#sumaaqualifeaquarium

[zalophusemib]

I was looking around for any updates on Suma Aqualife Aquarium's upcoming reconstruction, and some of the public comments I saw ranged from poorly informed emotional responses to "Orcinus orca means demon from hell, why would you want to show people a demon?!?!" No lie, lol. From my point of view the new plans for the aquarium sound pretty incredible, so I compiled some facts.

→ The aquarium is going to establish the "Kobe Conservation Breeding Center", specifically for the purpose of promoting scientific research, improving husbandry, and advancing artificial insemination techniques for killer whales!

→ They're committed to cooperation with aquariums across to world to establish captive populations of animals, including although definitely not limited to orcas! This is so important for genetic diversity, scientific/zoological understanding of animals, and conservation, and also stands in line with modern practices to reduce impact of zoological collections on wild populations.

→ Lastly, they'll be creating Orca Lab, an educational area that introduces the public to research done with orcas in the Sea of Okhotsk using the latest in technology to create an engaging experience.

When the new aquarium opens in March 2024, it'll be one of only three orca exhibitors in Japan! It's owned by the company Granvista, which also owns Kamogawa Sea World- they haven't yet decided how many orcas they'll have at opening, but they'll all likely come from Kamogawa.

The third aquarium, in Port of Nagoya, has been monitoring their two youngest orcas for signs of sexual maturity in collaboration with Mie University since 2018, to create a breeding plan and pursue artificial insemination. Kamogawa has also been practicing artificial insemination since 2016 (and might I add, have been performing ultrasounds on their adult orcas throughout 2020! The trainers have looked so happy afterwards, all smiles... innocent speculation 😉)

Japan is becoming a pioneer and forging a way forward for the captive population of orcas!