Page 5 - Gateways 2018 Spring

SRPOOSOEANTBEILLS Perspective

By Stuart D. Strahl, Ph.D.
President & CEO

Along time ago, zoos and aquariums
existed only to wow people with the thrill
of proximity to exotic creatures. (Remember
that this was long before such things could be found
on YouTube.) Fortunately, times have changed. In this
more enlightened era, the emphasis is not only on
engaging guests but more so on benefiting the
animals. For North American institutions accredited
by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, animal
welfare is now a top priority.

In particular, cetaceans—also known as dolphins, porpoises, and whales—
hold an intense fascination for zoo and aquarium guests. They want to
know how these animals can live a happy life in professional care. (Though,
researchers don’t apply the word “happy” to animals because happiness is not
a quantifiable characteristic.) Facilities that hold cetaceans are committed to
understanding these animals’ welfare and doing so in a scientifically rigorous way.

That effort has expanded exponentially with a grant we recently received
from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to study cetacean welfare
across 44 institutions around the world. (You can read about the study on
page 30.) Our qualifications are sound and longstanding. In 1960, we became
the first inland facility in the United States to showcase bottlenose dolphins,
and since then, we have established ourselves as leaders in care thanks to
our dolphin program here at Brookfield Zoo and in Sarasota, Florida.

While large in partnerships, this project is narrow in scope, addressing just
a few very important questions that are common within the cetacean care
community. We want to know how bottlenose dolphins here and at other
facilities—along with beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins—are
impacted by three parameters: their physical environment, the tools and
techniques that enrich their days, and the training they receive from their
care specialists. These parameters are correlated with three standards of
measurement: their activity and movement, their behaviors, and their health.

We know that the results of this multiyear study will be accurate because
the methods are animal-based. In other words, the animals’ behaviors and
health conditions are factual. Furthermore, the enormity of the sample size
will ensure that the answers we seek about cetacean care will be thorough.

The scientific community sees cetaceans in zoos and aquariums as critical
tools for understanding marine mammals’ mental, physical, and social health.
It is no surprise that the cetacean-holding community is uniting in this
important effort.

BROOKFIELD ZOO | SPRING 2018 5