Category Archives: marine parks

The Dolphin Death Pool has Returned.

‘Free the Mojave Dolphins’ is my personal passion project. I photograph, video, organize, and do whatever I can to help these animals here at the Mirage, and I have been doing so since 2013. I have held many protests and events related to this cause over the years. I have held many demonstrations on the strip in front of the Mirage casino, providing literature and brochures to the public, and educating them about the conditions of the animals. I have also had a billboard-style truck driving around the strip with an educational message displayed as well. I even brought Ric O’Barry from the Dolphin Project to lead one of these demonstrations with us, tour the Mirage facility first hand and speak to the executive director of animal care. Occasionally, other animal groups in town and I collaborate on events to educate the public about the plight of the Mojave Dolphins. We are trying to plan a protest for November 5th ‘Freedom Matters: Protest captivity at the Mirage Las Vegas!

The Mirage Dolphin Habitat is known amongst the animal rights community as the “Dolphin Death Pool” due to the high percentage of dolphin deaths that were reported in the late 90s and early 00s. I am appalled that the Mirage seems to be reverting back to these former standards of care. The nickname applies to the facility now more than ever with three deaths occurring in the last 6 months alone. The dolphins that are dying are dying at a much younger age than they should. Dolphins in the wild generally live to be 30-50 years old but the dolphins at the Mirage are dying closer to age 10-20 years. I am absolutely appalled that Mirage has lost 3 dolphins this year. It is inexcusable. What is going on in the Mirage’s backyard? Is there something in the water?

Below are just a few of the examples of sub-optimal conditions I have witnessed myself while touring the facility which leads me to believe that the habitat and its caretakers are not doing enough to care for these animals properly.

• Animal Welfare Act regulations state under 9CFR Section 3.103(b) Facilities, Outdoor, Shelter: Natural or artificial shelter which is appropriate for the species concerned, when local climatic conditions are taken into consideration, shall be provided for all marine mammals kept outdoors to afford them protection from the weather or from direct sunlight.
The shade that appears around the pools are various times of day is just simply not enough for these animals. The habitat installed “shade structures” but these were more for the guests, not the animals. Blasko himself admitted that the surrounding trees and buildings *MAY* cast shadows on the pool, depending on the time of day. (View the pool layout here)

• I have documented contaminants within the dolphin pool itself, such as chicken nuggets and a piece of chewing gum. It did not seem that the staff was making any reasonable effort to clean them up as they remained for me to document them, and I had to alert the staff to their presence in the pools. I can only imagine what contaminants the dolphins are able to ingest before the staff is able to notice. It is very easy to throw things into the pool.

• The dolphins at the Mirage were suffering from a form of dolphin pox for many years back at the beginning of the 2010s. Maverick had the worst case of it (RIP) and he became the face of my campaign. Many guests would point out the pox and the trainers would deflect the issue and say that nothing was wrong with the animals. It turned out the solution was something as simple as raising the water temperature. This, to me, proves that the Mirage is not on top of water chemistry within the facility and they should be giving the water chemistry a much greater focus now. It should NOT have taken 4 years to find out the solution, and the inspections of the facility through APHIS never noted this.

I have documented the different behavioral issues the dolphins display on the website such as gate chewing, swimming in circles, and displays of aggression. Scroll down on this page to see the evidence.

I also just learned that there is a two-toed sloth accounted for on the APHIS inspection logs. What is the Mirage doing with this animal? Given their history of caring for dolphins, especially these last few weeks, I worry the sloth is going to receive less than optimal care.

Dolphins have been suffering at the hands of this hotel since 1989. There is no place for this archaic form of entertainment in what is supposed to be the entertainment capital of the world. We should be innovating, not holding onto the past. Hard Rock needs to close down this facility once and for all.


Seaside Sanctuary for Baltimore Dolphins

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is going to be the first dolphinarium in North America to build their dolphins a seaside sanctuary.

The team behind this project is still scouting for the perfect location, and needs to consider:

  • The environmental appropriateness of a site (natural stimuli, exemplary water quality, a fitting climate, etc.)
  • Community interest in the sanctuary
  • Potential for high levels of environmental protection and ability to achieve proper permitting
  • Workforce-related considerations (housing, livability, family, and healthcare, etc.)
Empty the Tanks 2016, National Aquarium

When you engage in a conversation about anti-captivity with an individual who isn’t familiar with the subject matter, their response is usually somewhere along the lines of “How will the dolphins survive in an ocean? You can’t just drop them and forget about them.”

Even though the new sanctuary will not be ready for a few more years, the National Aquarium is already working diligently with their dolphins, preparing them to be transitioned to living in the ocean.

A dolphin plays in the tank before a training session. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)

Each dolphin is being treated as an individual, and a customized plan is in place for each of the seven dolphins. The National Aquarium is also beginning to teach the dolphins how to use a stretcher and to relax in shallow waters with trainers surrounding them so they will be less stressed during transport. Algae has been introduced into the tanks to provide a more natural setting, and to help the dolphins learn to adapt to their new environmentally-rich home. New toys will be introduced to their regimen to allow for problem-solving skills to develop.

Dolphin captivity has been a failed experiment that has gone on far too long. Cetaceans do not thrive in captive swimming pools. This is the very thing that activists are begging other facilities to do.

We urge The Mirage to be industry leaders in this new ground-breaking research on cetaceans and follow the National Aquarium by sending the 10 Mojave Dolphins to a seaside sanctuary.

Empty the Tanks 2017, National Aquarium

Coco and the Corporate Shill

During Spring of 2017, I started to receive reports that at least one of the dolphins at the Mirage was pregnant.

 

On July 17th 2017, local news reported that Huf-N-Puf gave birth to a female dolphin calf at the Mirage. The father was Lightning. This is their third calf together. Her siblings are Bella (born 2008) and Miramar (born 2011). The name was released to the public in September 2017; “Coco”. She is being kept with Huf, Duchess, and Bella in the birthing and research pool. This is the large pool in the rear.

Back Tank “Birthing and Research Pool” April 2014

Coco was named after MGM’s employee philosophy which is “One Company, One Culture”. This is the same company that keeps her and the rest of the Mojave pod confined under extreme temperatures with absolutely no escape from the sun. The foliage around the pools provides very little shade, and only during certain times of the day. Las Vegas had nearly 60 days this summer where we reached at least 105f or higher. In the wild, dolphins have the ability to swim deep beneath the surface, protecting their skin from being sunburned. Dolphins at the Mirage spend the majority of their time lagging at the surface, chewing at the gates, and waiting for food.

Coco’s life will be no different than the rest of the animals here in Las Vegas. She will spend her days swimming around the tiny pool with artificial coral awhile tourists point and smile at how “cute and happy” she must be because they can see the rather unfortunate way her anatomy forms her mouth. Overtime she may pick up one or more stereotypical behaviors of captive dolphins; waiting at the gates, biting the gates, or beaching herself.

You can call MGM corporate at 1-(702)-891-1844 directly to tell them you will boycott until they shut down the dolphin exhibit. You can also contact the Mirage Hotel to voice your concerns at 1-(702)-791-7111.

Join us in October as we protest outside of the Mirage Hotel for ALL animals held within their backyard. October 21st 10am-12pm. Freedom Matters: Protest captivity at the Mirage Las Vegas!

 


Seaworld’s “Beetle” Dolphin Dies in Casino Swimming Pool

In a press statement from MGM, a 12-year old bottlenose dolphin named Beetle died on Oct. 27 of unknown causes. Beetle was the 13th dolphin to die at The Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Historically, this facility has had 22 dolphins — now with a 59 percent mortality rate and an average age of death of 10-years old. Wild dolphins can live to be 50 years or more, concluding that this facility, even with up-to-date filtration systems and temperature-controlled water, restaurant-quality frozen dead fish and a full-time vet, the dolphins in Las Vegas are dying 30 years younger in their captive environment in the desert.

Beetle came to The Mirage in 2010 from SeaWorld Orlando on a long-term breeding loan. Though he never fathered any offspring, The Habitat emphasized in September they would begin breeding all the sexually-mature males. Beetle made news in Orlando for biting a child.

Beetle has been documented on multiple occasions by Free The Mojave Dolphins and Martyn Stewart logging motionless at the gates, chewing on the gates and piping and being aggressive toward other male dolphins.

Because of this behavior, the facility put a plastic kayak in front of the gate to deter Beetle from chewing. The kayak has been chewed as well.

Photo by Terran Baylor
Photo by Terran Baylor

Beetle was also used as one of the main dolphins in the “Paint with a Dolphin Program” where patrons pay to have a dolphin paint on a piece of canvas.

beetle15

Beetle was mainly kept in one of the three pools at the Mirage with minimal shade to find refuge in under the sun. Though there is a shade regulation under the Animal Welfare Act ( § 3.127 Facilities, outdoor.(a) Shelter from sunlight. When sunlight is likely to cause overheating or discomfort of the animals, sufficient shade by natural or artificial means shall be provided to allow all animals kept outdoors to protect themselves from direct sunlight.), there have been multiple APHIS inspections, pressure from the community for constructing a structure, and even a verbal commitment from MGM to begin building in Spring 2015. No such structure was ever built.

We would like to make sure Beetle is not replaced by another dolphin. We would like for all breeding to end at The Mirage and to ban any additional importing of dolphins. Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project is currently working on a dolphin sanctuary in Mexico where these dolphins have an open invitation to retire too.

You can call MGM corporate at 1-(702)-891-1844 directly to tell them you will boycott them until they shut down the dolphin exhibit. You can also contact the Dolphin Habitat to voice your concerns at 1-(702)-791-7111, 1-(702)-791-7588, 1-(702)-792-7889

Please also sign the petitions.

RIP Beetle. You are free to roam the skies now and no gate will ever keep you from freedom again.


Beetle Tweetsheets

#AskSeaworld Campaign

#AskSeaworld @SeaWorld If you care about your animals, why did you dump your “problem” dolphin out in the desert? pic.twitter.com/sQ7gvDGChY

(click here to send tweet)

Seaworld

#AskSeaworld @SeaWorld if you provide the best care, why are your animals in the desert w/o shade? #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/NBbTbbaS66

(click here to send tweet)

Seaworld2

#AskSeaworld Hey @SeaWorld, how do you feel about Beetle dying @TheMirageLV at the young age of 12? #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/9ahmgDyh2P

(click here to send tweet)

Seaworld3

#AskSeaworld @SeaWorld why did you send dolphins from each of your parks to pools in the desert without shade? pic.twitter.com/diOjuWT0kq

(click here to send tweet)

Seaworld4

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Dyrdek and the Desert Dolphins

ROB2Over the weekend of October 17th-18th 2015, Rob Dyrdek uploaded a photo of what appears to be a private gathering at the Mirage Casino Dolphin Habitat after hours. While activsts were out standing out on the strip, educating the tourists about the horrors of dolphin captivity, Rob was gushing about the attire of his guests and the “pod” of dolphins swimming in a small pool in the Mojave desert.

These ten dolphins do not get any relief from extreme temperatures in the summer time. The UV rays burn their skin just like humans. Three of these dolphins belong to SeaWorld, who placed them in the desert hoping they would produce several offspring to further the captive gene pool. These dolphins are subjected to chewing gum in the pools, leaky tanks, left in a beached position for several minutes for photos, and gated away from their family members.

We have noticed during the last 12 months that Viacom (the company that owns many television networks such as Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, LOGO, and Spike) has had several of their network stars directly promoting the dolphin habitat through their social media postings and indirectly through their promotional bookings and showings at the Terry Fator theater inside of the Mirage casino.

ROBFLYERWhile we understand that Rob and Bryiana Noelle Flores were recently married, and we are in no way trying to take away from their special day, we DO want to stress the importance of educating celebrities who choose to boast about such experiences while the animals are left to suffer. Rob and Bryiana are in a very fortunate place in life that has given them a platform to reach hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

We urge Bryiana and Rob to watch documentaries such as “Blackfish” and “The Cove”, research the effects of captivity on cetaceans, and ask themselves if they really believe that sentient mammals such as dolphins belong in barren swimming pools, hundreds of miles from the ocean in the middle of the driest desert in the country. We ask that they speak to fellow celebrities such as Steve-o (who also received popularity thanks to MTV) and Joe Rogan and listen to their opinion on why they have joined the crusade against cetaceans in captivity.

 

Rob Dyrdek Bryiana Noelle
  1. .@robdyrdek #MojaveDolphins are SUFFERING at Mirage. Here are some facts to help you learn. Plz dont promote them pic.twitter.com/J20Dxj0ECG (Tweet)
  2. .@robdyrdek #MojaveDolphins should not be kept in desert swimming pools. Talk to @steveo about why this is wrong! pic.twitter.com/Br1w9GPqaY (Tweet)
  3. .@robdyrdek Exploiting #MojaveDolphins is not entertaining, funny OR cool. Please consider helping the 10 dolphins pic.twitter.com/jDvYTL1CVM (Tweet)
(If we see her Twitter come back online, we will design some tweet sheets to Bryiana. Stay tuned and be on the look out! In the mean time, feel free to leave polite, information comments on her facebook and instagram pages)

ROB