Wen Wen, a male dolphin that is around 10 years old, died suddenly less than an hour into landing during its 3-hour flight from the Philippines, during enroute to Singapore Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
I love dolphin since young. A few years ago during a diving trip, I managed to spot some dolphins & that made my day! So when I read about this news, I couldn't help but feeling sad & sorry for the unfortunate Wen Wen.
Almost immediately, Louis Ng, founder of ACRES (animal welfare group) stood out to protest, and re-emphasize in a statement to RWS "to rehabilitate and release the remaining surviving dolphins back into the Solomon Islands waters". In fact, on 2nd December, 6pm, a candlelight memorial will be held at the Speakers' Corner to ensure that the tragic loss of the dolphins is not forgotten, and remind people about the plight of the 24 surviving dolphins and the need to do all we possibly can to spare them from the same fate," he said.
As much as I love dolphins, do I think that the whole situation was paid too much attention by both the activists & the media? Well, I do think so, especially with the recent donation of pandas from China to our Singapore Zoological Gardens. Has there been any protests thus far for bringing the pandas into our Zoo? Well, as much as the pandas are also kept in captivity, yet no one has ever protested and demanded for their release into the nature.
My youngest girl, Enya, loves elephants. On a recent trip to the zoo, we were able to get up close and personal with the elephants & even paid a token to feed them. She first learn about elephants through the nursery songs that her older sister, Charis, loves to sing. So when she finally got to see the elephants so up close and personal, she was so delighted! Will such an experience cultivate her love for the elephants even more? I definitely believe so. Not only will it create a deeper impression on her, but she is likely to be more interested in finding out everything about elephants.
My elder girl, Charis, also loves dolphin. She it was introduced to them through the documentaries broadcast on discovery channel. However, I would love to bring her to Marine Life Park to watch them in person, because I believe that watching something onscreen and in real life is a total different experience. It is a good opportunity for them to learn about nature and conservation.
I believe a lot of the activist groups are protesting because RWS is a profit-making organisation, whilst the Zoo is not. But when I saw the rates charged by RWS for the Marine Life Park, I do not think that the purpose of opening the marine park or bringing the dolphins into the park was solely for profit. The admission rates are just slightly higher that what the Zoo charges for admission. Being one of the largest aquariums in the world, I do think that the admission rates are reasonable given the high cost of maintenance of such a large aquarium. Thus I do agree that besides profit, the park is also looking into conservation and education.
"A leader in marine education, conservation and research, Marine Life Park™ also offers a wide range of fun and engaging programmes designed to deepen your understanding of the oceans and their ecosystems." This statement was shown on the main page of the Marine Life Park website.
Activist groups, isn't that what you would like to see being achieved? Please note that RWS has not paid any token to me nor am I speaking out for the organisation. Instead, as a dolphin lover, I would love to see our fellow Singaporeans and tourists given an opportunity to discover more about nature, and hopefully fall in love with them, and thus, developing interests, education, and conservation, through such up close and personel experiences with the marine life. Instead of spending furtile efforts on protesting RWS' import of the dolphins, I would advise that the time & resources be spent on working hand in hand with RWS to educate the public on marine education.
