Sea World is now offering a sneak preview to its new Manta ride. New SeaWorld roller coaster: Manta, the most expensive of Busch Entertainment's coaters, starts public sneak previews today -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Sea World's new summer map has been posted... http://www.seaworld.com/assetrepo/documents/Orlando/SWMap 5-7-09.pdf
Not quite sea world, but its sister park discovery cove in Orlando has released footage of an ultrasound of a bottle nosed dolphin foetus, that has been born at the park along with 3 others this year so far. BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Dolphin ultrasound footage released
Does anyone know the latest news about the (new?) ownership of the anheuser busch theme parks (specially seaworld and busch gardens)? Is it definately Merlin Entertainments and what will be their plans for the future for SW and Buschgardens? (Don't want to open a new thread for this)
Merlin Entertainment is buying Sea World??? Really? They're totally against dolphin captivity...wonder how that will work. I really like the new map! Looks way more professional and less mc-donalds
Well, thats what a try to figure out All I know is that Merlin was one of two or three potential buyers for the SeaWorld Parks. And yes, I wonder too about the against-dolphin-in-captivity-fact... By the way: Because Sealife/Merlin is also against big sharks in captivity, there will be another problem.
Re the sharks, Sealife in London has sandtigers if I'm correct, so I think they may quietly push out that message theyve been projecting. At the end of the day, if Merlin purchased Sea world, and took away the dolphins and whales, it'd be a disaster. There are quite a large number of orcas at Sea World parks, and theyre best equip for them. Not sure where they would end up...
Killer Whale Kills Trainer Sad news comes from SeaWorld today. A whale trainer was attacked by one of the orcas this afternoon during one of the shows. Unfortunately, she did not survive. News Killer Whale Kills Trainer at SeaWorld Orlando - AOL News
Killer whale, calf die during birth at SeaWorld Reported by baynews9.com on Sunday, June 6: ORLANDO -- A 20 year old killer whale has died after giving birth to a stillborn calf at SeaWorld Orlando. Officials said she was impregnated by Tilikum -- the killer whale that drowned a trainer earlier this year. The whale was identified as Taima, a 20-year-old orca. "We are very saddened by this loss," said Dr. Chris Dold, vice president of veterinary services for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment." Although we understand that complications with pregnancy can occur here, just as they do in the wild, the loss of any animal affects all of us at SeaWorld." Taima had successfully given birth to three calves previously. Dr. Dold says there have been 26 successful calf births at Sea World parks. Preliminary indications suggest that her death was caused by a condition in which the placenta is delivered before the fetus, as well as an unusual position of the fetus in the birthing canal. She was not able to deliver the stillborn fetus naturally; SeaWorld's veterinarians attempted to assist, but her complications were too severe. A definitive cause of death will not be known until a necropsy is completed. The comprehensive medical process will be carried out by SeaWorld veterinarians and pathologists, and may take up to six weeks to complete. SeaWorld Orlando's collection, including Taimi, had eight orcas. A second orca at SeaWorld Orlando is also pregnant. The 32-year-old orca Katina is due to have her seventh calf in late October. Both Taima and Katina were impregnated by Tilikum, the six-ton orca that went on a rampage in February and drowned a trainer. The birth was first reported on theme park blog behindthethrills.com around 5 p.m. Sunday. The blog said guests were informed by a sign at the front of the park that Shamu Stadium would be closed due to a killer whale birth in progress.
Family Who Saw Trainer's Death Sues SeaWorld Lawsuit Claims NH Family 'Traumatized' By Experience MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer POSTED: 2:20 pm PDT August 26, 2010 UPDATED: 3:23 pm PDT August 26, 2010 ORLANDO, Fla. -- A New Hampshire couple who witnessed a whale kill a trainer at SeaWorld is suing the Orlando theme park, saying their 10-year-old son suffered emotional distress from what he saw. Suzanne and Todd Connell's lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks unspecified damages and came a day after the federal job safety agency fined SeaWorld Orlando $75,000 for three violations uncovered during an investigation into Dawn Brancheau's death. The killer whale named Tilikium in February grabbed Brancheau's long hair as she lay on a cement slab and dragged her into the pool. The cause of death was drowning and traumatic injuries. SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said in an e-mail that he couldn't comment on a pending lawsuit. "We are in the process of a thorough review of our killer whale program right now and will make any changes that we feel will improve the safety of our staff and guests," Jacobs said. The lawsuit from the Somersworth family describes the scene as workers tried to rescue Brancheau from Tilikum's mouth. "There seemed to be no plan as to what to do to save Dawn," the lawsuit said. "The SeaWorld employees were acting in an unorganized and chaotic manner."
@Deviant*Strain: Thank you for the correction. But anyway: Blackstone now owns two corporations with different philosophies in keeping animals.
Killer whale dies at SeaWorld in San Diego; orca shows canceled September 7, 2010 | 5:05 pm Sumar, a 12-year-old killer whale, died mysteriously Tuesday at SeaWorld in San Diego, forcing cancellation of the orca shows at Shamu Stadium, officials at the park said. The male orca began acting lethargic on Monday and was given antibiotics by park veterinarians. But his condition worsened and he died at about 1:45 p.m. A necropsy is planned. The show will resume Wednesday. Sumar, approximately 15 feet long and 5,300 pounds, had been at the San Diego park since 1999. He was born at the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Fla., on May 14, 1998, and spent some months at the SeaWorld park in Ohio before being transferred to San Diego. While still a calf, Sumar's mother, Taima, attacked him during a show at the Orlando park. The two were separated permanently, and other female orcas acted as Sumar's surrogate mother. In San Diego, Sumar was a star of the orca shows and was considered a possible candidate for breeding. Six orcas remain at the park. -- Tony Perry in San Diego
Killer whale dies unexpectedly at SeaWorld Orlando October 5, 2010 3:37 p.m. EDT (CNN) -- A 25-year-old killer whale unexpectedly died at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, the park said in a statement Tuesday. The whale, named Kalina, died Monday evening after a sudden illness, according to the statement. The cause of death will be determined by a necropsy, the park said, adding that the results could take up to six weeks. The park said Kalina "showed no signs of illness as recently as Friday" and had a normal appetite Sunday. "She began exhibiting signs of discomfort Monday afternoon and died suddenly in the evening," the statement said. Kalina is the third adult whale to die at one of SeaWorld's three locations in four months. In September, 12-year-old male killer whale Sumar died suddenly at the San Diego park, and 20-year-old Taima died while giving birth to a stillborn calf at the Orlando park in June. The average life expectancy for male killer whales in the wild is about 30 years, while females generally live about 50 years. The average life span in captivity is significantly less.