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Nhi Nguyen
Professor Camille Mustachio
English 112
27 April 2017
SeaWorld: Prison for Marine Life
SeaWorld might seem like a good idea for a fun family vacation, but many people are
unaware of the suffering that SeaWorld’s animals go through. The park is known for its
magnificent orca and dolphin shows. However, in making these shows, the animals are subject to
mental abuse and confinement.
SeaWorld first opened on March 21, 1964 in San Diego, California. According to Robert
Niles, it originally had sea lion and dolphin exhibits, but killer whales later became the icon of
the park. The first whale that came to the park was named Shamu. She was the third killer whale
to ever be captured and the first healthy to deliberately be captured (Niles). She became an
immediate hit. Since then, the owners of SeaWorld expanded the park in Ohio in 1970 and
Orlando, Florida in 1973. The success of killer whales in the parks led to an increase in the
capture of killer whales in the wild.
Over 150 killer whales have been captured from the wild since 1961, and 127 of those
orcas are now dead (us.whales.org). SeaWorld holds 23 killer whales in its parks. These orcas
are often trained for shows and entertainment. Many have died during their time at SeaWorld,
including still-born and miscarried orcas.
Killer whales at SeaWorld are often stressed due to the training and lack of space. Sarah
Fischbeck, a former SeaWorld employee, speaks out about the mistreatment the animals endure.
She left the company in 2013 after witnessing the “darker aspects” of SeaWorld (Schelling).
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Sarah states that the killer whales would often fight in the tanks and leave rake marks, as
well as peel off each other’s skin. This behavior does not shock the employees at SeaWorld. In
fact, everyone knew “they’re always being up on each other (Schelling).” In addition to beating
up other whales, they would take out their frustration on birds. They would tear the birds apart
but not eat them, which shows they were more stressed than hungry. The whales would also
show aggression towards trainers and employees, often ramming into the gate when they saw a
worker approaching (Schelling).
Because of the stressful environment the whales are in, some whales have acted out on
humans, the most notable being Tilikum. Tilikum was captured off the coast of Iceland when he
was just two years old and sold to SeaWorld (O’Connor). In total, Tilikum has killed three
people during his time in captivity, including his trainer Dawn Brancheau. In an interview with
