Planet Earth: My First Trip To Sea World!

So for the Fourth of July, we went down to San Deigo to visit the Sea World Adventure Park. I had never been to Sea World, and have had a hard time envisioning what would make it so great (as many people said it was; Jess even said it's her favorite theme park!). I basically was imagining a really big aquarium with lots of different fish and sorts of little ocean creatures; which is cool, but not like "Theme Park" cool.

But everyone kept telling me how awesome it was, and that it was much more than "looking at fish all day" (my negative mantra towards the place). We drove down with our San Gabriel friends, and boy was I surprised. The park is uber cool. We saw the Beluga whales, and polar bears, and walruses, and penguins (one of my favorites!), and turtles, and sea stars, and bat rays, and dolphins, and of course, Shamu (which I discovered, is just a stage name given to all the orcas at Sea World, as the real Shamu passed away in 1971).

Of course, there is a continually raging controversy about orcas in captivity, and there is now some compelling results from studies that have been going on since the 70's (capturing orcas really caught on in the 60's). I realize that do not have all the vital facts and power to somehow put an end to orcas in captivity (studies show that it does without a doubt, contrary to what marine parks declare, significantly shorten their lives), so I am resigned to be thankful for the experience I had with the whale (Corky, to be precise), while regretting its situation.

They also had a "Pets Rule" show where they had all the "regular" pets doing really awesome performances. Dogs, ducks, pigs, and yes, even cats, exhibited their peculiar skills and irresistible charm. It was also cool because most of the "pets" in the show were rescued from shelters, (it definitely raised my expectations for our little Maggie).

So shelters aside, the big question remains: is it wrong for us to capture these animals from the wild for our pleasure/benefit? Sea World presents them in such a way so as to celebrate them, and develop respect and affection for them, but is confining them to a 36-ft deep tank the right way to do this? Are the relationships that trainers develop with them, and the affection they are shown, and the provision and care they receive in captivity a fair trade off for life in the wild? It seems like a pretty obvious atrocity to me, but because it's so socially popular, I'm inclined to see it's "acceptability" more readily. Am I a prime example of being culturally conditioned?

Here is an article written in the Seattle Times in 1994, that is really enlightening and not overwhelmingly biased. A little dated, but highly informative and interesting.

Here are some pictures from our trip. (Click on them to see bigger versions)

left - Beluga whale swimming upside down and, I swear, smiling)

right - The dogs in Pet's Rule take a bow

left - The penguins!

right - Huge poodle walking across the stage on his hind legs

left - One of the amazing trained cats

right - Shamu (Corky) leaps majestically from the water

left - Shamu is a captive, but she is loved

right - Me and my honey

left - Josh was talked into getting his face painted as a panda

right - Clyde and Seamore's Risky Rescue