At Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in southwestern Japan a pseudorca jumped out of its' tank during a performance recently sustaining scratches and bruises to its head and fin.

Onlookers and aquarium staff watched horrified as the animal appeared to jump from the tank, landing on the concrete surround. Other dolphins in the tank were visibly disturbed and crowded around at the glass where their tank-mate was lying on the ground. Staff had to lay mats around the animal and spray it with water to try to minimise injury before it was loaded onto a stretcher and lowered back into the tank.

This raises the question "why did this apparent accident happen?" - if indeed it was an accident. Some would claim that the animal, tired of being held captive, simply wanted to end it all. This may not be as far fetched an idea as it seems. Trainer of the dolphins for the Flipper series, Ric O'Barry, has been well documented as saying that one of his favourite dolphins, Cathy, died in his arms after apparently choosing to end her own life.

You have to ask, for a creature which belongs in the vast oceans of the world to be held in a tank, made to perform for food, having to bear the noise and cramped conditions of captivity - maybe the choice between half a life and death isn't that hard to make.