Conservationists Campaign for Morgan the Orca's Release Back into the Wild

by Annie Hartnett · 2010-12-16 06:32:00 UTC
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If there are two things I love, it's celebrity marriages and baby killer whales. So while I'm absolutely devastated over Scarlett Johasson's and Ryan Reynolds' announcement to split, it's a small comfort to me that their documentary The Whale, about an orca calf named Luna, is still on track to be released in 2011.

But now I'm worried about the release of another juvenile orca, a whale named Morgan. The female orca was found stranded in Dutch waters last June, and has since been cared for by the Harderwijk Dolfinarium. The Free Morgan Group, a group of conservationists, hoped that the Harderwijk Dolfinarium would be "environmental heroes" and return Morgan to the wild after her rehabilitation.

But this week, the Harderwijk Dolfinarium announced that they do not plan to release the wild orca, even though Morgan has been given a clean bill of health. The Free Morgan Group is extremely disappointed with this news, stating that the choice to keep Morgan in "a concrete tank for the rest of its life" is detrimental to the animal’s health and well-being. Wild orcas have a higher life expectancy than those kept in captivity, and can live up to 90 years. Many captive whales die before they reach 30 years old.

Morgan has proved to be a major moneymaker for the dolphinarium. Morgan was viewable to the public from August until October, until the park closed for the winter.

The park claims they are choosing not to release Morgan because it would be "impossible" to locate her pod. But the Free Morgan Group believes that Morgan may belong to a Norwegian population of orcas, based on her distinct vocalizations, although they admit that more information is required before her pod can be confirmed.

The Harderwijk Dolfinarium declined to address the The Free Morgan Group's release plan in their announcement this week. The plan was drafted by whale experts, and would be conducted in several stages. The first step would be to move Morgan to a semi-natural site in the Netherlands in order to provide Morgan a much larger enclosure in a sea-water environment. Morgan would have a better chance to engage in natural behavior, and better prepare her for a possible return to the ocean. The Free Morgan Group's release plan is endorsed by a slew of organizations, including the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Morgan hasn't gotten all that much media attention in the States, so it seems to me that Morgan needs a celebrity spokesperson. The Free Morgan Group is co-directed by Suzanne Chisholm, producer and co-director of The Whale, so perhaps she can get Ryan Reynolds to sign on. I'm sure he could use some positive press right now.

Sign our petition to ask the dolphinarium to release Morgan the orca back into the wild, where she belongs.

Photo Credit: rojer

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.

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