83 



held captive temporarily while animals were selected for removal. There was no doc- 

 umented morality among released animals following their brief captivity, and as far 

 as anyone knows the released animals have all been accepted back into their family 

 groups. Many documentably released whales have had several offspring and a few 

 have had grand-offspring since their release. If the captivity people were seriously 

 worried about rejection of a freed animal they sure didn't show it back when they 

 were catching animals for sale. In the longer term, two killer whales that were held 

 in captivity lor seven months before they were released in 1970 have both survived 

 to 1992, and the female has had three calves since their release. This "family" asso- 

 ciates with the killer whale groups known as "transient" in the Pacific Northwest — 

 they never were part of the "resident" community, but they still come around the 

 "resident territory" and their capture and release site several times per year. Two 

 other killer whales that were held for fifty days in captivity before their release in 

 1976 have also survived and associate with the "transient community. These two 

 whales have been seen several times with the group in which they were captured, 

 so they surely weren't rejected. It is true that no killer whales have been released 

 after more than a decade in captivity and nobody knows how they would fare back 

 in the family, but from what we know of the incredibly strong familial bonds in this 

 species it is a reasonable guess that they would be accepted, not rejected. In related 

 cetacean species, the one Dottlenose dolphin release that we personally know about 

 was following more than seventeen years in captivity in which the adult female dol- 

 phin was fed cut fish and trained to swim with people. Last year he escaped from 

 captivity voluntarily, had apparently not lost her survival skills, and was associat- 

 ing freely with many other dolphins of her species, even serving as "auntie" to a 

 newborn calf within six months after her escape. The folks at Active Environments 

 seem to be speaking from a captivity point of view, not from a natural population 

 point of view. Keiko is not the best candidate for release at this time for a variety 

 of reasons, but the project of getting a whale back with its family is not so dismal 

 as they project. 



Prepared Statement of the American Association of Zoological Parks and 

 Aquariums and the Aluance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums 



We have conducted marine mammal censuses for the marine zoological commu- 

 nity (all marine zoological parks, zoos and aquaria in the United states and Canada 

 which maintain marine mammal species) since 1976. interval censuses were taken 

 in 1976 (Cornell and Asper, 1978), 1979 (Cornell et al., 1982), 1983 (Asper et al., 

 1988) and 1990 (Asper et al., 1990). Since 1990, records have been up-dated continu- 

 ously in conjunction with the establishment of the the Marine Mammal Taxon Advi- 

 sory Group and marine mammal studbooks. 



The principal purpose of the censuses and the continuing databank has been to 

 document the status of marine mammals in captivity in the United States and Can- 

 ada and to provide data on demographic and reproductive trends. All facilities hold- 

 ing marine mammals in the United States and Canada have participated in the cen- 

 suses and have made data available from the inception of their holdings to the 

 present. 



As of the June 1993 census database, there were 1615 marine mammals on dis- 

 play at 117 zoos, aquaria and marine zoological parks in the United States and Can- 

 ada. These numbers represent 10 cetacean species, 13 pinniped species, the sea 

 otter and the West Indian manatee. 



Of the 117 marine mammal species recognized by the U.S. Marine Mammal Com- 

 mission, only 25 species (21 percent) are currently represented in zoological institu- 

 tions. Of these 25 species, only three species are present in any number; 



• Zalophus californianus (the California sea lion) 43 percent of the total inven- 

 tory of marine mammals, 



• Tursiops truncatus (the bottlenose dolphin) 22 percent of the total inventory of 

 marine mammals, and 



• Phoca vitulina (the harbor seal) 16 percent of the total inventory of marine 

 mammals. 



The remaining 22 marine mammal species on display comprise less than 20 per- 

 cent of the total number of marine manunals in zoological holdings. 



At no time in the 17 years of the censuses, have there been large numbers of ma- 

 rine mammals of any species taken from wild populations. Even in the early 1970's 

 when many of the current collections were being established, the numbers of indi- 

 viduals of anv given species which were captured from wild populations per year 

 were extremely Tow, ranging from 0-5 individuals per year for tnose species with low 

 representation in the zoological environment to less than 20 individuals per year for 



