By Lori Saldaña
I was born in San Diego, and my family began attending Sea World back in the 60s when it had a Japanese Garden and pearl divers (I still have a pearl ring, a birthday gift one year).
Then, it was a very different place than it is today: quieter, smaller scale, and more about Pacific Rim culture than theme park shows. We went often, and not just as casual visitors. Since my father was a journalist, and Sea World knew the value of cultivating relationships with the media, we would often attend special events throughout the year, including a lavish annual kick-off party that marked the start of their summer season, complete with a preview of the newest Shamu show.
I enjoyed going early, before the dinners and presentations, and wandering around the park after the daytime visitors departed. I especially enjoyed being able to enter the exhibits and watch the animals without the usual crowds around.
One year, about 35 years ago, the Sea World PR department decided to include a video before the outdoor entertainment began, showing some of their “behind the scenes” training, including orca interactions in the wild. The audience- reporters, PR professionals and their families and dates- dutifully filled the auditorium, after having consumed an incredible meal complete with plenty of free alcohol.
My father was a reporter for the Evening Tribune (now conjoined with the San Diego Union as the “Union Tribune”) and he was part of this crowd that night. What happened next opened my eyes not only to the power of the press, but what was then, and likely still is, wrong with Sea World.
A few minutes into the presentation the video froze: technical difficulties. One of the researchers had introduced the video, and as people scrambled to fix the problem, the lights came up and he gamely offered to answer questions.
Wrong move.
The questions started out easily enough (“How old is Shamu? Which Shamu is this? How many Shamus have performed at Sea World?”), but these were professional journalists, not tourists content to simply be “behind the scenes.” They wanted to go a little deeper into this production.
My father asked a question: “How many of these animals have you captured and brought to the park?”
I don’t recall the exact reply, but the way the researcher answered suggested that not all the orcas Sea World had captured had survived the ordeal. “How many were injured?” my father asked, suddenly turning the social event into a hard news conference, then added a follow up: “And how many died?”
Wow. This was NOT what the Sea World PR machine was expecting, and the mood in the room shifted from a festive party atmosphere to an awkward silence.
Looking back, more than 30 years after this event, I still remember thinking: why can’t my dad turn off his reporter mode? This is a party! This persistent questioning is not part of the script! Thankfully for the man he was putting on the spot, the technicians fixed the video and the presentation continued. I don’t remember how, or if, the man answered my dad’s question about orca mortalities. I do remember wondering why he seemed so uncomfortable.
I was in my early 20s at the time. At first I was a bit embarrassed that my father was putting this poor Sea World employee on the spot…but then I began to consider just what was going on to provide us with this entertainment. I had recently taken a “Conservation of Wildlife” class at San Diego State, and was becoming uncomfortably aware of how many different species were disappearing from the planet, and how many marine mammals were being killed from hunting, collisions with ships at sea and other hazards.
Instead of watching the premiere of the new Shamu show that year, I went back to one of the tanks where a beluga whale was “housed.” This time, I watched it from a different perspective: this was a large, intelligent mammal stuck in an incredibly small tank. As I watched it, I realized it was doing the exact same behavior, over and over and over: swimming in a constant, steady loop of mindless captivity.
I stared for several minutes, and its swimming pattern never wavered as it did a perfect figure eight- the shape of infinity- from one side of the tank to the other, always taking a breath at the same spot, always lightly bouncing off the walls at the same points, always spinning, spinning, spinning throughout this pattern…
It was hypnotic, yet horrible. Disturbed by what I interpreted as psychotic behavior, I left the viewing area next to the small tank…and never went back to Sea World. Instead, I decided that I wanted to see animals in the wild, not in tanks.
The following January a friend and I drove an old VW van 450 miles into Baja California Sur. A few years before, rumors had begun circulating that gray whales were approaching people in fishing boats on the lagoons down south, and were actually interacting with them: nudging and rubbing against their boats, and bringing calves alongside to do the same.
It was an El Niño year: windy, stormy and rough on the water. My friend and I drove for 2 days, travelled a long, rough road to a remote campsite, and spent a chilly night on the edge of Ojo de Liebre lagoon near Guerrero Negro.
We didn’t buy an admission ticket; in fact, there was no one at the lagoon to tell us what to expect, or what we could or couldn’t do. We awoke to a windy day with light rain, but not far offshore we could see the dark backs of whales! Excited, we launched the Grumman canoe and paddled into the lagoon (something that is no longer allowed), and went looking for a “friendly” gray whale.
We knew the meeting would be on the whale’s terms, but we didn’t really know what that meant. What would encourage a whale to approach us? Should we make noise, or stay quiet? Paddle after them, or let them come to us?
(I have since learned that these whales are more accustomed to fishing pangas with noisy outboard engines that are easier for them to detect, and we were fortunate they didn’t tip us over! )
After some vigorous paddling, it was clear they were too fast for us to pursue. The wind was picking up and the tide was coming in. We decided to turn around and return to the beach near the van… and suddenly, a massive whale rose out of the depths, and came alongside our aluminum canoe. It rolled onto its side, and looked us in the eye with undeniable intelligence and curiosity.
My friend and I were speechless. Nothing had prepared us for the size or proximity of this whale. The canoe was being rocked by the storm chop, the whale paused briefly, gave us another look…then continued swimming and disappeared- and I was hooked. I have continued to return to the lagoons almost every year since. This past January I drove 1200 miles to visit gray whales in two lagoons, returned again in February, and again in late March. After all, driving a few hundred miles is nothing compared to their annual migration of over 10,000 miles roundtrip.
I continue to be fascinated with their intelligence and friendly behavior, especially after whalers nearly hunted them into extinction in the 1800s and early 1900s. What made them decide to trust humans after such a slaughter? Why do they approach the boats, and lift up their calves for a closer look?
We may never understand this behavior, but every time I make the trip, and make eye contact with a protective mother whale, or even kiss a young gray whale calf (yes, it can happen!), I remember that captive beluga whale, swimming in an mindless, endless loop in a tiny tank.
I wonder how long it will take before more people see that behavior as abnormal. And I wish more of them would visit the whales in Baja, and stop giving parks like Sea World money so they can continue driving large, intelligent, charismatic animals insane.
Lori Saldaña
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Beautiful story well told , our San Diego Bay was surely home to free whales once upon a time, and could be again… Depends on the choices we make for the future…
This is a good story. I agree – they are much more beautiful in the wild than in a “bathtub”. Personally I haven’t seen them in the wild but would love to. I live in the middle of the U.S. I do have my walls covered with Bob Talbots whales though – Orcas and Humpacks and a signed Harp seal. Aren’t there laws now that you can’t get 100 ft or yards from a marine mammal in the wild? Why do people think that they always have to touch these animals. Would you pet a tiger in the jungle? Same thing on the tiger might take your arm off. Take video or pictures of them. They are wild animals.
Thank you for your story….the last time I went to sea world was a hot summer day, about. 20 years ago with my kids, and some cousins, ages 6-12, and to “cool off” they chose to stand by the shamu aquarium glass and “,get soaked” and with a big splash, they did…. And for a moment if was fun….. and then they stank so bad of chlorine water mixed with whale offings, that they were very unhappy, and we had to go home… And we all knew in our hearts that these animals in their smelly tanks were very unhappy too…
What a fine, careful account of how most of us have come to
recognize what we do when we display animals, as if they were
ours, as if they had value only as entertainment, as sources of
income. I remember being sent by The Trib to do one of the
first accounts of “baby Shamu,” back in the early 70s. The
tank was drained so that workers and trainers could scrub
the skin. The whale, probably some 40 feet long at that point,
of course could do nothing but wobble to maintain itself on
its belly. The humans matter of factly scrubbed. I can’t
remember what I wrote; it wasn’t a high experience, I know
that much.
Say hello to your pop, Frank, whom I well remember wearing
those phone jacks and looking straight ahead in the downtown
Trib newsroom yelling questions as if he was talking as much
to us as whoever was on the other end of the phone line. He
was a real canny gato.
in the room.
Thanks Bob! I will pass along your greetings.
I continue to hear from many reporters who learned from my dad over the decades he worked as a beat reported in San Diego. Also firefighters and police officers, since he worked that “breaking news” beat. He was, and still is, a canny gato!
Lori, What a awesome story, I am an animal lover and agree with you 100%. All animals that are confined are suffering this is unfair and cruel. Here’s how I view things I put myself in a position and say to myself how would I like to be in that situation. I do not go to the Zoo or Sea World because as far as I’am concerned these places are committing ANIMAL ABUSE.
So well told! I wish more people would seek out (or could have the means/time) to have experiences like yours in Mexico, or like mine, kayak trips paddling alongside the resident orcas of the San Juan Islands. These are truly life-altering experiences, and one cannot possibly return home the same person. The struggle ahead lies in the fact that so few people can spend time with these animals in THEIR environment – and you can’t alter someone’s worldview by simply telling them about the experiences. Blackfish is the best start I think we could have hoped for, but SeaWorld’s PR machine is moneyed and misleading (“Oh you haven’t captured an orca in 35 years? But what about buying orcas from others that have???”) The PR spin is easily dismantled by elementary school kids (like the 5th graders at my school, when taught to debate and look for bias in both sides of an argument), but most adults don’t have the inclination to question these “truths”. But every column like yours will raise a few more eyebrows, so thank you!
I moved to Washington a year ago and have seen numerous Orca pods in the sound. It’s amazing and more beautiful than anything you could ever see at Sea World. I grew up in San Diego so I spent a lot of time at Sea World. Seeing them in the wild is so much better. I hope to one day go to the San Juan Islands for a whale watching trip. Even the official tours are cheaper than Sea World admission.
maybe sea world could become a human species water park, since we seem to like to swim in safe disinfected zones, and we could be the ones in the tanks, playing with balls and watching each other dive
So are you also going to stop visiting the San Diego Zoo?
Yes Sea World is evil , but just remember next time you see a distressed seal
Do not call these evil people to rescue it Thanks
There are several accounts of whales being beached or other hurt marine animals where people have called Sea World and they have declined helping these animals. Sea World cares about fame and money. If they can’t turn the situation into something beneficial for them, they don’t care.
While I’m grateful they help care for injured marine animals, it does not excuse their treatment of orcas.
I support Project Wildlife and other organizations that are more clear in their commitment to humane treatment of wild animals, and don’t put them on display as a condition of their operations.
I took that same class at SDSU- sometime in the late 80’s, and it really opened my eyes, which I considered at the time to be open…Thank you for this very thoughtful piece.
Thanks for all the feedback.
The world has changed since whaler/naturalist Charles Scammons found the gray whales in their “nursery” lagoons in the late 1800s and calmly wrote: “they will likely become extinct due to our actions” (hunting), then chose to continue their slaughter.
I want to believe that a similar change in attitude will occur soon, and people will stop paying to see intelligent animals put on “shows” for our entertainment.
That is a key difference between the Zoo (which taxpayers also subsidize) and Sea World: the zoo does not force elephants to “work for their food” (at least, I hope not- haven’t been in a long time). They also have a comprehensive science based research program on endangered species that is globally respected.
Perhaps if more had the opportunity to watch and interact with the adult and baby gray whales as they surface for a closer look, leap, spy-hop and allow school children from Baja to hug and pet them, they would think differently about how we treat these ancient creatures.
Grays are the oldest whale species on the planet. They somehow survived Scammons’ heartless hunts of the late 1800s, managed to rebound with help from the US that banned hunting of them in the 1900s, and today appear to be doing well. They may even be removed from the endangered species list.
Orcas hunt grays, and many of the whales have bite marks on their flukes and tails from orcas. But no human has ever been harmed by an orca in the wild, tho plenty of harm has been done by humans to them.
Both marine mammals (orcas are dolphins) are smart, and perfectly adapted to their ocean homes, and routinely swim hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. Being held captive in tanks is cruel beyond understanding.
The highest expression of humanity would be to allow orcas to live where they are best suited, and admire them for their adaptation and intelligence, when they give us the opportunity, from afar.
Whenever people call me a hypocrite for supporting Zoo’s, this is exactly what I tell them. Good to see that someone shares the same beliefs that I do.
Terrific article, Lori.
SeaWorld is a controversial park. We patronize the park blindly. We give more thought to how much it costs to park our car at SeaWorld than to what price the animals pay to entertain us.
The company does rescue/aid work with manatees and sea turtles and releases them back to the wild. Yet, the orcas…. the biggest….most powerful…most intelligent…most social, family-oriented creatures in the park must live behind steel gates in concrete enclosures. For life.
That is not something I wish to support. And I don’t think most people would want to support it if they really thought about it.
Change is coming to SeaWorld.
The Shamu show has got to go.
Lori, thank you so much for this valuable and insightful artical. Many people are just not aware of what happens in the day of a life of a captured Orca at a Marine Park. Many people I speak with, believe all the hype that Sea World has been and still does purport about how happy the mammals are, how they only have to entertain if they want too, how much better their life is in the tanks then in the ocean. I tell everyone who will listen about the truths of the difficult life of a captive Orca. I encourage them all to watch Blackfish. I always tell them animal abuse is not entertainment.
I could never understand why the performers at Sea World would bring me to tears. I’d get really embarrassed because I couldn’t help it. I’d always go home thinking I wanted to be a killer whale trainer. Looking back I think it was flood of emotions and empathy that I didn’t know I was feeling. Keiko changed my mind about captivity but I think some part of me always knew it was wrong. I loved this story and thank the author for sharing.
I stopped going to sea world when I was 14. I used to go annually for my birthday since I was 3. It was a world of wonder. How did the animals from my books and movies get into this park? On my 14th year I realized that they are not supposed to be kept in a watery cage. They need vast oceans to be in. My parents thought i was sick because I didn’t want to see the dolphin show or the orca show. Truth I was so saddened I just wanted to go home i didn’t want to see the captivity that I had thought so alluring as a child .
Good video report on whale watching in Baja
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FcfbSPAZeRc
Family members have swallowed SeaWorld “ex-pain-ation” that ORCAS (intelligent mammals) while trained to do stunts on command, for some reason can’t be trained to live back in their oceans.
hmmmm…we believe what we want to believe.