Sea World Question

[DarkSide]

Hi too all Sea World Lovers, i was just watching some video's of SeaWorld in USA & AUSTRALIA on youtube, I was wondering will seaworld australia ever get Killer Whales, wasnt there sightings of killer whales outside of sea world shores? in 2002 i think it was do you think they will bring killer whales to sea world australia what are your opinions......thx for your time alex aka darkside

[Gazza]

Well, I think at the present time the whale watch cruises they run are the current substitute for whale content in the park. I don't think we'd see whales at Sea World for a number of reasons...the space required, the difficulty in actually getting a whale, and the sheer cost (It would undoubtedly be the most expensive exhibit in Sea Worlds History) A thing to remember is that whales don't fare to well in captivity, and have a considerably shorter lifespan....Its probably better to just not have them in the park.

[jjuttp]

Gazza, i know that your the one who normally corrects me but isnt a killerwhale actually a dolphin just its name what it eats and its body/patterns different and also there fairly small aswell arnet they like 2 meteres long though and they can just let them breed then like most zoos do.HA

[cadboy]

Gazza, i know that your the one who normally corrects me but isnt a killerwhale actually a dolphin just its name what it eats and its body/patterns different and also there fairly small aswell arnet they like 2 meteres long though and they can just let them breed then like most zoos do.HA

HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!! You are sort of right though.

Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins

Killer whales are just from the same family as dolphins.

arnet they like 2 meteres long though

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just so you know

Size: 23 to 32 ft (7 to 9.7 m) Weight: up to 6 tons (5,443 kg) Group name: Pod Size relative to a bus:

Check this site out for more info: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/anim...ller-whale.html

Edited October 18, 2008 by cadboy

[BNErider]

I read somewhere that Sea World would have to 'rescue' it to hold it legally onsite.

[Gazza]

Cadboy has pretty much covered it, but the main concern for me is that Killer Whales just don't survive that long in captivity compared to in the wild.

Edited October 18, 2008 by Gazza

[MickeyD]

could you imagine the outcry from animal welfare lobby groups?? As much as I think it would be fun to see them up close in captivity, it really is just a selfish thing to do with such a massive and beautiful animal. For SW Australia, I very much doubt it would ever happen

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I don't think sea world would have the facilities to house it, even as a "rescue animal". They require quite deep pools, deeper than dolphin cove - and there would not be the option of using Shark bay for obvious reasons. I find it amusing that the movie Free Willy, along with it's subsequent sequels and spin offs all revolved around the freedom of a killer whale that ultimately died in captivity simply because, for all intents and purposes, it had been domesticated. For those whose education on killer whales stems from free willy - the bent dorsal is explained in the movie as being a result of captivity - which is in fact false - see "shamu" Slight tangent, being that SW is a Warner Village park, and Free Willy being a Warner Picture - theres a startling reference to the disney company in that movie. Those who collect disneyana would know it as a "hidden mickey". Can anyone tell me where the hidden mickey is? (it isn't that hard - google should help) At the end of the day, while a lot of marine parks do have killer whales - SW SD for example, a lot of them have these as a result of rescue and or breeding programs, and have been established for quite some time, back when the capture of a wild marine mammal was a little less of a conscience matter (as well as a legal one). Lastly - while sea world GC did consider killer whales in the past (back when the legalities and moralities were a little looser also) in their current form, there is absolutely NOWHERE to put them on the spit.