{"id":80568,"date":"2024-06-12T17:18:44","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T17:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/12\/seaworlds-orca-prison-google-earth-shows-what-conditions-are-really-like\/"},"modified":"2024-06-12T17:18:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T17:18:44","slug":"seaworlds-orca-prison-google-earth-shows-what-conditions-are-really-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/12\/seaworlds-orca-prison-google-earth-shows-what-conditions-are-really-like\/","title":{"rendered":"SeaWorld’s Orca prison: Google-Earth shows what conditions are really like"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Shamu\"\"Shamu\"<\/a>
Shamu show at SeaWorld San Diego<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This has not been a quick decision for me. In fact it\u2019s probably taken me way too long to make this stand\u2026<\/p>\n

Since I wrote this in 2015 there have been significant changes and updates both at Seaworld and from companies supporting them. We\u2019re getting there!<\/p>\n

______________________<\/p>\n

In October 2019<\/strong> Tripadvisor announced they will no longer sell tickets to attractions that that breed or import captive whales and dolphins. This is FANTASTIC news! See the story on CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n

However, SeaWorld Orlando are still running Shamu encounters<\/a> with their Orca (April 2024).<\/p>\n

__________________________<\/p>\n

I have visited SeaWorld in California and in Orlando dating back to the 1980s, and I have had fun. I have loved\u00a0watching\u00a0their amazing Orcas leap into the air and plummet down in their huge pool at the daily Shamu show. I have laughed and taken photos alongside all the other fans as the whales ripped\u00a0around the pool at speed deliberately crashing their tails down to ensure the maximum amount of water is heaved over the side onto spectators in plastic rain coats.<\/p>\n

In 2010 I even wrote a blog post on this site featuring Shamu\u2019s show as one of the Top 5 things to do in Orlando<\/a>, and I raved about it for San Diego too. I\u2019ve changed my mind.<\/p>\n

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But since then I\u2019ve become a bit more aware. And apparently I\u2019m not alone. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"Shamu\"Shamu
Shamu show at San Diego SeaWorld 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I attended IPW<\/a> in 2015, the International Pow Wow travel trade show with over 6000 travel industry delegates, in Orlando and as I write this, many of them attended the huge SeaWorld party. I went out for dinner instead, and here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t seen Blackfish<\/a>, the anti SeaWorld movie that has brought the world\u2019s attention to some of the practices at SeaWorld, when I wrote this, but I had read both sides of the argument and a lot more around it as I\u2019ve done some research for this post.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not boycotting SeaWorld because of any propaganda movie. I just can\u2019t bear to\u00a0see those whales living in tiny tanks any longer.<\/strong> Scroll down to see them still here as at October 2023.<\/p>\n

Wikipedia<\/a> states that Orca swim up to 160km (100 miles) per day in the wild. I\u2019ve marked a circle on this map\u00a0to show the scale of 100km (so it\u2019s actually even further than this).<\/p>\n

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\"100km\"100km<\/a>
100km circle over Orlando<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

If I were to put this pic over the 100km one above \u00a0it would be smaller than a speck.<\/p>\n

SeaWorld\u2019s tanks that these up to 6-ton\u00a0whales are kept in are at most 30m wide. Here is the pic from Google Earth.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"
Look at the size of the whales vs the size of their tank! Pic from October 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

SeaWorld\u2019s largest pool\u00a0is one ten-thousandth of their natural daily swimming space.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not just going to slam the park and join the haters\u2026 I have an idea.<\/p>\n

My solution for Seaworld<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I know the company has taken a huge financial hit as times have changed and people\u00a0no longer flock to see animals kept in cages. Elephants no longer perform in circuses, or at least not in circuses that most of us would go to, and killer whales are the next elephant. Huge, majestic animals trapped in aquatic prison cells.<\/p>\n

I have seen renderings of SeaWorld San Diego\u2019s plans to expand their pool area and make it look more like the ocean. But from whose perspective? We might think it\u2019s more aesthetically pleasing to see rocks and sand in the whale pool, but they\u2019re still trapped in a pool \u2013 ok maybe 60m wide instead of 30m.<\/p>\n

No, what SeaWorld needs to do to survive is phase out their killer whale shows, stop breeding them in captivity (check) and certainly stop taking them from other pods around the world \u2013 either in captivity or not (check).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my big idea: <\/strong>They should hire Franco Dragone, the Cirque du Soleil mastermind who has developed gobsmacking circuses around the world using world-class athletes, gymnasts and acrobatics instead of animals, and choreograph a spectacular show in all Shamu stadia.<\/em><\/p>\n

A new Cirque\/Seaworld show that reflects everything Orca do in the wild except performed by people. It\u2019d be a breathtaking show of awesome\u00a0stunts set to music and lighting and fancy staging. At this moment whales perform stunts in these 30m pools against the backdrop of music and lighting and frankly it\u2019s disturbing to watch. Imagine Bellagio\u2019s O \u2013 on SeaWorld steroids!<\/p>\n

It would be a show that would attract visitors every night, along with the theme park rides the parks already have, while\u00a0the park morphs into the rehabilitation and breeding of endangered species for release that they also currently focus on.<\/p>\n

Oh and if you want to see just how far and fast orca swim, watch this incredible video as they chase after a boat rocketing through the sea!<\/p>\n

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