Page 12 - the NOISE June 2016

THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH
DOLPHINS IN THE DESERT?
By cINdy cOLE
Animal rights activists have been mobilizing both local Arizonans and concerned citizens from around the world to try and block the development of a new attraction in Scottsdale. Dolphinaris, a Mexican company that operates several “swim with the dolphins” theme parks in its home country, is attempting to enter the US market with a new complex just outside the Phoenix suburb.
The company operates under its parent Ventura Entertainment and runs five“dolphinariums” in Mexico where visitors can swim with and ride on captive dolphins for a fee. The venue is slated to open this summer but protests have been taking place at the construction site and an online petition has collected more than 135,000 signatures demanding that Dolphinaris be stopped. To boot, the location of the property is on the Salt River Indian Reservation, officials of which have been hush-hush regarding the plans.
From the days of early humans right up to modern times, mankind has been fascinated with the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans have hunted wild animals, domesticated them and bred them to suit our needs and fancies. And as the human population has grown and we further encroach on the last remaining vestiges of wild acres and open waters, our desperate attempts to understand and interact with the animals that roam our lands and swim beneath our seas often result in deadly encounters where the victims may be us ... or them.
In some societies, it was an indication of royal blood and high social standing and possibly political and/or religious power. The Old Testament of the Bible indicates that King Solomon kept lions, apes, peacocks and horses to name a few. In the story of Noah’s Ark, pairs of animals were deemed more valuable to preserve than the wicked humans of the time.
Alexander the Great, who was a pupil of Aristotle, sent animals he came across during his military expeditions back to ancient Greece to be studied. His contributions resulted in what was probably the first instance of a collection of animals being put on public display for charged admission. The Greeks domesticated wild geese and ducks and put them on display. Public interest in viewing the curious peafowl was so strong that people came from miles away. Ancient Greece also saw the creation and rise in popularity of travelling animal shows that included dancing bears and lion tamers.
The Ancient Romans slaughtered thousands of animals in their pursuit of thrill and entertainment. Animals were captured in Europe, Africa and Asia and shipped to Rome to be held for use in arenas. The famous Colosseum was the site of staged hunts, man vs. beast bouts, and even execution by animal. Bestiarii were a special class of Roman warrior trained to take on wild animals such as lions, bears and crocodiles to the delight of spectators.
Hunting shows were staged events where wild herds were let loose in the arena to meet a dismalfateatthehandsofwaitingarchers. Sometimesemperorsparticipatedintheseevents to show their hunting prowess off to the assembled crowds of onlookers. Special arenas were created to mimic forests and hilly terrain and even the public was allowed to enter and hunt exotic animals for sport.
Among the most gruesome of acts at the Colosseum was damnatio ad bestias or execution by wild beast. Restrained prisoners were brought into the arena to be dispatched by animals. The first example of this was a group of army deserters who were ordered to be crushed to death by elephants. These public executions became so popular that the afternoon gladiator contests were often preceded by them.
Animal encounters in Roman arenas were so popular and prolific that many scholars tie the extinction of entire species from native habitats to their import. Hippopotami disappeared from the Nile River basin where they were trapped for this purpose. The European Wild Horse and Eurasian Lynx disappeared from many areas during these times.
In Medieval times, the original royal menageries developed into places where specially made enclosures were created to allow public viewing of kept critters. The infamous Tower of London housed a collection of animals created by King John I in 1204. Subsequent English leaders received gifts of exotic animals that included lions, elephants and even a polar bear.
A symbol of the power and prosperity of England’s royals, the tower became a popular excursion for Londoners who went to see animals they had only heard about in stories. The keepers had little knowledge of these creatures from distant lands and many died shortly after their arrival. But the entertainment factor kept the crowds and the supply of animals coming. Notable among the wild residents of the Tower of London were the polar bear that was on a leash that was long enough for it to fish and swim in the Thames River, a leopard that was
12 • JUNE 2016 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
ILLUSTRATION By JOSE LuIS gONzALEz
known to seize umbrellas from unsuspecting visitors and tear the items to shreds, and a beer- drinking zebra.
In a paper by Lydia Kallipoliti entitled “Evolution of the Zoo,” she says that menageries like the Tower of London “were founded and owned by said aristocrats whose primary intentions were not scientific or educational but rather illustrated their established power and wealth as it required both of those conditions to acquire exotic animals. By the late 17th century, menageries had developed into places where wild animals were kept and trained for the purpose of exhibition. Animals were objectified — collected and displayed in a similar manner to the cabinet of curiosities of Renaissance Europe in which rulers and aristocrats would showcase their personal collections, symbolizing ‘the patron’s control of the world through its indoor, microscopic reproduction.’ This culture of collection established a typology of collecting and displaying artifacts that was highly influential on the way in which animals were handled and observed during this time. This typology was a precursor to the development of the modern zoological garden.”
The oldest zoo still in operation is Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1752. The first African Elephant born in captivity happened there in 1906. The Vienna zoo currently houses more than 700 species of animal and receives more than 2 million visitors a year. In 2002, a jaguar attacked a caretaker during feeding and killed her in front of an audience of zoo visitors.
The National Zoo in Washington, DC was the first US facility that opened for the main purpose of education and conservation. The zoo was created by an Act of Congress in 1889 for “the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people.” The following year it became a part of the Smithsonian Institution. But it wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s that the zoo hired veterinarians to provide better care for the animals and began to take on the conservation of threatened and endangered species and to study their reproductive cycles
through captive breeding.
Zoos and aquariums have made important strides over the decades and on occasion, species
on the brink of extinction have been saved through captive breeding programs that allowed them to be released back into the wild. But many species do not fare so well in captivity and animal activists have amped up efforts over the years to protect these animals and prevent them from being held in unsuitable environments.
In fact, just last month, after 145 years of using elephants for performance, Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus — “The Greatest Show on Earth” — announced that these animals would no longer be part of their shows. “After their final performance,” says the circus’ website,
“all11pachydermsfrombothtravelingshowstravelledsouthtojointherestoftheRinglingBros. herd of 29 elephants at the Feld Family’s Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC), a 200-acre facility in central Florida dedicated to the care and conservation of these critically endangered animals, and home to the largest Asian elephant herd in the Western Hemisphere.” But even that facility has been criticized as keepers continue the use of bull hooks and leg shackles to control the elephants.
Several zoos have also closed their elephant exhibits under pressure from animal rights groups and a growing acknowledgment that elephants are hard to handle in captivity and can become deadly in an instant. In 1994, Tyke — a 20 year old African Elephant weighing around 8000 pounds — went on a rampage while performing with Circus International in Honolulu, Hawaii. Tyke began by attacking her groomer and then killed her trainer as he tried to help, all in front of a horrified audience of circus goers. Tyke stormed out of the arena injuring a third man who tried to keep her from coming through the parking lot gate. The elephant took her rampage onto the streets of Honolulu where she ran unfettered for more than 30 minutes. Police hailed her with 86 bullets and she finally collapsed and died from injuries.
Awareness about the problems of captivity for cetaceans (whales and dolphins) grew beginning in 1993 with the release of the Hollywood blockbuster Free Willy. The movie starred Keiko, a captive orca from the Reino Aventura amusement park in Mexico City. In the movie, a young boy develops a relationship with the performing whale and eventually secures the animal’s release back into the ocean. In real life, the movie sparked a movement to have Keiko reintroduced to the wild but the venture didn’t quite go as planned. After moving him to an Oregon aquarium to improve his health and then flying him to Iceland for release, Keiko eventually died in a bay in Norway of pneumonia in 2003.
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