Duchess was captured in September 1981 at the age of six in the Gulf of Mexico, off Texas, according to Cetabase, a database that tracks cetaceans worldwide. Over the next nine years, she was moved between eight different aquarium facilities.
Captive dolphin on display at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. USA,
2012. Credit:
Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media
The bottlenose dolphin who had been living at the hotel venue for over 30 years, has passed away, bringing attention to the ongoing debate about the ethics of keeping marine mammals in captivity.
A dolphin kept at a Las Vegas Strip hotel has died, bringing the
total number of dolphin deaths at the resort to four in under a
year.
Officials at the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat confirmed that a
48-year-old bottlenose dolphin named Duchess passed away last month.
Duchess was captured in September 1981 at the age of six in the Gulf
of Mexico, off Texas, according to Cetabase, a database that tracks
cetaceans worldwide. Over the next nine years, she was moved between
eight different aquarium facilities.
In 1990, she and five other dolphins were transferred to the Mirage,
where they became the first marine animals to feature in the hotel’s
Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat exhibit.
Her death brings the total number of dolphins to die at the Mirage
to 17.
The cause of her death is suspected to be kidney disease. Meanwhile,
Bella, a 13-year-old dolphin died of acute pancreatitis in April.
Four and a half months later, Maverick, a 19-year-old dolphin died
in September, after prolonged treatment for a lung infection. Weeks
later at the end of September, K2, an 11-year-old male also passed.
Their captive conditions may also have also contributed to their
deaths. Animal welfare experts have strongly criticized the three
concrete tanks in which the marine animals were confined, citing
their small size, shallow depth, and lack of shade as major
concerns. These conditions have exposed the animals to the extreme
weather conditions of the Nevada desert, leaving them vulnerable to
the scorching sun.
A dolphin at the Mirage Secret Garden and Habitat [closed
November 2022]. Credit:
Mojave Dolphins
The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) says on its website
that dolphins in captivity suffer from stress and boredom which
appears to weaken their immune system, causing stomach problems and
infections that often lead to premature deaths.
The International Dolphin and Animal Rights (IDA) organization has
ranked the Mirage facility as one of the top ten worst tanks for
dolphins and whales in North America. IDA has reported that the
dolphins at the facility exhibit behaviors that suggest chronic
stress, including gnawing on metal gates and lying still for long
periods of time near the gates.
The average life expectancy for dolphins in captivity is around 28
to 29 years, according to the international organization Alliance of
Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums’ website. Meanwhile, in the wild
dolphins can live to age 65, state the IMMP.
The Mirage’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat permanently shut down
in November 2022 after the death of K2.
Hard Rock International purchased the Mirage in December for $1.1
billion, with local grassroots activist group Free the Mojave
Dolphins, The Dolphin Project, and other advocacy organizations
calling on the company to relocate the surviving dolphins to “proper
retirement facilities, where the mammals can rehabilitate and lives
out their lives in peace and dignity”.