Orcas Are Not The Only Animals Suffering.

picture from: www.sdnews.com

     We've done well. We've made some huge steps in the anti-captivity community, but are we doing enough? We spend so much of our time protesting for the Orcas, but what about the other animals who are still being bred? Forced to perform? Who are also stuck in the same small pools? Orcas are not the only animals suffering and we need to remember that. 

www.flickriver.com

www.krusakafamily.com

     SeaWorld's Bottlenose Dolphins are kept in a tank that is available to the public. Visitors can walk right up to the pool and pet the dolphins as they wish. SeaWorld doesn't ask visitors to wash their hands before touching, this has caused bacterial infections in the dolphins. 

     The Pacific White-Sided dolphins live in Beluga Stadium where they perform with Beluga Whales. The public can swim with the Beluga's, touch, hug and kiss them as much as they want. Many of the marine mammals living in SeaWorld already have low immunity to infection, adding public contact with an animal is dangerous and deadly. SeaWorld, as of February 2016 has reported 5 animals dead in an 8-month time span. 

        

 Read More here: https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-dolphin-died-1594637580.html

SIGN A PETITION TO END CAPTIVE DOLPHIN BREEDING:

----> https://www.change.org/p/support-animals-end-seaworld-s-dolphin-breeding-program

     

Why I Support SeaWorld Rescue.

     I know what you're thinking. "How do you support SeaWorld Rescue but not the parks?" Well, I'm going to tell you. There is a lot of facts and research that go behind my decision to support their rescue efforts. What you see in the parks, at the shows, those are mostly captive-bred animals who have never seen the ocean and have been forced to perform. But, a majority of the other animals who are living there are in rehabilitation and will soon be free to roam their homes again soon. 

     - Did you know that SeaWorld has rescued over 25,000+ animals? 

https://seaworldcares.com/2015/04/twenty-five-thousand-rescues/

     

     - Did you know that SeaWorld is the largest rescue and rehabilitation program in the world?

www.seaworldparks.com

     - Did you know only a small percentage of rescues do not get released? 

www.seaworldparks.com

  

     - Did you know that, though SeaWorld's Orcas are not rescued, they have assisted in whale rescues?

www.telegraph.co.uk

More sources to check out below:      

Four reasons why condemning SeaWorld is a bad idea: - http://awesomeocean.com/2014/12/04/four-reasons-condemning-seaworld-really-bad-idea/

SeaWorlds Rescue/Rehab information book: 

 - https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/rescue-and-rehab/

SeaWorlds conservation blog: 

- http://www.insideconservation.com/?pos=2&webSyncID=a2510d23-1981-970b-9c5c-397c8c067d79&sessionGUID=7aeda78b-7c04-10ba-124a-05bb30323c72

The rescue of a Gray Whale Calf: 

- http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/10/11/blackfish.seaworld.27-03_stewart_papers.pdf

Fact Check:

- http://www.seaworldfactcheck.com/

Their Story; Lolita.

Picture from www.grayline.com

     My name is Lolita, I'm 20 feet long and I weigh 7,000 pounds. I live in the Miami Seaquarium and I've been here since 1970. I was captured from my home on August 8, 1970, in Puget Sound, Washington. At first, they named me Tokitae, but renamed Lolita from some novel. I lived with a whale named Hugo for 10 years in an 80-35-20 foot pool in Miami, Florida. Hugo was captured two years before me but he passed away on March 4, 1980, and I've been in this pool all by myself since. 

     I have a lot of attention on me, I am known as the loneliest Orca in the world. I was part of a documentary called "Lolita; Slave To Entertainment." A lot of people fight for me and want me to be released back home, some have even started a protest at the Seaquarium where I live and started a hashtag online called "#FreeLolita." 

     I really like that people fight for my freedom, my tank is too small, to begin with. My tank violates Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services for size requirements. My tank should be at least 48 feet wide but mines only 35 feet wide; that only gives me 15 feet to swim. My tank is also very shallow and I get sunburns all over my body. 

     In November 2011, Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA and a few others filed lawsuits against National Marine Fisheries Service to end the exclusion of me and my state of life from the Endangered Species Act. As of February 2015, I am now included in the endangered species list. My whole pod back home is also endangered.

     I am currently still living in the Miami Seaquarium all by myself. I still have to perform in shows and behave well. Please help me. 

Visit this website to learn more about me and how to help: http://hope4lolita.com/

www.ecorazzi.com

www.miamiherald.com

SeaWorld: Announcing A Drop In Attendance

Picture from: www.theodysseyonline.com

    August 4, 2016, SeaWorld announced a major drop in attendance. The parks have lost over half a million visitors and have lost more than eighteen million dollars. This is the lowest drop since 2013 when "Blackfish" was released. For 3 years SeaWorld has been blaming poor weather and holidays for their decrease in visitors.
     In March 2016 SeaWorld announced the end to their captive breeding program in hopes to get an increase in revenue but it seems like it's not enough. SeaWorld has denied moving their whales to sea sanctuaries claiming it would be a "death sentence" for the whales. (Because keeping them in a tiny tank isn't a death sentence. *rolling eyes*)
     On Monday, August 1, SeaWorld announced Kasatka was being treated for a bacterial respiratory infection. Earlier in the year announcing Tilikum was dying of a mysterious respiratory infection. Both whales illness' were announced around the quarterly earnings report periods. SeaWorld is blaming both Tilly and Kat's infections on "old age."

Read more about this topic here: https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-attendance-drop-1958918497.html

SeaWorld: End To Captive Breeding Program

     On March 17, 2016, SeaWorld announced that they will be phasing out Shamu Shows and ending their captive breeding program, this will be the last generation. These whales will live out the rest of their lives in their concrete habitats, with a new "natural encounter" show. 

    "SeaWorld has not collected an Orca from the wild in almost 40 years, and the vast majority of our orcas were born under human care. These orcas have never lived in the wild and could not survive in oceans that include environmental concerns such as pollution and other man-made threats."  - https://seaworldcares.com/en/Future/Last-Generation/

     Just a few short weeks after SeaWorld announced their end to the captive breeding program, CEO Joel Manby came out with a statement that shocked everyone. Basically. The decision to stop breeding wasn't for the welfare of the animals but because of money.

    "We understand some customers are upset and you may feel betrayed, but in a simple way, the data and trends showed it was either a SeaWorld without whales or a world without SeaWorld, we are an organization that needs to have cash flow to [succeed] and unfortunately, the trends were not in our favor."- https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-breeding-ban-reason-1702760044.html

     
     If SeaWorld was interested in the welfare of their animals they would have allowed them to be sent to sea sanctuaries. SeaWorld has also claimed that putting captive-bred Orcas in the wild would be even worse than dropping them in the middle of the ocean. 

     SeaWorld doesn't care about their animals. 

   

Their Story; Shamu.

Picture from www.orcahome.de

      I am starting a series here called "Their Story;" I will be sharing with you the tragic story of every whale that has been captured and forced to perform for many places including SeaWorld. I wanted to start this series off with the original Shamu, she started a sickening trend in the entertainment industry and her story, as well as the others, needs to be shared. 

     My name is Shamu, nobody knows when I was born, only when I died. I was captured in Puget Sound, Washington in October of 1965. Very soon after I was captured I was sent to a Seattle Public Aquarium where I met Namu, Namu and I didn't get along very well so they sold me to SeaWorld San Diego in December 1965. I was forced to perform every day for 7 years before I got to retire. 

     I was retired for bad behavior. I bit on the legs and hips of one of the employees because I wasn't used to my trainer not wearing a wet suit. I attacked people in the past as well because they weren't wearing wet suits and that confused me. I showed a lot of erratic behavior during shows and they didn't know I was sick. Five months after I was retired as a performer I passed away in August 1971. 

www.shamudictionary.tumblr.com

www.fineartamerica.com

Rest In Peace Shamu

5 Facts You Want/Need To Know about the Orca;

imgur.com

     The Orcinus Orca whale is one of the most majestic creatures in all of the sea. Education about Orcas is my number one priority, I believe in the safety and conservation of these animals so here's a few facts that you want/need to know about these beautiful marine mammals. 

     1. Orca whales will live up to 50-80 years in the ocean, females lasting 20 years longer than males.

          - 1B. Orcas in captivity very rarely make it past 20 years old. 

     2. Orcas are known as the "Killer Whale" because they are at the very top of the food chain being an apex predator. 

          - 2B. Orcas are not hunted by any other mammal besides humans. 

               - 2C. Orcas are not truly killer, there has never been a record of an Orca killing a human in the wild. 

     3. Orcas use "echolocation" to prey on food and to navigate the large abyss. 

          - Echolocation: A psychological process for locating distant or invisible objects using sound waves reflected back to the emitter. - www.merriam-webster.com

     

     4. Orcas are part of the dolphin family. 

          - 4B. In rare instances, an Orca can mate with a Bottlenose Dolphin and give birth to a hybrid dolphin known as a Wholphin. 

     5. Orcas live in pods, each pod has its own unique sound and ways to communicate. 

          - 5B. Pods will sometimes work together forcing much fish into one area and take turns feeding. 

               -5C. Pods consist of 5-30 whales, some even combining to over 100. 

                    - 5D. Pods establish hierarchies and are always led by females.