Subject: Corky and other orcas

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>I have been reading about the campaign to free Corky from Sea World in
>San Diego and wondered how much the project would cost. Where would the
>funds be raised? Also, are there any estimates of the orca population
>worldwide? I look forward to hearing from you.
>
>Gary Tegler
>Kyoto, Japan

Dear Gary,

I'm afraid I don't know much about the campaign to free Corky.  I imagine
the cost would be at least a few hundred thousand dollars, since it would
be very difficult to put a whale back in the wild after it has been in
captivity for more than two decades.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to
put that money into helping orcas and other whales.

At the moment, orcas seem to be doing better than most species of whale.  I
couldn't find a worldwide population estimate, but the Arctic population
alone is estimated to be 180,000.  So a conservative guess would be that
there are, at a bare minimum, 200,000 orcas worldwide.

Best,

Joe

Joseph Roman
University of Florida
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
PO Box 12253
Gainesville, FL 32604
(352) 379-8096
jroman@ufl.edu

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