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Surge Desk

Viral Video: Okinawa Dolphin Leaps From Tank

Jul 12, 2010 – 1:00 PM
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Steven Hoffer

Steven Hoffer Contributor

(July 12) -- Visitors to Japan's Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium got their money's worth last week when they witnessed a female dolphin named Kuru take a valiant leap over the edge of a viewing tank during a performance. The spectacle was captured on camera by an American tourist who forwarded the footage to Ric O'Barry, a former trainer for the "Flipper" television series who now makes his living by setting captive animals free. O'Barry then sent the video to The Associated Press.




Since the footage surfaced, the dolphin's intent has become a subject of debate. O'Barry says that by leaping out of the tank, Kuru expressed nothing short of a plea for help.

"The habitat of that false killer whale is so unnatural it leaped out in desperation," he told the AP. "It wanted to end it. Why does a person jump out of a building? ... It proves that captivity doesn't work. They are free-ranging creatures with a very large brain. They're self-aware, and putting them in a small tank in a stadium setting is abusive."

Conversely, Hideshi Teruya, head of the Churaumi dolphin section, is calling the incident an accident. "It was playing around and jumped out by accident from the momentum," Teruya told the AP. Teruya explained that the tank is maintained in accordance with general aquarium standards, a set of protocols that O'Barry believes are insufficient.
Filed under: Weird News, Surge Desk
 

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