And she came to one of the volunteer classes and sat right up in the front row. And I had to go down there to talk to this new class of volunteers and tell them what was expected. And so she’s sitting right there. Dummy, I didn’t recognize her at… Read More
It was funny. I think some of my staff gave me that. I understand that you had a role in developing and founding the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. Yes, I think maybe I’m founding AMMPA, Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. I think maybe I’m given… Read More
But I was part of it, and now not being in the operating part anymore, I’ve kind of drifted away, but I like to keep up with what they’re doing. And Marilee Menard, who is the executive director of the group keeps me posted and sends me monthly reports on… Read More
And what happened to the others?… Read More
I’m not sure whether they died or what, but this one, Chico, was saved and then transport it up to Miami, where Joe bought it from that dealer and kept it there. And that’s how we got Chico, and he was a great attraction. And early on, he was very… Read More
Did people give you a difficult time about maintaining him?… Read More
It was about two or three concrete blocks high, and Joe was keeping it in there. And he said I asked him about it. He obviously wanted to sell it. So I said, Okay…… Read More
Hannah, Joe, Hannah, you remember him?… Read More
Yep Okay, so he brought it up himself on a cargo plane, and it was in the middle of winter, and it was just colder than I’ll get out. Joe came up, and he was dressed for Florida weather, but he’s shaking like this. And that’s how we got Chico… Read More
Yes, we did. That was part, false killer whales were part of the original plan. But I finally realized that we were in too much of a scatter gun program that we probably should focus, make our focus a lot narrower. And if we got the belugas and got the… Read More
Can you tell us the story about Chico?… Read More
(laughs) Chico, the story about Chico, the freshwater dolphin. I had heard, and I can’t tell you where, and maybe you can help me with this name. There was an animal dealer in Florida whose first name was Joe. And I know that you know him, Joe. A little… Sorry,… Read More
Did you not think about false killer whales, and didn’t you get a permit to collect them?… Read More
What did you say?… Read More
What was your defense, or what was your explanation of why (crosstalk)?… Read More
We just followed the reasons given in the permits, why we wanted them, they were for public education. We didn’t use the word research ’cause you have to have a separate permit for getting an animal survey, but these were for public display, public education. And we just reiterated what… Read More
And, of course, the activists were really angry with us that we managed to end-run them on that. Bringing in the white-sided dolphins, the first group we got in without too much trouble, we held them at the University of California. And I’m sorry, my memory is slipping, but right… Read More
That was a big steel haul boat. And our collecting permit was to collect them in the Santa Barbara channel between those islands, they call the Santa Barbara Islands, and the mainland, that’s where Catalina is. So we managed at the last minute to get the permit modified so we… Read More
They unloaded them. They put them on a Hertz rental truck, and drove him down to San Diego and went in the back way where we were keeping the animals, and they’re still out there, at the mouth of San Diego Harbor, waiting for us to come in, when animals… Read More
We didn’t have an foam rubber mats. And John, sorry his last name has left me right now. He owned the motel where we were staying, and he said, “You’ve got foam rubber.” He says, “Go in the motel. “There’s foam rubber mattresses in there. “Take what you need.” So… Read More