(CN - HK) Deaths and Injuries at Ocean Park

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South China Morning Post

Deaths spark calls for scrutiny of Ocean Park

by Vivienne Chow

Jan 04, 2009

 

The government should come up with a system to monitor the welfare of

animals at Ocean Park to ensure their proper treatment given the relatively

high number of deaths of animals at the park, which have not been highly

publicised, say critics.

A University of Hong Kong thesis called " Epidemiology of Melioidosis in an

Oceanarium " , by Reimi Kinoshita and published in 2003, states that between

1973 and 2002, 76 pinnipeds, or fin-footed marine mammals, of different

species died at Ocean Park, with more than 20 of them dying between 1990 and

2002.

 

Meanwhile 131 cetaceans, mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises,

died at Ocean Park between 1974 and 2002, with nearly 20 deaths occurring

between 1990 and 2002.

 

The deaths were attributed to various causes and the data was collected

while Mr Kinoshita worked at Ocean Park.

 

An Ocean Park spokeswoman declined to say whether Mr Kinoshita was still an

employee but said the data in the thesis was correct.

 

She said park facilities had been improved a lot, the number of deaths at

Ocean Park was similar to that in the wild, and the deaths had been reported

to the government.

 

But Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society chairman Samuel Hung Ka-yiu said

that although Ocean Park had improved its animal-handling techniques, deaths

were still high compared with parks in the US and Europe.

 

Mr Hung said an independent committee was necessary to oversee Ocean Park's

treatment of animals.

 

" I think the mortality rate is shocking, " he said.

 

" Is the government monitoring Ocean Park closely enough? I'm just worried

that if the government only cares about money and boosting tourism, it might

just allow Ocean Park to do whatever it wants, and that is scary. "

 

Lawmaker Lee Wing-tat of the Democratic Party said Ocean Park should publish

its records relating to deaths.

 

He said the deaths of three Chinese sturgeons within a short time had raised

public concern about the park.

 

" The public has lots of queries about this because they care, and so do we "

in the Legislative Council, said Mr Lee.

 

He said a system should be set up to monitor Ocean Park so that " they can be

more cautious and do better " .

 

Melioidosis is a disease endemic in Southeast Asia caused by the bacillus

Burkholderia pseudomallei, to which many animal species, including humans,

are susceptible.

 

The bacterium is found in soil and water. Its symptoms include acute or

localised infection, acute pulmonary infection, acute bloodstream infection,

and chronic suppurative infection.

 

Mr Kinoshita wrote that the first outbreak of melioidosis in Hong Kong was

mentioned in 1975 when 24 dolphins suddenly died at Ocean Park. The park was

officially opened in 1977.

 

 

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South China Morning Post

Mishaps at Ocean Park show challenges it faces

LEADER

 

Jan 05, 2009

 

In little more than a month, two rare Chinese sturgeon have died and another

two of the remaining seven given as gifts by Beijing have fallen ill, a sea

lion injured a trainer and one of the giant pandas bit a keeper. Together,

the incidents at Ocean Park would appear to be the result of mismanagement.

Individually, though, they are either minor accidents or, as in the case of

the fish, the result of an ongoing research project with a creature that is

difficult to keep in captivity.

Park chief executive Tom Mehrmann put it in a nutshell on Saturday when

expressing sadness about the loss of the third sturgeon since the first of

two batches of five arrived in June: research was a complicated process that

" takes time, genuine effort and expertise " . This is certainly the issue with

the fish, which continue to be a challenge for mainland scientists three

decades after a breeding programme was launched. Chinese sturgeon live in

salt and fresh water and finding the right balance has been at the heart of

efforts to replenish their declining numbers. It would seem to be behind the

latest two deaths at the park; it may also be why mainland researchers are

unsure if their release of thousands of the species bred in captivity into

rivers has had any impact on stocks.

 

Animals, no matter how well adapted to their environment, can behave

unpredictably. Staff working in close proximity to them are well aware of

this; it is one of the hazards of the job. The injuries to keepers in the

recent incidents were only slight.

 

When looked at one by one, these cases of deaths and injuries do not appear

to point towards a breakdown in the systems that are in place. Critics have

pointed to a study about the apparently high mortality rates of animals kept

in Ocean Park. In fact, the study was commissioned by the park with a view

to addressing the problem, and great improvements have since been made in

reducing deaths.

 

We have to be realistic about Ocean Park's challenges of keeping a large

variety and number of creatures in a confined space. It would be wrong to

jump to conclusions that the park is doing anything other than its best.

 

South China Morning Post

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Sea lion trainer says attack was a 'one-off'

by Paggie Leung

Jan 04, 2009

 

The Ocean Park trainer who was injured by a sea lion on Thursday said the

attack was an unavoidable one-off.

The 33-year-old assistant supervisor of marine mammals, surnamed Chan,

resumed work at the park yesterday.

 

" Animals have different characters ... they have moods as well, " Mr Chan

said yesterday.

 

" I think it [the attack] was unavoidable and there was no special reason for

it. It's just an isolated incident, " he said.

 

According to Ocean Park, the 12-year-old female sea lion, Jumanji, grazed

the trainer's left forearm with her teeth on Thursday while the trainer was

talking to it and demonstrating feeding procedures at Pacific Pier.

 

Mr Chan said he had worked with Jumanji since he began work at the park nine

years ago.

 

He said that the attack would not affect his job as a marine mammal trainer

or his work with Jumanji in the future.

 

" She's very smart, " he said, adding that she learned things quickly. " And

she's a good mother with three sea lion babies. "

 

Asked if management or operational problems had contributed to the attack,

Mr Chan said staff followed set procedures in training and feeding animals.

 

Jumanji has been quarantined for a week.

 

South China Morning Post

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Wednesday December 10 2008

Ocean Park probes panda attack on keeper

by Joshua But

 

Ocean Park has launched an investigation into a recent panda attack to find

out how the 22-year-old animal came to injure his keeper.

 

The incident, which took place on November 30, came to light after a visitor

who filmed the moments after the attack posted his 20-second clip on

YouTube.

 

In the footage, the panda is shown rushing back to its den, leaving the

keeper, who was dressed in a green work suit, on the ground with an injured

left leg.

 

The keeper struggled to the door to seek help. She remained in hospital

yesterday and the park said she was recovering.

 

The veteran animal keeper joined Ocean Park in 1993 as an exhibit or

butterfly attendant. She was made giant panda keeper in 2001.

 

Her job title is terrestrial mammal keeper.

 

It was the first time a park employee was admitted to hospital for a panda

attack. A park statement confirmed the incident but stressed that it was an

isolated case.

 

An investigation was under way, it said.

 

Ocean Park had notified the government about the case and was following its

instructions to observe An An, a male giant panda that weighs more than

100kg.

 

It said the animal was in good health.

 

A park spokeswoman said specific procedures were laid down for keepers

dealing with giant pandas.

 

'It is a basic principle to separate humans and animals,' she said. 'Staff

have to make sure that the pandas are locked inside their dens when they

enter the enclosure.'

 

She would not comment if the keeper had abided by that regulation.

 

The witness who uploaded the clip, named Lo, told RTHK that An An stepped on

the keeper for a minute before rushing away in an agitated manner.

 

Suzanne Gendron, the park's executive director of zoological operations and

education, said pandas were mostly loners and had a well-defined home range,

within which they moved about regularly.

 

'They are very cautious about their territories,' Ms Gendron said. 'They

would rather avoid an attack, but that is something they would do to protect

[their territories]. Pandas are wild animals.'

 

She said park officials did not observe the pandas turning aggressive as

they aged.

 

An An and his fellow giant panda, Jia Jia, were presented to Hong Kong as

gifts from the mainland in 1999 and Ocean Park has been the entrusted keeper

since then. Two younger giant pandas, Le Le and Ying Ying, arrived at the

park last year.