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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMiami Seaquarium is transferring its animals to different locations, including a traveling sea lion show.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMiami Seaquarium is transferring its animals to different locations, including a traveling sea lion show.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Photo by Gustavo Caballero\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Now that the Miami Seaquarium is closed for good<\/a>, the owner of the shuttered marine park<\/a> plans to transfer the\u00a0surviving animals<\/a>\u00a0to various aquariums, zoos, and former caretakers.<\/p>\n The Mexico-based Dolphin Company, which recently sold its Virginia Key waterfront lease to local developer David Martin for $22.5 million, revealed in a bankruptcy filing last month that it intends to relocate the animals to zoos, aquariums, and wildlife centers in states including Washington, Indiana, Virginia, and Kansas. Additionally, a new filing on December 1 now reveals that the Dolphin Company also plans to transfer animals to three individuals, two of whom once worked at the Miami Seaquarium. <\/p>\n Miami Seaquarium, which first opened in 1955, shut its doors last month after years of controversy and troubling reports of animal safety violations. Last year, Miami-Dade County terminated the facility\u2019s lease on the publicly owned site, citing the \u201clong and troubling history\u201d of animal welfare violations and marine mammal deaths. A bankruptcy judge later approved a $22.5 million sale to Martin\u2019s development firm, Terra Group, which plans to transform the 38-acre site into a waterfront dining village<\/a> featuring a marine public baywalk and an aquarium (sans marine mammals). The Miami-Dade commission is set to vote on the lease transfer terms next month.<\/p>\n As the park\u2019s owner prepared to relocate the animals following the marine park\u2019s closure, animal rights activists and former Miami Seaquarium trainers urged the Dolphin Company to pause the relocation, assess the health of the surviving animals, and develop a plan to move them to sanctuaries or release them back into the ocean. Two bottlenose dolphins have died at the marine park<\/a> in the last three months. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSupport local news on #GivingNewsDay\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tToday is #GivingTuesday. We in the news business like to think of it as #GivingNewsDay. We\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to this community. If you value our work, we hope you\u2019ll consider making a contribution to our newsroom today.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2018We urge you to please evaluate all remaining animals for possible release, and for those who cannot be released to go to reputable sanctuaries where they can have some semblance of a natural life,\u201d Tracy Reiman, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wrote in an October 9 letter to the Dolphin Company. \u201cSome of these captives were taken from their natural homes and may be able to be safely returned to them.<\/p>\n The bankruptcy judge still has to approve the transfer of the assets \u2014 in other words, the animals. According to the two court filings, the Dolphin Company plans to send the surviving animals to the following locations:<\/p>\n Brookfield Zoo Chicago<\/p>\n The Dolphin Company wants to transfer ownership of a 22-year-old bottlenose dolphin named Noelani to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois for $10,000. The filing notes that the female dolphin is already at the facility as part of a previous loan agreement<\/p>\n Nova Wild<\/p>\n The filing states that the Dolphin Company wants to transfer 27 American flamingos to the Nova Wild zoo in Reston, Virginia. <\/p>\n Tanganyika Wildlife Park<\/p>\n The Miami Seaquarium owner proposes sending 11 African penguins to the Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas.<\/p>\n Seattle Aquarium<\/p>\n The Dolphin Company is looking to transfer a 12-year-old male harbor seal to the Seattle Aquarium. <\/p>\n Zoo Miami<\/p>\n The Dolphin Company hopes to send two Argentine black and white tegu, a bearded dragon, a blue-tongued skink (a non-venomous lizard), a ball python, and one uromastyx (a spiny-tailed lizard) to Miami-Dade\u2019s Zoo Miami.<\/p>\n Dolphin Life<\/p>\n The Dolphin Company proposal includes transferring Zo, a 19-year-old male bottlenose dolphin; Aries, a 23-year-old male bottlenose dolphin; Ripley, a 32-year-old male bottlenose dolphin; and Onyx, a 26-year-old male bottlenose dolphin, to the dolphin rescue center, Dolphin Life, in Key Largo.<\/p>\n Dolphin Research Center<\/p>\n The Miami Seaquarium owner plans to transfer two dolphins, three harbor seals, and two sea lions to the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key in the Florida Keys. The dolphins are Samantha and JJ. The two sea lions are named Raleigh and Clyde, and the three seals are Baby, Ace, and Cane.<\/p>\n Sea Lion Splash<\/p>\n