| Dolphin dies at Brookfield Zoo
Micco, a 6-year-old bottlenose dolphin died Sunday 14th January at Brookfield Zoo, Illinois - apparently due to complications from a respiratory infection.
 According to officials, Micco stopped eating normally in December last year and was put on a regimen of antibiotics and other medicine. Initial postmortem reports indicate a severe infection in his trachea however the official cause of death has yet to be determined but it is suspected to have been due to a fungal infection. Micco was one of Brookfield's eight dolphins and was young even by captive industry standards, where in general a bottlenose dolphins’ lifespan is much shorter than those of their wild counterparts, as in the wild males can live well into their thirties.
Public display of these marine mammals is often justified by the argument that essential scientific research is being conducted on captive animals. However Janja Novak, Campaigns Development Officer for the Marine Connection comments that; “Cetaceans have been kept in captivity for over fifty years, and one thing we have learned in that time is that in general they do not fare well in a captive situation. Despite years of research and constant veterinary care, one of the common causes of death in captive cetaceans are still respiratory ailments and stress related diseases.”
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