New Whale Sanctuary Project
It’s the dawn of a new era for whales and dolphins. A new organization has been formed to create seaside sanctuaries for whales and dolphins being retired from marine circuses.
Circus Lions Fly to Sanctuary. Orcas Soon?
On the same day SeaWorld was pushing back against retiring killer whales to sanctuaries, 33 lions from circuses in Peru were heading to a sanctuary in South Africa.
What Should SeaWorld Do Now?
If you were the new CEO of SeaWorld, what would you do? Last week, you saw yet another nail being driven into the coffin of your…
Shamu’s Exercise Machine
SeaWorld is planning to install exercise machines for the orcas it holds captive at its marine circuses.
Orcas like Tilikum, SeaWorld’s biggest killer whale, who has killed three people and now spends most of his time languishing motionless in a small tank, could get some longer-distance swimming time.
Should we give SeaWorld a thumbs-up for this?
Top Predator in Action
SeaWorld likes to talk of them as being part of “our family” – as though the top predator of the ocean can somehow be adopted and…
SeaWorld Hits Back at Movie ‘Blackfish’
SeaWorld is clearly worried about the movie Blackfish, which opens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, and across the country over the next month.…
Orca Family Cares for Disabled Calf
This young orca is missing her dorsal fin and her right-side pectoral fin. That means she can’t navigate well, and can’t catch food on her own.…
Orcas Race Boat
This may be the first ever video of orcas racing a boat for so long – an hour in this case. [readon] The boat was carrying…
A Tale of Two Tanks
Candace Calloway Whiting compares how we treat pets like hamsters in our homes to how we treat orcas in captivity at marine circuses like SeaWorld.
‘Blackfish’ Orca Movie Is Talk of Sundance
Is the new movie “Blackfish” – a powerful damning indictment of SeaWorld, screened at the Sundance Film Festival last weekend – this year’s answer to the 2009 Oscar-winning “The Cove”?
The critics are giving it rave reviews, calling it “a damning indictment of SeaWorld” and even suggesting that “it stands a good chance of putting the “$2-billion theme park out of business.”
The Real Sea World
Orca experts visit Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle, and compare the life of a killer whale in the wild (the real sea world) with…
‘Death at SeaWorld’ Author Speaks
When killer whale Tilikum killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, two and a half years ago, David Kirby started work on a book, “Death at SeaWorld.” He…
SeaWorld Putting Trainers Back in Water with Killer Whales
Since the day six-ton orca Tilikum dragged his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, into the pool, savaged her and killed her, SeaWorld has kept all trainers out of…
Death at SeaWorld
More and more people are deciding not to take the family to these seaquariums. David Kirby’s new book, “Death at SeaWorld – Shamu and the dark side of killer whales in captivity”, will only propel the exodus. It’s an engrossing story that also raises serious questions about not just the ethics of keeping the world’s top predator in the equivalent of a bathtub for their entire lives, but also the safety of it.
How the First Orcas Were Captured and Sold to Marine Circuses
In August 1970, TV cameras were on hand as seven orcas (killer whales) were captured off the coast of Seattle and taken to marine circuses like SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium.
Captive Orcas Killed by Mosquitoes
According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), at least two orcas held captive at SeaWorld facilities died from West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses carried by mosquitoes.
Orcas Now Being Poisoned by Air They Breathe
Scientists hold petri dishes over orca blowholes to capture samples of their breath. Photo by Pete Schroeder. It’s bad enough that the orcas of Puget Sound,…
Did a Canadian Navy Sonar Bomb Kill a Beloved Young Orca?
I may have met Little Victoria last summer. I don’t know that for sure, but I certainly met her family. She was a young orca, and her battered body washed up on the beach two months ago. The evidence is that she was killed by a sonar bomb set off by the Canadian Navy.
PETA and SeaWorld Square Off at Court Hearing
Yesterday, a Federal Court in San Diego held a hearing on a Motion to Dismiss filed by SeaWorld in a case where PETA claimed that SeaWorld was enslaving orcas in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Killer Whales in Ocean Show
It’s the real thing – and much better than anything you can see at a marine circus like SeaWorld. These orcas were among dozens seen along the Southern California coast over the last week as they migrate south to Mexico.