SeaWorld plans to double size of Killer Whale exhibits

[RawSasquatch]

[IMG]http://kfmb.images.worldnow.com/images/4492328_G.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE]SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Under pressure to end its killer whale shows, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. instead announced Friday plans to nearly double the size of the orca environments at its parks in San Diego, Florida and Texas.

Park officials said the so-called "Blue World Project" will include constructing a 10-million-gallon orca environment, which is set to open to the public at SeaWorld San Diego in 2018. Similar environments at the park's in Orlando and San Antonio are also on the works.

The 50-foot-deep exhibit with a 1.5-acre surface area is expected to give park guests more access to viewing killer whales underwater, and would allow the animals increased engagement with park experts. Plans for the tanks also include a "fast water current," which would allow the orcas to swim against moving water, officials said.

"Through up-close and personal encounters, the new environment will transform how visitors experience killer whales," SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. President and CEO Jim Atchison said in a statement. "Our guests will be able to walk alongside the whales as if they were at the shore, watch them interact at the depths found in the ocean, or a birds-eye view from above."

The company has also pledged $10 million in matching funds for killer whale research and planned a "multi-million dollar partnership" to focus on ocean health, officials said. The research efforts include projects to understand killer whales' hearing ranges and provide information into their nutritional status and reproduction.[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.cbs8.com/story/26288856/seaworld-to-build-new-killer-whale-environment"]Link to article.[/URL]

[Rhenae]

This could be an ok first step, but there is a lot of other issues they still need to fix before their conditions could be considered passable.

[Memobot]

And triple the number of whales.

[Sprockethead]

It really breaks my heart to see such intelligent animals kept as circus clowns.

[Ajacks]

They were just upgraded from a 6x6' cell to a 8x8' cell. Doesn't mean much to a creature who would routinely travel thousands of miles annually in the wild.

[Pantz Master]

This is actually a step in the right direction. The whales need more space.

[Tomvdr]

[QUOTE=Pantz Master;45700471]This is actually a step in the right direction. The whales need more space.[/QUOTE]

Or you know, almost infinite space.

Like the ocean, or something.

[A_Pigeon]

the whale show is the most overrated POS anyways, the manatee comedy one is so much better

[Pantz Master]

[QUOTE=Tomvdr;45700490]Or you know, almost infinite space.

Like the ocean, or something.[/QUOTE]

Thats exactly why this is a [b]step[/b] in the right direction.

[Elecbullet]

[QUOTE=UberMunchkin;45700558]Man I feel sorry for all the poor H2O they keep locked up. It should be free to roam the rivers and oceans, not stay cramped up in a small pool invested with marine life.

[editline]15th August 2014[/editline]

#FreeTheWater[/QUOTE]

do you have a point or?

[Tomvdr]

[QUOTE=Pantz Master;45700615]Thats exactly why this is a [b]step[/b] in the right direction.[/QUOTE]

So SeaWorld will soon expand their park into the entire ocean? Great!

[Pantz Master]

[QUOTE=Tomvdr;45700628]So SeaWorld will soon expand their park into the entire ocean? Great![/QUOTE]

Dude, Seaworld is obviously not going to release their whales immediately. You can't call for such a radical step right off the bat and expect to get anywhere.

[Tomvdr]

[QUOTE=Pantz Master;45700647]Dude, Seaworld is obviously not going to release their whales immediately. You can't call for such a radical step right off the bat and expect to get anywhere.[/QUOTE]

Then why capture them in the first place?

[Stormbuster]

Personally, I don't think a marine animal larger than a beluga should be kept captive outside of specific circumstances (such as injury).

While they can't release these captive orcas into the wild due to human sensitization ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiko_(orca)]please read about what happened to "Free Willy" Keiko, the only orca to be released into the wild from captivity, to see why releasing these creatures would be problematic[/url]), preventing captive breeding can help make a slow progression away from orcas and to something more manageable in size that is easier to satisfy in terms of space requirements, like bottlenose dolphins.

[rewkasu]

If you wanna see these cool animals up close take a scuba diving gear and a trident. Then jump in to the ocean and face these beast like a man