Our goal is to successfully rehabilitate and return every animal to the wild. The small percentage of animals with conditions deeming them non-releasable are given lifelong care with us or at another accredited facility.
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With over 40,000 Rescues, SeaWorld Orlando continues our company's commitment to rescuing and caring for marine animals. SeaWorld's legacy of animal rescue spans more than 50 years.
Shamu /?æmu?/ (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a female orca captured in October 1965 from a southern resident pod. She was sold to SeaWorld San Diego and became a star attraction. Shamu was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She died in August 1971, after about six years of captivity.
However, facilities in the United States such as SeaWorld have not collected wild orcas in over 35 years. 25 of the 33 orcas on display in the US, Argentina, Spain, and France were born in captivity. Six of the seven displayed in Japan are captive-born.
SeaWorld Orlando hosts over 30 bottlenose dolphins and over 200 penguins. SeaWorld Orlando exhibits cover a wide diversity of marine life, including animal encounters with penguins, walruses, sharks, dolphins, beluga whales, and many more. Get the SeaWorld Orlando Annual Pass for unlimited access to the park.
SeaWorld often keeps dolphins, whales, and other animals trapped with incompatible tankmates. The tension leads to fights and even fatal injuries. Staff members drug some animals to try to relieve their endless frustration.
Sea World performs a necropsy to determine/ confirm the cause of death. The body is disposed of IAW State Laws and zoological best practices. Skeletons are often donated to scientific programs and museums so the animal can continue to contribute to knowledge and education even after death.
Confinement to tiny tanks can cause dolphins to become stressed, neurotic, and aggressive. This endangers not only other dolphins but also humans—including children—who are allowed to interact with them. At SeaWorld, children are put at risk every day when their parents pay for them to be able to touch the dolphins.
“Most of our orcas were born at SeaWorld , and those that were born in the wild have been in our parks for the majority of their lives,” he wrote. “If we release them into the ocean, they will likely die. In fact, no orca or dolphin born under human care has ever survived release into the wild.
Tilikum had not only been SeaWorld's star attraction; he had also been the company's star breeder, having fathered 18 calves with eight of the company's female orcas. But under pressure from humane groups, the company in 2016 announced that it would stop breeding orcas.
Since Blackfish's release, what has happened to orcas at SeaWorld? Seven orcas have died at SeaWorld parks since 2013. Unna, Kasatka, Kyara, Kayla, Amaya, Nakai, and Tilikum all died in the abusement park's small tanks.