1989-01-31
12:55 ESB GS
JOSEAN PARK
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852 5 868 4679 P.05
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This agreement between Ocean Park and Kamogawa Sea World has been approved by the Japanese Government for the reasons of education and research. In so doing, the Japanese Government, being a member of International Whaling Commission and CITES themselves, must have abided by the regulations set down by relevant International ruling bodies before granting permission to import four killer whales into Japan from Iceland, and subsequently to re-export one male killer whale to Hong Kong. capture of these four killer whales in Iceland had been undertaken with full knowledge and approval from the International Whaling Commission after careful census
study.
The
Our current killer whale has been kept at the Park without a mate for nearly 10 years. Her health condition has always been good and she is now considered physically mature. There is an urgency now to find her a mate, so her psychological (behavioural) and physiological maturation may be completed.
Visitors to Ocean Park have continued to increase and attendance to Ocean Park in 1987/88 totalled 1.49 million; and this is attributed in a great part to the educational value of our oceanarium facilities. Time and again, our educational Marine Mammal Programme at the Ocean Theatre
If we has been voted most popular in our market research. fail to import a second killer whale to maintain, strengthen and diversify our programme, it would have a significant adverse impact on the continued growth in attendance to the Park.
Aside from our intention of importing a secunu killer whale to strengthen and expand our Public Educat201 Programme, specially designed and intended for the p of Hong Kong, it is also indispensable to our Marine Breeding Programme.
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While our existing breeding programme is mainly directed at bottlenose dolphins and false killer whales, the outcome and techniques will be directly applicable to killer whales which is the target species in the Cetacean Breeding Programme at Ocean Park. Our breeding programme under the guidance of Dr. Pete Schroeder of Hawain, who is a world leading expert in dolphin artificial breeding, and under the supervision of our veterinary consultants, Dr. Derek Chow and Dr. Jay Sweeney, have since resulted in two confirmed pregnancies in our bottlenose dolphins. Research on artificial insemination in dolphins is being
Meanwhile, planned and will begin in the coming year.
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reproductive database are being accumulated on false killer whales and killer whales. We have no doubt that these research efforts will be directly contributory and beneficial towards the conservation of these species in the long term.
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