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baiji in the Yangtse River. We have all had delegations from China 

 visiting us to learn about the technology. 



So, we cannot say that we do not learn, that animals are in un- 

 natural conditions and we cannot apply it. We can apply this work, 

 and as I say, the work we learned allowed the New England 

 Aquarium to rescue and release three pilot whales. 



Again, I would ask Mike to comment on this topic, if you do not 

 mind. 



Dr. HUTCHINS. I think. Senator, that whether or not research on 

 captive animals is going to be beneficial really depends upon what 

 it is you want to learn and what it is you want to study. 



For instance, it would not make any sense to study the ranging 

 patterns or the feeding activities of animals in captivity, because 

 it is quite different from what it is in the wild. However, there are 

 other aspects of the biology that change very little in captivity — ^for 

 instance, the birth patterns, the gestation length, the growth of 

 young animals, and the female reproductive cycle. In fact, if it was 

 not for captive studies we would know absolutely nothing about a 

 number of these phenomena. 



To give you an example, female killer whales in captivity can be 

 trained to voluntarily submit for routine blood samples. These are 

 collected on a daily basis in order to monitor the hormonal cycles 

 of the females. That is the only reason that we know now what the 

 estrous cycle of female killer whales is. 



That would have been impossible to do in the wild, or if it had 

 been done in the wild certainly would have been inhumane, be- 

 cause it would have involved capture procedures which would have 

 been very difficult with wild animals. 



So, I think it is very important to realize that these opportunities 

 are rather unique that are being presented in the zoo or aquarium 

 environment. 



Dr. Rose. Mr. Chairman, can I address some of these issues? 



Senator Kerry. Please. 



Dr. Rose. I would like to start way back, when Dr. McBain men- 

 tioned that the DeMasters and Drevenek study which was pub- 

 lished in 1988. 



That study did not have access to a study that has since been 

 published in 1990 by the International Whaling Commission, and 

 the research was conducted by representatives from the Depart- 

 ment of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada, and this study was of a 

 wild population ranging from Puget Sound up to southeast Alaska, 

 and there are approximately 280— upward of 360 animals total. 



There is a separate population that makes that number fluc- 

 tuate. The resident animals, there are about 280 of them, and 

 these animals have been followed for the last 20 years using the 

 photo ID technique that was mentioned by Dr. Hofman. 



That technique has allowed us to follow individuals in that popu- 

 lation for the last 20 years, and all of the individuals in this popu- 

 lation are known, which is extremely rare. You do not usually get 

 that. You get 10 percent, perhaps, of a population being known, but 

 because the population is small and because of this extremely accu- 

 rate photo ID method we have been able to follow those animals. 



According to those data, the annual mortality rate of these ani- 

 mals for females is only 1.1 percent, and I have the study right 



