Featured Image Credit: Vancouver Aquarium via Facebook
If you read any single piece of news today, it better be this. The Vancouver Aquarium made a major announcement that is the definition of BOLD.
Over the last 50 years, the world renowned aquarium and AZA accredited facility has tirelessly conducted crucial research and conservation work. AND today, the Canada based aquarium revealed the expansion of their beluga whale program.
Not only is this news bold, but also a little bitter sweet. After the tragic loss of Aurora and Qila in 2016, we’re glad to see that the Vancouver Aquarium will continue to make educational strides and continue to protect such a precious species. Beluga whales are some of the most beloved mammals on the planet. From their pure beauty to bubbly personalities, it’s pretty impossible for people not to love them.
Check out the Vancouver Aquarium’s official Facebook announcement:
The VanAqua blog details the facility’s expansion plans, “Today, the Aquarium announced a new 12-year beluga conservation program centered on a small group of non-breeding beluga whales that will be brought back to Vancouver from other institutions to participate in an expanded Marine Mammal Research Program. By the end of 2029, the Aquarium intends to discontinue its display of beluga whales, and this proactive and important on-site conservation research program will come to an end at Vancouver Aquarium.”
No worries, the Vancouver Aquarium will continue to keep their no capture promise. In 1996, they were the first aquarium to commit to no longer capturing cetaceans (whales and dolphins) from the wild. The aquarium’s announcement recalls, “We made that commitment believing we could sustain our cetacean population — and the critical research and rescue work we do — through collaboration, with the addition of calves born to our accredited collaborating institutions, and by providing a home to rescued and non-releasable animals.”
Researching belugas in the Arctic Ocean is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. Thanks to the Vancouver Aquarium, researchers are able to work in a steady environment, which gives them the ability to study challenging topics like behavior. Researchers have been able to apply their studies on captive whales to those in the wild. This groundbreaking work is crucial when it comes to protecting wild whales from the current threat of noise pollution.
The Vancouver Aquarium was opened in 1956 and since they have had over 35 million visitors walk through their doors at Stanley Park. The world renowned facility is dedicated to “effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research and direct action.”
WHALE DONE VANCOUVER AQUARIUM.
Fun fact: Did you know that early whalers nicknamed beluga whales “Sea Canaries,” because of their high-pitched whistles and clicks?
Want to learn more about beautiful beluga whales?