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dolphins

Efforts to release marine mammals back into the wild are proving successful.

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth, capable of more complex communication and comprehension than nearly every other species. Their intelligence is one reason humans have captured dolphins and trained them for entertainment, but it's also one reason why keeping them in captivity is seen as cruel.

According to The Korea Times, Bibong, a 23-year-old Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, has just been successfully released into the wild after 17 years of captivity in an aquarium in South Korea. He is the last of his species to be freed by the Korean government after being declared endangered in 2012.

The plans for Bibong's release were announced in August and Bibong has spent more than two months training to adapt to life in the wide open ocean. Bibong is one of eight dolphins that had been kept in an aquarium on Jeju Island, but the other seven were released in 2013, 2015 and 2017. According to Korea Now, Bibong was seen refusing to obey his trainer's orders during a performance last year, "possibly due to chronic stress and pressure."

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It may look like a scene from an aquatic version of Avatar, but it's 100% real. In surreal footage taken this week off the coast of Newport Beach, dolphins glow bright blue as they swim through the nighttime waters of the Pacific—a natural bioluminescence phenomenon that never fails to amaze.

The dolphins themselves aren't glowing. Rather, tiny bioluminescent phytoplankton light up the water around them when they are disturbed—hence the blue water in the boat's wake as well. But the effect is totally magical.

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The 2013 documentary "Blackfish" shined a light on the cruelty that orcas face in captivity and created a sea change in the public's perception of SeaWorld and other marine life parks.

This "Blackfish" backlash nearly deep-sixed SeaWorld and led Canada to pass a law that bans oceanariums from breeding whales and dolphins or holding them in captivity. Animals currently being held in Canada's marine parks are allowed to remain as well as those taken in for rehabilitation.

Podcaster and MMA announcer Joe Rogan saluted Canada's decision on a recent episode.

"First of all, what assholes are we that we have those goddman things in captivity? A big fucking shout out to Canada because Canada, mostly probably through the noise that my friend Phil Demers has created in trying to get MarineLand shut down, Canada has banned all dolphin and all whale captivity. It's amazing. I hope the United States does it well, I hope it goes worldwide," Rogan told his guest, economist and mathematician Eric Weinstein.

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In a historic win for cetaceans and animal-rights activists, Canada is banning the practice of keeping whales, dolphins, and porpoises in captivity.

Remember the scene in Free Willy when the Orca who had been living in an amusement park finally leapt into the wide open ocean and the whole audience cheered? Well, that iconic scene is taking on new significance in Canada this week, as the nation's House of Commons just passed a bill making it illegal to keep dolphins, whales, and porpoises in captivity for breeding or entertainment purposes.

Bill S-203, or The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act (known colloquially as the "Free Willy Act") means anyone found capturing the animals, holding them captive, or procuring their embryos or sperm, can be fined up to $200,000.

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