AR-News: (US FL) Sickness and death can plague marine mammals at parks

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Sun Sentinel.com
By Sally Kestin 
Staff Writer 
Posted May 17 2004 


A pregnant sea lion at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., 
jumped to her death into an empty pool four years ago as workers cleaned the 
exhibit.

The chlorine level in tanks at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium last year was 
so high that dolphins couldn't fully open their eyes and their skin peeled off.

Blisters developed on the eyes of a sea lion kept in a pool that didn't have 
enough shade at the North Carolina Zoological Park.

Despite veterinary medical advances and decades of trial and error, marine 
mammals in parks, aquariums and zoos have continued to get sick and die from 
such seemingly preventable causes as accidents, contaminated water and 
stress-related ulcers, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found. They've eaten 
key chains, sunglasses and rocks. They've died while being treated for common 
ear and teeth infections.

Maria, a bottlenose dolphin caught off Florida in 1984, spent the rest of her 
life until 2000 on display and performing at the West Edmonton Mall in 
Canada. She died after swallowing coins thrown into her tank, said mall spokesman 
Martin Schuldhaus.

"It's not uncommon,'' he said. "It's happened at a number of places, 
unfortunately.''

Rocky, an 8-year-old sea lion at the zoological park in Asheboro, N.C. 
"almost made a complete recovery'' from a 1994 root canal but died 11 hours later, 
according to a death report the zoo provided to the newspaper. "We have no 
clear explanation for this animal's unexplained postoperative death.''




full story: 
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-dolphins-conditionsdec
31,0,6222916.story?coll=sfla-news-front 



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    "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those 
rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of
tyranny. - Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832 
The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" 
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