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9-day-old dolphin dies mid-performance at a water park
People claim that the poor animal was overworked.
Rozzette Cabrera
09.10.19

Dolphins are considered one of the smartest creatures in the world. With highly developed brains and a brain-to-body weight ratio that goes second to humans, they are capable of social interactions, solving problems, and forming social groups. Their intelligence is one good reason why dolphins are often trained to perform in front of people.

Although intelligent, dolphins aren’t supposed to be performers and one show in Bulgaria served as proof to that.

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In Varna Dolphinarium, a baby dolphin died in the middle of a performance. The poor animal was just nine days old when it happened.

The people there noticed a disturbance and the dolphins just stopped doing their tricks. Everyone was quickly rushed out of the venue with assistance from the staff.

Although what caused the baby dolphin’s death wasn’t clear, most people were pointing their fingers at one thing- the dolphinarium.

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They believed that the baby dolphin died out of exhaustion. It was allegedly overworked and its poor and fragile body wasn’t able to keep up with the stress of training and performing. They considered the park as torturers.

Going a couple of years back, about five dolphins and one seal died in the resort. Experts considered the death count as far more than the average.

It could mean that the conditions where the animals are being kept aren’t meeting their needs. They are clearly struggling and not surviving in their environment.

Furthermore, dolphins at that age aren’t supposed to be performing.

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This is because of the fact that dolphins who are born in captivity only have about 50% to 75% chance of dying within their first year.

If they continue to live in captivity, they are set to have shorter lifespans than dolphins living in the wild.

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One reason for that is their diet. In captivity, dolphins are generally fed a strict diet which may not have the protein they are supposed to consume naturally. Plus, they aren’t able to form a really strong social structure. They are separated from family as well as potential friends.

Living in an enclosed area can also affect their lifespan. They aren’t able to explore and do what dolphins are supposed to do.

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Because of what happened to the poor baby dolphin, a petition was started to have the dolphinarium closed. It was able to get thousands of signature.

Animals dying while performing tricks for people aren’t uncommon.

In fact, the death of a baby elephant made headlines, too. The distressed animal was forced to rave to entertain the tourists in a Thai zoo. In the middle of the performance, both of its back legs snapped. It took three days before it was taken to the hospital to receive proper treatment.

Within a week, the animal died. It was just so heartbreaking.

Just like what happened after the baby dolphin’s death, a petition was also started to close down the zoo. Within a week, it garnered more than 200,000 signatures from outraged people.

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