurist Paulette in the “Legally Blonde” movies, grew up in the Boston area. Her other film credits include roles in “Best In Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “Shotgun Wedding,” and she has appeared in multiple television shows, including “Seinfeld,” “2 Broke Girls” and “Nip/Tuck.”

    “It’s been very fun. I’m really having a blast,” said Coolidge before she was presented with her Pudding Pot award. ”I got to meet all these young students who are so much smarter than me.”

    Coolidge later got emotional, recalling how her late father who went to Harvard would have loved to have witnessed this moment.

    “I’ve been so blown away that this experience is happening. I never saw it coming. It blows away any sort of movie or television show I have ever done,” she said. “Seriously, my dad went here. I wish he was here. His brothers went here and everything so it’s a big deal.”

    Producers roasted Coolidge with several zingers about her career, including at one point suggesting they wondered whether she was chosen only after Reese Witherspoon dropped out. They went on to poke fun at her lack of serious roles and noted how she left Boston for New York where she made a splash “as an incompetent cocktail waitress.”

    “Patrons raved at your unpredictable movement patterns and your quote haunting rendition of happy birthday,” one of the producers, Sarah Mann, joked. Fellow producer Aidan Golub then noted how she waitressed with Sandra Bullock, “marking the first and last time that you would get the chance to work with an Oscar winner.”

    Coolidge was then made to judge a contest of four people doing impressions of her, choosing a man dressed in a pink dress who uttered the words from an iconic scene she did in “Legally Blonde.” And after noting how Coolidge recently said her dream role was to play a dolphin, producers dressed her in a dolphin outfit and asked her to sing in the style of a dolphin.

    She made a series of dolphin-like squeaks before shooting a water pistol at two people dressed as menacing sting rays — a scene similar to the one in second season of “White Lotus” where she guns down several people on a boat. “These rays are trying to murder me,” she said.

    Previous winners of the Woman of the Year Award include Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Debbie Reynolds.

    On Thursday, award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk was honored as the 2023 Man of the Year. Odenkirk, best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” received his Pudding Pot award at the celebratory roast ahead of a preview of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 174th production, “COSMIC RELIEF!”

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  • Hasty Pudding celebrates Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

    Hasty Pudding celebrates Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dressed up as a dolphin and forced to give someone a lightning-fast makeover, “The White Lotus” actress Jennifer Coolidge was roasted Saturday before being honored as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

    As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.”

    Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series “The White Lotus,” headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a leopard print coat and donning a fluffy pink hat, she waved to the crowd that had come out despite unusually frigid temperatures.

    Coolidge, who also played Stifler’s sultry mom in the film “American Pie” and sage manicurist Paulette in the “Legally Blonde” movies, grew up in the Boston area. Her other film credits include roles in “Best In Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “Shotgun Wedding,” and she has appeared in multiple television shows, including “Seinfeld,” “2 Broke Girls” and “Nip/Tuck.”

    “It’s been very fun. I’m really having a blast,” said Coolidge before she was presented with her Pudding Pot award. ”I got to meet all these young students who are so much smarter than me.”

    Coolidge later got emotional, recalling how her late father who went to Harvard would have loved to have witnessed this moment.

    “I’ve been so blown away that this experience is happening. I never saw it coming. It blows away any sort of movie or television show I have ever done,” she said. “Seriously, my dad went here. I wish he was here. His brothers went here and everything so it’s a big deal.”

    Producers roasted Coolidge with several zingers about her career, including at one point suggesting they wondered whether she was chosen only after Reese Witherspoon dropped out. They went on to poke fun at her lack of serious roles and noted how she left Boston for New York where she made a splash “as an incompetent cocktail waitress.”

    “Patrons raved at your unpredictable movement patterns and your quote haunting rendition of happy birthday,” one of the producers, Sarah Mann, joked. Fellow producer Aidan Golub then noted how she waitressed with Sandra Bullock, “marking the first and last time that you would get the chance to work with an Oscar winner.”

    Coolidge was then made to judge a contest of four people doing impressions of her, choosing a man dressed in a pink dress who uttered the words from an iconic scene she did in “Legally Blonde.” And after noting how Coolidge recently said her dream role was to play a dolphin, producers dressed her in a dolphin outfit and asked her to sing in the style of a dolphin.

    She made a series of dolphin-like squeaks before shooting a water pistol at two people dressed as menacing sting rays — a scene similar to the one in second season of “White Lotus” where she guns down several people on a boat. “These rays are trying to murder me,” she said.

    Previous winners of the Woman of the Year Award include Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Debbie Reynolds.

    On Thursday, award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk was honored as the 2023 Man of the Year. Odenkirk, best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” received his Pudding Pot award at the celebratory roast ahead of a preview of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 174th production, “COSMIC RELIEF!”

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  • Deaths of 3 endangered Cambodian dolphins raise alarm

    Deaths of 3 endangered Cambodian dolphins raise alarm

    PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Three endangered freshwater dolphins have died within 10 days of each other, alarming conservationists in Cambodia.

    The death of a third healthy dolphin in such a brief period indicates “an increasingly alarming situation and the need for an intensive law enforcement be urgently conducted in the dolphin habitats,” the World Wildlife Fund said in an announcement Monday.

    The latest Irrawaddy dolphin death — believed to have stemmed from entanglement in an illegal fishing line — spotlighted the need for law enforcement to help save the species, also known as the Mekong River dolphin, according to the statement.

    The WWF said the body of a healthy female dolphin estimated to be between 7 and 10 years old was found floating in the river Saturday in the eastern province of Kratie. It said an examination of its carcass suggested that the dolphin, 196 centimeters (6 1/2 feet) long and 93 kilograms (205 pounds), had been hooked and wrapped in a tangle of fishing line.

    Seng Teak, WWF Cambodia director, said in the statement that without immediate action “the recent increase in illegal fishing activities in the dolphin conservation areas” would destroy the Mekong River dolphin population in Cambodia.

    The statement advocated stepping up day and night patrols to protect the remaining dolphins in conservation areas.

    The first census of Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodia in 1997 estimated their total population was about 200. In 2020, the population was estimated to have fallen to 89.

    WWF said 11 dolphins have died in 2022, bringing the total number of deaths to 29 in the past three years.

    The Irrawaddy dolphin is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Other groups of these dolphins are found in two other freshwater rivers: Myanmar’s Irrawaddy and Indonesia’s Mahakam on the island of Borneo.

    In February, Cambodian wildlife officials announced the death of the last known Irrawaddy dolphin in a population on a stretch of the Mekong River further upstream, which appeared to be caused by entanglement in a fishing net.

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