Two orcas die after being captured for entertainment at Russian facility

killer whale been nudging and sinking ships Off the coast of Europe, so if you’re wondering why these highly intelligent marine mammals might have reason to hate us, just look at what happened at a Russian aquarium last week.

Moscow’s Moskvarium has 80 tanks housing more than 12,000 marine mammals, including beluga whales, dolphins and, most recently, three orcas.

on Friday, The agency reports Nord is dead — He was a 16-year-old male orca captured from the wild in 2013. It was the second orca fatality this year, with The Chronicles of Narnia dying in January at the age of 17. In the wild, these animals can live 30 to 90 years.

Of course, there is no actual connection between the two. wild killer whale attack Death on board and in captivity, but given our history of subjugating their species, you can’t blame them for revenge.

‘Heartbreaking’ process of captive Moscow killer whales

Marine mammal activist Oxana Fedorova, who petitioned the Moskvarium to capture three orcas, visited them in 2017 and took a series of photos of their condition. She watches what was once a wild animal forced to perform jumps, stunts and slide out of the water onto platforms.

“It’s heartbreaking. They shouldn’t be caught for entertainment,” she told Yahoo News Australia. “We were trying to find a way to get these animals back into the wild. Less than 10 years later, they were gone.”

Moscow Varim revealed that Nord died of an acute peptic ulcer, while Narnia died of an acute volvulus. “Despite the high competence of the Center’s experts … it has been extremely difficult to bring artificial conditions for large marine mammals close to natural conditions,” it said in a statement.

The aquarium said Nord’s death confirmed its new position that there should be a “total ban on capturing marine mammals for educational and cultural purposes”.

Killer Whale Never Sees the Sun During Captivity in Russia

Internationally renowned orca expert Dr. Ingrid Visser In an interview with Yahoo in Europe after Nord’s death, she said she was “appalled” by the conditions in which Nord and his companions, Narnia and Naya, were being held.

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“All the marine mammals there have been kept indoors. They never see the sun, which must have been torture for all these wild-caught individuals,” she said.

Dr Visser hopes the surviving orca Naja will now be relocated to a sanctuary. “As a result of her captivity, her teeth are now in poor condition, so it is unlikely that she will be released back into the wild.”

Those who capture orcas, confine them and buy tickets to see them should be “ashamed”, she said. “What they’re doing to these magnificent orcas is disgraceful and immoral. It should be illegal everywhere in the world,” she said.

Concerns about other mammals in captivity

The Moskvarium opened with grandeur in 2015 and has been visited by President Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and billionaire investor God Nisanov.

Despite the deaths of two orcas in 2023 and ongoing concerns about animal welfare, the facility continues to promote programs using captured wild marine mammals.There are also dolphins on display It is said to have originated from a bloody hunt in Taiji, Japan.

Wish Florida had solitary captive orcas

Not only does Russia continue to keep orcas in captivity, but there are also orcas in captivity in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. It is believed that confinement of these highly intelligent wild animals can lead to serious physical and mental illness.

Attacks on humans by wild orcas are historically rare and no fatalities have been recorded, but captive orcas have been known to sometimes attack their handlers and other animals. The documentary Blackfish chronicles the story of Tilikum, a large male who was captured in Iceland in 1983 and forced to perform magic tricks in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He is believed to be involved in the deaths of three people. He passed away in 2017.

Since the death of ‘world’s loneliest killer whale’ Kiska on March 9 After 12 years of keeping orcas alone in captivity at MarineLand, Canada, calls are growing for an end to captivity.

On March 30, the Miami Seaquarium was acquired by new owners who committed to signing a binding agreement to relocate its lone killer whale, Lolita, to a marine sanctuary within the next 18 to 24 months. In 1970, she was arrested in the waters off Washington, and for decades was forced to perform in front of tourists.

“We are closer than ever to realizing the dream of returning Lolita to her native waters,” said its chief executive, Eduardo Arbor.

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