Sea World - Wildlife Conservation & the NOAA

I apologize for this rant in advance, but I feel like this info needs to be shared:

I spent my day at Sea World last Saturday, and I felt like I should make a disclaimer before I posted about the orca show. However, this show shouldn't need a disclaimer. In the keyboard-warrior community, places like Sea World, as well as other zoos and aquariums, typically get a bad rap. Furthermore, documentaries like "Blackfish" and shows like "Tiger King" have severely damaged pieces of the wildlife conservation community.  

However, why do these places exist? Because we have animals in need of care - animals who have been injured by boats, rescued from poachers, hooked by fishing lines, etc. These establishments do not "take animals from the wild," they rescue them from what we're doing to them in the wild. Unfortunately, some of these animals cannot be released back into the wild, so they have to remain in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries approved facility. 

Sea World has rescued over 31,000 animals since 1979, likely 31k more than PETA ever has. This is all out of pocket for them. They are under no obligation to rescue animals, and they volunteer to assist the NOAA. In addition, the federal government decides who rescues and houses marine animals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and some animals, such as sea turtles, are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Sea World chooses to stay in compliance with the stringent federal guidelines to remain a NOAA approved facility. With this information, how can we expect establishments like this to care for these animals, feed them, vet them, and give them large enough enclosures without something like paid admission?

In addition to the above mentioned, these unreleasable Animal Ambassadors teach children (and adults) the importance of these animals and protecting their habitats, which helps us connect a cause and effect that is so easy to forget. These programs also help us gather information about these animals we cannot necessarily gather from the wild. 

While places like Sea World have ended their breeding programs, breeding these animals in captivity means we will have these animals for future generations. For example, there are currently two northern white rhinos left in the world, and they are both female. The last male died in 2018, and when these two die, there will be none left. This is what zoos are helping us avoid for many other species around the world who are dying from pollution, starvation, and unethical commercial fishing/hunting methods, as well as not mating due to living conditions. Many of the locals in these animals' natural habitats see them as a nuisance or profit, and because of this, these animals continue to disappear.

While sanctuaries like the one some of Joe Exotic's tigers were released to after his incarceration are ideal, they are not realistic or financially accessible for all of the animals in need around the country/world. Otherwise, these animals would still be thriving in their natural habitats. There is barely enough room for the crops and cattle needed to feed our world, and that's why the Amazon rain forest is being destroyed. Wildlife is currently a second rate priority to our planet.

Lastly, wrapping back around to the animal shows, more specifically the orca shows. Breaching, spy hopping, and lob-tailing are all acts that orcas use in the wild. The show may be fascinating to the viewers, but it is mentally-stimulating and exercising for the orcas. It is true that orcas tend to live longer in the wild: 40 at the low end for males and 50 for females. Again, many of the animals at Sea World are there due to NOAA non-release standards, so they would not be expected to survive in the wild at all. Removing that "normal life in the wild" variable, the stimulating life Sea World provides leads to a lifespan of 30-40 years on average (they currently have a 56-year-old named Corky at Sea World San Diego) as opposed to other captive orcas that live about 6-10 years on average.

In conclusion, teach yourself and your children about our world and protecting it, so you can be a part of the solution, not the problem. Sea World is a place you can do this. 

Below is a list of animals currently facing extinction. You will be surprised who all you see on there: World Wildlife Fund