We will understand only what we are taught

I’m Mando! Let’s talk about animals! Aquatic animal veterinarian Zoo, aquatic, & wildlife medicine Dolphin doctor | Lover of all creatures

[orcinus-veterinarius]

‘Free Willy’ Reboot in the Works at Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. is developing a reimaging of the '90s family adventure "Free Willy," produced by Anthony and Joe Russo's AGBO.

Because another film portraying a captive whale being released into the wild as if that’s something that can feasibly happen in real life is just what we need right now.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Joint statements from SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, and Mystic Aquarium released today (8 July 2026) confirm that the 30 belugas stranded at the shuttered Marineland Canada theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario will find new homes at 5 different AZA-accredited institutions.

28 of the whales will be divided amongst SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, Shedd Aquarium, and Georgia Aquarium. The remaining two will journey to L’Oceanogràfic in València, Spain, which famously rescued two belugas from an imperiled aquarium in Ukraine last year. Mystic Aquarium will aid in the transport but will not receive any belugas themselves. SeaWorld Orlando will also not be receiving whales at this time.

CITES permits have been issued for the American transfers, and NOAA has issued authorization for the US-based facilities to receive the whales. Final health clearances must be approved by Canadian veterinarians before transports can commence. Upon the departure of these whales, as well as four Black Sea dolphins also on site, no cetaceans will remain in human care in Canada.

Below is the official statement from the Honorable Joanne Thompson, the Canadian Minister of Fisheries.

This is amazing news. These animals, previously facing euthanasia, will find new homes at highly regulated facilities with the experience and resources to provide for them.

Godspeed, water marshmallows!

Resources: Social media statements were issued by SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, and Mystic Aquarium. Additional information can be found on Shedd and Georgia's websites here, here, and here, as well as the video below.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

PETA when they can’t endorse The Sheep Detectives because it contains positive depictions of wool farming

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hi! I've been checking out a lot of your posts about anthropomorphism and how bad it is, and then I came across a post discussing having to put down (i.e. euthanize) pets, and I began to wonder: Do you see the old "Rainbow Bridge" story (https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm) as an example of anthropomorphism? While I personally don't think it is, I do think it seems unnecessarily dog-centric.

It is anthropomorphism, but I don’t think it’s the harmful kind. The idea that their pet is going to a wonderful place where they will be happy and not suffer any longer may help some people make the difficult decision to euthanize. I know this poem brought me a lot of comfort when I was younger and lost my childhood dog (personally I still can’t read it without crying).

For those who may be unfamiliar:

[orcinus-veterinarius]

I finally have my first zoo pass. Indy zoo member baby!

Very cool! Congrats!

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Indy zoo they can never make me hate you

I love Indy Zoo! Definitely the most unique dolphin underwater viewing.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hey Mando! Been a while. Recently, there has been a lot of conversation about Planet Zoo 2. Specifically, Frontier Dev's response about cetaceans in captivity and what that means for the game. "Whilst we know dolphins, whales and porpoises are popular species in the natural world, it is important to us that all animals represented in Planet Zoo 2 have environments that best reflect their requirements. We’re mindful that there is a lot of ongoing research on conservation for cetaceans and how re-wilding programmes for species within this group are handled by modern aquariums. As with a number of other species, we're keeping a close eye on how the conservation community's work evolves in this area." What are your thoughts on this?

Hi Apollo! Hope all is well. So I'm not a gamer, but I know that Planet Zoo is pretty highly regarded, and I believe they actually collaborated with the AZA on designing the game. Which is probably why this answer is a little more diplomatic than I expected.

Honestly though, I imagine keeping cetaceans out of the game is simply to avoid backlash. Ironic, considering you can keep elephants, great apes, large sharks, and other sensitive and complex species in the game. There's also the fact it's... a game. It's pretend. There are no real animals involved. What better way to explore what the ideal zoological cetacean habitat would look like than in a video game where there are no real animals or budgets to worry about? You could even build a sea pen! There have also been numerous recent scientific publications (namely the Cetacean Welfare Project) exploring what aspects of a cetacean's environment are most essential to their welfare. Why not build off of that?

Overall, a predictable but still disappointing and nonsensical move.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

what was your journey to becoming a marine veterinarian?

Hi! I answered a similar question here!

[orcinus-veterinarius]

hi! i’m curious what degree exactly you got to be an aquatic veterinarian? do you get a vet degree and specialize in aquatic animals, or is it something separate?

Hi! Thanks for the question!

Yes, I have a standard vet degree. Since I went to school in the United States, I'm a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). My undergraduate degree is in zoology, although you could technically get whatever degree you wanted as long as you complete the pre-requisite classes for vet school. Most people choose some flavor of biology degree simply because those classes are built into the curriculum.

Like every other vet program, my coursework focused almost exclusively on domestic animals (dogs, cats, and livestock), with the occasional lecture on exotic species. Essentially everything I learned about aquatics and other zoological species, I had to do in addition to my standard coursework. I was very heavily involved in zoo medicine extracurriculars through my school, including extra classes, wet labs, and lots of volunteering. I also did externships at several zoos and aquariums as well as research projects, both before and after graduation. After my first year in practice as a small animal rotating intern, I finally landed a full-time position in aquatic medicine that is essentially an apprenticeship, where I learn on-the-job from very experienced aquatic vets.

That's a quick summary. I talk about it more in depth here. A new update is, just this year, the American College of Zoological Medicine announced that it will be splitting the zoological medicine specialty (which is achieved only after completing a recognized residency program or 6 years of full-time zoological practice, authoring at least 3 first-author publications, and sitting for a massive exam) into 4 distinct sub-specialties. One of those is aquatic animal medicine, and that's what I will be pursuing in the long-term.

[herpsandbirds]

A male cardinal in my backyard giving a bit of food to his mate. Eastern Kansas, US

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

In zoological facilities, controlling reproduction in bottlenose dolphins is essential to ensure animal welfare and appropriate population m

In zoological facilities, controlling reproduction in bottlenose dolphins is essential to ensure animal welfare and appropriate population management. Altrenogest is a synthetic hormone widely used to prevent pregnancy in female dolphins, but information on its long-term effects is still limited. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the impact of prolonged Altrenogest administration in 18 female bottlenose dolphins housed in four zoological parks. Hormonal monitoring, ultrasound examinations of the reproductive system, and behavioral observations were analyzed over several years. The treatment effectively suppressed reproductive behavior and ovulation, as indicated by consistently low progesterone levels. However, dolphins receiving long-term Altrenogest treatment showed a higher occurrence of reproductive disorders, including uterine infections (pyometra) and ovarian follicular cysts, compared with untreated animals. These findings suggest that although Altrenogest is an effective contraceptive method, its prolonged use may increase the risk of reproductive health problems. Careful evaluation of treatment duration and regular clinical monitoring are, therefore, crucial to ensure the long-term health and welfare of dolphins under human care.

And this is why I remain opposed to breeding bans.

Because we still have yet to find a long term birth control for cetaceans that doesn’t cause health issues for them when used long term.

And needing to physically separate animals from each other can also cause social issues and there is reduced flexibility in social management

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hey this blog passed 3,000 followers! Thanks everyone!

[thatwelshartist]

I was looking up facts about Cormorants to find a title for this and found out about the liver bird a mythological creature from liverpool that is literally just a cormorant which I find kinda funny

anyway still think what to call this maybe UKAI

[orcinus-veterinarius]

I don’t think you can comprehend how many marine animals are affected—oftentimes catastrophically—by fishing gear.

Necks and flukes strangled by netting.

Hooks, with prongs designed to embed in flesh, buried in throats and wings.

Webbed feet and flippers dying from lack of circulation after entanglement in fishing line.

STOP IRRESPONSIBLY DISCARDING YOUR FISHING GEAR.

STOP IT.

Also, please do not cut an animal free from gear and immediately release it. Not only is touching a marine mammal, sea turtle, or migratory bird illegal, many of them have injuries that require specialized care, such as medications and surgery. A trained expert is needed to make these assessments.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Heyyy im a professional nerd and im in vet school currently, and i had an opportunity to dissect an indo pacific finless porpoise, so if you could, can you tell me some cool stuff about porpoise anatomy? :)

Hello! I'm so sorry about the very delayed response, I only sporadically check this blog these days. Hope vet school is going well!

So you actually have more hands-on experience with porpoise anatomy than I do, as I have never worked with these guys (living or deceased) before! That must have been a super educational experience.

Unfortunately there are no textbooks (at least that I could find) strictly on porpoise anatomy, but here are a few resources to start with:

Porpoises.org has an amazing research library to delve through, with over 1000 peer-reviewed entries on everything porpoise, including anatomy! Did you know harbor porpoises have a documented directional asymmetry favoring their right pectoral flipper? This could mean they're "right-flippered!"

The Anatomy of Dolphins textbooks by Cozzi, Huggenberger, and Oelschläger are probably your best bet for an in-depth survey of odotocete anatomy, which includes but is not limited to porpoises.

Ridgway and Harrison's Handbook of Marine Mammals is iconic. The original volumes are out of print, but they contain incredible anatomy references for virtually every species of marine mammal, including the porpoises. There is a more up to date version edited by Thomas Jefferson (not to be confused with the third US President).

Finally, for a blast from the past, there's "Phocæna, or, The Anatomy of a Porpess, Dissected at Gresham Colledge: With a Præliminary Discourse Concerning Anatomy, and a Natural History of Animals," originally published in 1680 and one of the first anatomical texts on porpoises! You can read it for free here.

Hope that helps!

[ilikecheddarpopcorn]

if i see one more post calling an orca a whale im gonna pop a blood vessel

orcas are technically dolphins, but are often called "killer whales" bc of their size & bc theyre often called "killer whales". technically all dolphins could be called whales in a very loose & broad way, as theyre in the "toothed whale group", but theyre still technically dolphins

& im sorry if this comes off as condescending or rude, im not trying 2 sound that way, it just annoys me a bit with the mix-up & im trying 2 spread the word of "killer whales arent whales" thing

[anticrapblog]

They’re actually called “Killer Whale” from a mistranslation of Whale Killer.

& this does come off very condescending because it’s also just. Wrong. You contradict yourself by admitting that Dolphins are part of the toothed whale category.

All dolphins are still considered whales. So it is not wrong to claim that an Orca is a type of whale, because it literally is. Yes, they’re the largest dolphin — which is a subcategory of toothed WHALES.

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

Free diving with Pacific bottlenose dolphins living in human care.

Being eye to eye underwater with them was such an incredible experience... I miss this a lot.

(These are not wild dolphins - never reach out and try to touch wild dolphins)