SeaWorld Info

Slogan:	"As Real as it gets. "[1]
Type:	Amusement Park Marine Mammal Park
Locations:	San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; and Orlando, FL
Website:	seaworld.com
Animals:	Orcas, Bottlenose Dolphins, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, False Killer Whales, Belugas, Sea Lions, Otters, Sharks, Rays, Fish, Lorikeets, Clydesdales, Walruses, Alligators, Polar Bears, Penguins, Flamingos, and Sea Turtles[2]

For the unrelated theme park with a similar name in Australia, see Sea World. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine-life theme park located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park located in San Diego California. SeaWorld Orlando is a Theme park near Orlando Florida. It is owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch The Orca or Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca) less commonly Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the Oceanic dolphin family The Bottlenose Dolphin is one of the most common and well-known Dolphins. The Pacific White-sided Dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) is a very active dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean. The False Killer Whale ( Pseudorca crassidens) is a Cetacean and one of the larger members of the Oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae For other uses of the term "sea lion" see Sea lion (disambiguation. Otters are semi- aquatic (or in one case aquatic) fish-eating Mammals The otter subfamily Lutrinae forms part of the family Sharks ( Superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of Fish with a full cartilaginous Skeleton and a highly streamlined body Batoidea is a Superorder of cartilaginous fish containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two The walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus) is a large flippered Marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and for differences between alligators and crocodiles please see Crocodilia An Alligator is a Crocodilian in the Genus The polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) is a Bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless Birds living almost Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family Sea turtles ( Superfamily Chelonioidea) are Turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. Sea World is a Marine mammal park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

SeaWorld is a chain of marine mammal parks in the United States, with operations in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; San Antonio, Texas; and previously Aurora, Ohio. A marine mammal park (sometimes Oceanarium) is a commercial theme park or Aquarium where Marine mammals such as Dolphins The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Aurora is a city located in Portage County, Ohio, United States. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads On February 28, 2008 Busch Entertainment announced plans to open a fourth SeaWorld park in Dubai, UAE. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE The parks feature Orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. The Orca or Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca) less commonly Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the Oceanic dolphin family For other uses of the term "sea lion" see Sea lion (disambiguation. Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. The parks' icon is Shamu, the Orca. -- 72200118193 ( talk) 0032 12 October 2008 (UTC---- Bold text [Link title]== [[ImageHeadline text]][[MediaExample

SeaWorld parks also feature a variety of thrill rides, including roller coasters like Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando and Steel Eel, Journey to Atlantis, and The Great White at SeaWorld San Antonio. The roller coaster is a popular Amusement ride developed for Amusement parks and modern Theme parks LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first Kraken is a steel floorless Roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld Orlando is a Theme park near Orlando Florida. It is owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Steel Eel is a custom mega coaster (coaster with no loops only drops and hills It has a height of 150 ft and it was built by Chance Morgan Inc Journey to Atlantis is the name shared by three Water roller coasters located at SeaWorld Theme parks. The Great white is the first Inverted roller coaster in Texas. SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine-life theme park located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. Journey to Atlantis, a combination roller coaster and splashdown ride, can be found at all three US parks. The roller coaster is a popular Amusement ride developed for Amusement parks and modern Theme parks LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first The parks are owned by Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch, which is best known for brewing beer but also owns nine theme parks. The Busch Entertainment Corporation (abbreviated BEC or also called Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks is the family entertainment division of the Anheuser-Busch Companies Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc ( (ˈænhаɪzər bʊʃ is the largest Brewing company in the United States with a 48 On March 5, 2007, SeaWorld Orlando announced addition of the Aquatica water park to its adventure park family, which already includes SeaWorld and Discovery Cove. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Aquatica is a Water park constructed by Busch Entertainment Corporation and located near Orlando Florida. Discovery Cove is a theme park near Orlando Florida where guests can interact with a variety of marine animals most notably Bottlenose dolphins. ^[3]

One of the biggest attractions is the Shark Encounter, in which guests are carried through a submerged acrylic tube into the sharks' tank. Another famous ride is Wild Arctic, simulating a helicopter ride to the Arctic. History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. After the ride, the guests arrive at a simulated base station, where they can observe polar bears, Pacific walruses, and beluga whales. The polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) is a Bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas The walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus) is a large flippered Marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and Another attraction is the Penguin Encounter, showcasing a variety of penguins. Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless Birds living almost In addition, an attraction features endangered Florida manatees. Manatees ( family Trichechidae, Genus Trichechus) are large fully aquatic Marine mammals sometimes known as sea The park has an extensive playground for children, Shamu’s Happy Harbor (formerly called "Cap’n Kids’ World").

Trainer demonstrating a nose stand on top of Kayla during the Believe show at SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida.

Kasatka, one of SeaWorld San Diego's seven Orcas, performs during a routine Shamu Adventure show. For the Russian helicopter see Kamov Ka-60. Kasatka is a female Orca, or killer whale who lives at SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld has made many contributions to wildlife conservation. SeaWorld scientists, zoologists, trainers and rescue teams participate in research and wildlife preservation. SeaWorld teams have helped save stranded whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions and helped raise the awareness of endangered manatees. Whales are marine mammals which are neither Dolphins (ie members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor Porpoises Orcas Manatees ( family Trichechidae, Genus Trichechus) are large fully aquatic Marine mammals sometimes known as sea SeaWorld's commitment to conservation, research and animal rescue was recently formalized with the creation of the non-profit SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is a private Non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to supporting Wildlife preservation research Education Sea World is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, meaning they have met and exceeded the standards in Education, Conservation and Research. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums ( AZA; previously American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and originally American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums

Southwest Airlines is the "Official Airline of SeaWorld" and has three Boeing 737 aircraft painted to look like Shamu [1] as an advertisement for SeaWorld. Southwest Airlines Co ( is an American low-cost Airline based in Dallas Texas, with its largest focus city at Las Vegas ' McCarran WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

History

Entrance to SeaWorld San Antonio.

Dave "surfing" on top of Katina, the matriarch Orca at SeaWorld Orlando.

Performing Bottlenose Dolphins (and Macaws) at SeaWorld Orlando.

Milton C. Shedd, Ken Norris, David Demott, and George Millay brought SeaWorld to life, yet that was not the initial idea. George Millay ( 4 July 1929 – 7 February 2006) was an American businessman and founder of SeaWorld and Wet 'n Wild The four graduates of UCLA originally set out to build an underwater restaurant and marine life show. The University of California Los Angeles (generally known as UCLA) is a public research university located in Westwood Los Angeles, California, United When the underwater restaurant concept was deemed unfeasible, they scrapped those plans and decided to build a park instead, and SeaWorld San Diego was born on March 21, 1964. SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park located in San Diego California. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. With only a few dolphins, sea lions, 6 attractions and 22 acres, the park proved to be a success and more than 400,000 guests visited there in just the first 12 months.

After considering other locations in the midwest, including the Lake Milton/Newton Falls area west of Youngstown, Ohio, it was decided that Aurora, Ohio would be the new home of a SeaWorld. Newton Falls is a city located within Newton Township in Trumbull County, Ohio in the United States. Youngstown is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Mahoning County. Aurora is a city located in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The Aurora site was approximately 15 miles northwest of the Lake Milton site, and 30 miles southeast of Cleveland. By this time the founders of the company had captured a few more species of animals including an Orca that would call the new facility home. The Ohio site would prove to be difficult to maintain. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The harsh winter climate permitted the park to be open only from mid-May until mid-September. However, the vast population of the Midwest and Northeastern states lived within a day's drive of the park, which would eventually add to the success of SeaWorld of Ohio.

The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida opened near the end of the second operating season of SeaWorld of Ohio. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida. The success of Disney in Orlando provided another ideal spot to capitalize on the mass number of tourists that would make their way to central Florida for vacations. Since opening day in 1973, SeaWorld Orlando has thrived in a place known as 'the theme park mecca of the world'. SeaWorld Orlando is a Theme park near Orlando Florida. It is owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Harcourt Trade Publishers is a US Publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults (HBJ) purchased the company in 1976 and 12 years later they ventured deep into the heart of Texas. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. In 1988 SeaWorld San Antonio opened just a few miles outside of San Antonio. SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine-life theme park located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. Growth has pushed the city outwards, and now SeaWorld San Antonio lies in the Westover Hills community in West San Antonio. The parks had really big maps of the United States in them at that time. The park was open year-round like its sister parks in California and Florida in 88 and 89, then went to a seasonal schedule. The stress and financial resources it took to build and maintain a state-of-the-art marine mammal facility in the late '80s eventually took its toll on the company.

HBJ, whose primary focus was producing school books, needed to reduce its assets in order to avoid a bankruptcy.

The Anheuser-Busch Company made an offer to purchase the SeaWorld parks. Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc ( (ˈænhаɪzər bʊʃ is the largest Brewing company in the United States with a 48 However, HBJ also owned and operated two other parks, Cypress Gardens and Boardwalk and Baseball, and out of fear of not being able to find a buyer for the two other parks HBJ refused to sell the parks individually. Cypress Gardens is a theme park near Winter Haven Florida in the United States. Boardwalk and Baseball was a Theme park built near Haines City Florida, United States, on the east corner of the intersection of US 27 and Despite a long negotiation, Anheuser-Busch bought all six parks: SeaWorld in San Diego, Aurora, Orlando and San Antonio as well as Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven and Boardwalk and Baseball in Haines City. Soon after the sale was final, Busch sold Cypress Gardens to the park's management and closed Boardwalk and Baseball. Anheuser-Busch put millions of dollars back into the parks to revive and to prolong their longevity.

SeaWorld Ohio sale, re-birth, and eventual transition

In February of 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold the Ohio park to Six Flags, Inc. Six Flags Inc (commonly Six Flags) is one of the world's largest chains of Amusement parks and Theme parks, based on quantity of properties , operators of neighboring Six Flags Ohio (Geauga Lake until the end of 1999, reverting to the Geauga Lake Name in 2004). Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom is a Waterpark located in Aurora, Ohio, United States, originally founded in 1888 as Geauga Lake Upon completion of the sale, the two parks were combined in spring 2001 as the mega-park Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure, which boasted its '3 parks in 1' uniqueness: a waterpark, an amusement park, and a wildlife animal park all included in the price of admission. Sea World executives replied that the park was sold because of the short season of the animal park, due to Ohio's cold winter months, and the fact that they were not able to secure the rights to build amusement park coasters as the other Sea World properties had been able to.

In March 2004, Six Flags, Inc. announced it had sold Six Flags Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair, operators of the Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky, Ohio, two hours' drive to the west. Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, legally known as Cedar Fair L Cedar Point is a 364 acre (15 km² Amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, U Sandusky is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Erie County. Cedar Fair renamed the park back to its original Geauga Lake name, which has a history dating back to 1888. Since Six Flags retained ownership of the animals, the majority of the animal side of the park, including all the exhibits and animal stadiums, was either empty or fenced off during the 2004 season.

After a near season-long wait, Cedar Fair announced their plans for the non-operational side of the former Sea World Ohio/Six Flags Worlds of Adventure-Wildlife Side. The entire section of land will become an immense waterpark, named 'Wildwater Kingdom', opening in 2 phases, with the first phase in 2005 followed by the second phase in 2006. This decision marked the end of the marine life park forever.

All of the animal stadiums and buildings were then torn down or converted into other venues. Surprisingly, some of the SeaWorld property remained intact, albeit hidden or modified since its original incarnation. What remained included the former pinniped area (now part of the waterpark/lounge area scenery), the Ski Stadium (to be used in a Lumberjack show in 2006), as well as the Aquarium (used for unknown purposes) and the 2 movie theater houses/simulators, now operating with new 3D/4D movies. Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising

Stunt show accident

On August 17, 1996, 22 people were injured during a Baywatch-themed water ski stunt show at the now closed SeaWorld of Ohio. Baywatch was an American Television series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the crowded Beaches of Andrew R. Schleis, who was driving a boat in the show, lost control after the boat allegedly experienced mechanical failure. The boat crashed five rows deep into the show's stadium resulting in 17 being taken to area hospitals and 5 treated on the scene. Of the 17, at least 4 were listed in critical condition. ^[4]

During the accident investigation, the owner of the boat, World Entertainment Services Inc. of Winter Park, Florida, was charged with three marine regulation violations unrelated to the accident. Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. ^[5]

Orcas

Takara demonstrating a breaching move during the Believe show at SeaWorld Orlando.

SeaWorld's main attraction is its Orcas, several of which are housed in 7-million-gallon habitats that are each known as Shamu Stadium. Shamu was the name of the first Orca brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 'Shamu' is now used as a stage name for adult Orcas in performances at SeaWorld parks. The Orcas all have real names. Currently, Sea World houses 22 Orcas in its three parks. Seven Orcas live in the San Diego park: Corky, Kasatka, Ulises, Orkid, Sumar, Nakai, and Kalia. Corky (II is a female Orca (also known as a Killer whale) from the A5 Pod in British Columbia, Canada. For the Russian helicopter see Kamov Ka-60. Kasatka is a female Orca, or killer whale who lives at SeaWorld San Diego Ulises (sometimes spelled Ulysses is a male captive Orca, currently living at SeaWorld San Diego, California. Sumar is a male Orca born at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida on May 14, 1998. Kalia may refer to Kalia Bangladesh Kalia Chad Kalia Democratic Republic of Congo Kalia Guinea Nine live at SeaWorld Orlando: Katina, Kalina, Tilikum, Taima, Takara, Kayla, Trua, Nalani, and Malia. Katina is a female Orca (killer whale who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. Kalina is a female Orca (killer whale born on September 26, 1985 at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. This article is for the killer whale For other uses see Tillicum. Taima is a transient/ Icelandic hybrid female Orca who lives at Sea World Orlando in Florida. Kayla is a female Orca (killer whale who was born on November 26, 1988 at SeaWorld San Antonio in Texas. Trua is a male Orca who was born at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida on November 23 2005 Nalani (meaning "calmness of the skies or heavens" in Hawaiian is a female Orca born on September 18, 2006 at SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a Theme park near Orlando Florida. It is owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch SeaWorld San Antonio used to hold six, but now has only five Orcas: Kyuquot, Keet, Unna, Tuar, and Halyn; Taku unexpectedly died on October 17, 2007. Keet is a bull Orca who was born on February 2, 1993. The word "Keet" means orca in the Tlingit language Unna is a female Orca, or cow She was born on December 27, 1996 at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. Tuar is a male captive Orca, currently living at SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas. Taku was a male Orca, who was born at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. ^[6]

Criticism

Organizations such as the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society campaign against the captivity of dolphins and Orcas; SeaWorld, which owns 55% of the world's captive Orcas, is cited for its role. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (commonly WSPA) is an international Non-profit Animal welfare organisation and also a federation of such ( WDCS) the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is a wildlife Charity that is dedicated solely to the worldwide conservation and welfare of all whales dolphins Orcas are known to have a much shorter lifespan in captivity, though for Bottlenose Dolphins this does not appear to be the case. ^[7] Small pools have caused sensory deprivation, in which dolphins cannot make much use of echolocation whilst living in captivity. Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses Echolocation, also called biosonar, is the biological Sonar used by several Animals such as Dolphins Shrews most Bats

Aggression in captivity is also not uncommon. On August 1989 a dominant female Orca, Kandu V, struck a newcomer Orca, Corky II, with her mouth during a live show. Kandu V was a dominant female Icelandic Orca, caught in 1977 and kept at SeaWorld San Diego in California. ^[8] Corky II had been imported from Marineland California just months prior to the incident. According to reports, a loud smack was heard across the stadium. Although trainers tried to keep the show rolling, the blow severed an artery near Kandu V's jaw, and she began spouting blood. The crowd was quickly ushered out, and after a 45-minute hemorrhage, Kandu V died. Various SeaWorld trainers have also sustained serious injuries from working with the animals. ^[9] The most recent incident happened in November 2006 and involved Orca Kasatka at SeaWorld San Diego, who held 39-year-old trainer Ken Peters below the surface by his foot, though the trainer eventually managed to safely exit the pool. ^[10]

SeaWorld's methods for obtaining animals in the past have also been criticized. Up until 1993, SeaWorld was among several parks across the United States that imported dolphins from Japanese drive hunts and SeaWorld's attempt to capture several Orcas in Puget Sound in the early 1970's using powerboats, airplanes and explosives to drive the animals resulted in the capture permit being revoked. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. whaling Dolphin drive hunting, also called dolphin drive fishing, is a method of Hunting Dolphins and occasionally other small Cetaceans by driving Puget Sound (ˈpjuːʤᵻt is an arm of the Pacific Ocean, connected to the rest of the Pacific by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the Pacific Northwest ^[11][12] In 1995, SeaWorld announced that it would no longer capture dolphins and whales from the wild. ^[13] The animals are now obtained through breeding including artificial insemination, loans, and purchases from other marine parks around the world. AIH redirects here For the indie rock band abbreviated AIH see Architecture in Helsinki Artificial insemination (AI is the process by which ^[13]. ^[14]

Controversy: Seaworld Wikipedia article

In 2006, An Anheuser Busch employee was found to have edited the Wikipedia article on Seaworld, deleting critical comments concerning Orcas, and changing all references from "Orcas" to "Killer Whales. "^[15]. According to the August, 2007 New York Times article, eventually the Anheuser-Busch employee took responsibility for the edits, after being challenged by another Wikipedia editor. "^[15]

References

External links

• Google Maps satellite view of SeaWorld San Diego
• USA Today Q&A with trainer Julie Scardina
• Official SeaWorld site
• SeaWorld Pictures and Information
• Shamu
• Seaworld's Aquatica Water Park Construction Photos
• SeaWorld as media artifact [2]
• Frontline: Whale of a Business, [3]