According to this news article, it is the first male dolphin born at Sea World in nine years: First male dolphin calf born at Sea World in nine years
Amity, Sea Worlds 55-year old Australian humpback dolphin died : Sea World's oldest dolphin dies aged 55 - Australasian Leisure Management
This animal may of come from the former Marineland that use to be almost next door the Seaworld years ago I am sure I have some pics taken of it back then!
How interesting, she certainly did. From the article above, “Sea World inherited Amity when Marine Land of the Pacific closed in 1977.”
End of dolphin-breeding programm : Australia's Sea World Theme Park to End Dolphin Breeding Program After Activists' Petition | LatestLY
So sad. Wrong decision. I bet that the animal rights activists will now start to force SW Surfers Paradies to stopp keeping Polar Bears next. And those cowards will buckle again... (Sorry for being harsh, but my anger is huge).
The article is a confused mess. It’s the Coffs Harbour collection that is ceasing breeding, not Sea World.
Perhaps transferring the Coffs Harbour Dolphins to SW might be the better option for both sites it could give SW more animals for long term breeding and gives an exit for CH to opt of of them!
The Coffs Harbour place closes without dolphins. I don’t have a view on whether that’s a good or bad thing, not having been there, but that’s the simple truth of it.
From my recollection* this zoo has a pair of dolphins and their offspring and one of the pair isn't in great health. They have not had a birth for many years. My guess is Sea World wouldn't risk the bad PR by trading dolphins with an attraction with a tiny pool. So breeding for this group is likely finished anyways. The announcement is probably an attempt to throw off the protesters. *my recollection is not perfect.
I have been there, and without the dolphins it will definitely close. They make their money from the dolphins, people come to see them and some pay extra for swimming encounters. They have a handful of Australian Fur Seals (when I was there in 2011 I think it was five) so they could probably keep going with those for a short time, but seals don't have the drawing power of dolphins so ultimately they would end up closed unless they did something radical - like heating the big pool and building a coral reef and stocking it with reef fish, and running scuba courses or snorkelling experiences. But they'd need a lot of capital for that and there's no guarantee it would be financially viable. Hix
Liya the Polar Bear (their breeding female) has died. The exact cause of death remains unknown. https://www.google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.net.au/article/11832308
That’s really sad! Lia was only 19, so although at the end of her breeding years, was by no means elderly. By coincidence, her twin Lutik also died a couple of months ago at Alaska Zoo. 19 seems to be the 27 year club/curse of Polar bears in the region with Chimo (Auckland Zoo) and Kanook (Sea World) also dying at the age of 19. I believe the longevity record in the region is 33 years, set by Joachim and Ingrid at Auckland Zoo, when they both died in 1995.
I visited Sea World today and thought I’d post an update. It was a very hot day (around 35 degrees) and the park had large crowds. Fortunately the majority of the animal exhibits were air-conditioned and relatively spacious. Here is also my summary of Sea World Gold Coast in February 2019 for reference: Sea World Gold Coast - 17/2/2019 [Sea World Gold Coast] My notes from today’s visit: -The seabird rehabilitation pool with the pied cormorants and pelicans had a nice surprise - a Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster). She is a captive bird and was unable to be released due to a wing amputation. Really interesting-looking species. Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) by WhistlingKite24 posted 21 Jan 2020 at 9:16 PM -It is currently King Penguin breeding season. There were four penguins incubating their eggs in a fenced-off section away from the rest of the penguins. Their colony is growing; I counted sixteen King Penguins and eighteen Gentoo Penguins. There were also several Little Penguin chicks in another outdoor enclosure. Sea World easily has over thirty Little Penguins. -Shark Bay is looking superb. It’s one of those exhibits that no matter how many times you visit it you’re bound to see something new and interesting. I saw lots of new species of fish, in particular some lovely butterflyfish such as Raccoon Butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula), Saddled Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ephippium) and Singular Butterflyfish (Heniochus singularis). Some of my favourites. Being an open-topped exhibit and completely exposed to the elements, it seems like they have a problem with wild cormorants eating their reef fish! I saw two Little Black Cormorants proceed to hunt and catch two Bicolour Chromis. I have to admit it was very interesting to watch the cormorants dive as it was all seen via underwater viewing. The Bull Shark, the Dusky Whaler and their two sea turtles (a Loggerhead and Loggerhead/Green hybrid) were also alive and well. Shark Bay - Bull Shark and Viewing Window by WhistlingKite24 posted 21 Jan 2020 at 9:19 PM Shark Bay - Reef Viewing Window by WhistlingKite24 posted 21 Jan 2020 at 9:20 PM -Seal Harbour still only has Californian Sea Lions on-display and none of the other species present at the park. One enclosure contained a lone seal and another a pair of females. Polar Bear Update: I was also fortunate enough to do the behind-the-scenes polar bear experience and was able to ask the keepers further details about their polar bears. For those who don’t know, Sea World Gold Coast currently houses 2.1 (Hudson, Nelson and Mishka) bears. They are all related to each other. Recently their breeding female, Liya passed away at the age of nineteen. It was uncovered that Liya died from a stroke. It was very unexpected and happened overnight. Just before her passing, Mishka (her daughter) was becoming more independent and Liya was showing signs of slight aggression towards Mishka during the most recent breeding season. Mishka will be exported to another facility by the end of 2020. It is currently unknown where exactly she will move to and it is possible she could return to Sea World in the future. She will begin crate-training soon to prepare her for the move. As to whether Sea World will import another female; that is still being discussed. Also, at this stage, their two males Hudson and Nelson will be staying at the facility due to their important genetics as wild-born bears. Interestingly the keeper conducting the tour mentioned that the exact father of both Henry (2013) and Mishka (2017) still remains unknown to this day. They do however suspect that Nelson sired Henry and Hudson sired Mishka. For those interested in knowing more about the polar bears the off-display area consists of five large dens. Four of them contain a pool and the fifth one is the maternity den. The entire off-display area is air-conditioned and the bears have full access to outdoors and indoors throughout the day. There is also an exercise yard and kitchen area with two cool rooms for meat and fish. The bears are also surprisingly given treats like apricots, coconuts and watermelons! The two on-display enclosures have misters, fans, a sprinkler system and the saltwater pools are set between 18-20 degrees (they originally planned to make the water much colder but the bears wouldn’t use the pools). The second enclosure, which is the nursery area, is essentially a smaller version of the main enclosure with shallower water, allowing cubs to learn how to swim and have access to an outdoor area. Polar Bear Shores - Main Enclosure by WhistlingKite24 posted 21 Jan 2020 at 9:18 PM Polar Bear Shores - Main Enclosure by WhistlingKite24 posted 21 Jan 2020 at 9:17 PM I will gradually add more images to this gallery (in particular photos of the enclosures): Sea World Gold Coast - ZooChat
I forgot to mention it in my update but Sea World’s (and the region’s) last Pacific Harbour Seal is still alive. He is called Oggie and is currently 32 years old!
