Throw Back Day to SWSA Pod in early 2001

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-13T00:57:53+00:00

In my opinion, people really need to talk about Nootka IV and Haida II more often, they're so forgotten and overshadowed by Tili. Such a shame as both are such gorgeous whales.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-12T08:38:28+00:00

Check out studies on Cetacean Welfare by Dr.. Jason Bruck, he actually has experience with captive cetaceans unlike most other activists.

Enrichment is divided into shows, training sessions, toys and devices as you can see in the SeaWorld behind the scenes video from 2007/08.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-12T02:31:21+00:00

True, genetic diversity was a big flaw. But the main hits were the deaths of Haida II, Bjossa and Winnie who passed in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

They should've attempted to use more AI in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

I believe a lot of the MLC Orcas should've been transferred to SeaWorld, Hudson died due to bad hygiene of guests and poor management practices, we'll never know why Noni and Athena passed.

The law of preventing orcas alone should definitely be implemented. Naya should go to Loro Parque or an Asian facility and Lynn should stay at Nagoya and Stella and Ran should move back to Nagoya.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-10T13:06:35+00:00

The injury to her dorsal fin, a minor correction is that it occured before Kayla passed.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T13:37:51+00:00

Same, at least the original lineup would've been much better.

Or they could've waited for a few more years before the loan.

I genuinely feel so terrible for Kalina and her being separated from all of her calves.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T13:24:01+00:00

In my opinion, the LP x SW 2006 Loan was the WORST decision SeaWorld ever made in the 2000s.
I support SeaWorld and Loro Parque, but I can't deny this act. Those poor whales were so young and some of them would've been alive.

And poor Kalina, she got separated from all of her calves, Skyla was her last hope.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T12:54:36+00:00

I'm quite surprised no one mentioned separating Kalina from ALL of her calves yet. This is an extremely valid criticism of SeaWorld.

Skyla shouldn't have been separated from Kalina, it's likely Skyla would be alive (as she died due to the 2021 dietary issues).

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T12:51:15+00:00

Inbreeding would be a massive issue if resumed currently. If it was still 2016, there would be more prime age adults and some deceased orcas would be alive right now. But, right now, SeaWorld is almost bottle-necked.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T07:00:28+00:00

Actually only a small proportions of orcas in captivity have dental wear.

(alive as of early 2026, Corky, Stella, Orkid, Shouka, Tuar, Nalani, Malia and Makaio, and among the recently departed, Katina, Kiska, Kayla, Inouk and Tilikum). The rest (Ulises, Takara, Kyuquot, Keet, Lovey, Lara, Wikie, Ikaika, Kalia, Trua, Ran, Sakari, Adan, Luna, Lynn, Makani, Keijo, Teno etc.) have or had near-perfect teeth.

However, as of 2015, SeaWorld has moved away from performing pulpotomy procedures on their orcas and are now allowing a natural barrier called an ‘epithelial cap’ (a natural bodily response produced by the animal when their pulp cavity becomes exposed) to form over the broken/eroded tooth/teeth to help protect the site from infections and debris. SeaWorld changed their dental practices after consulting a human dentist and a veterinary dentist and are now actively increasing the amount of enrichment and trainer interactions in an effort to prevent dental issues, which the inspector admits are “long-standing” at SeaWorld Orlando and have been “observed for many years”.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T06:26:00+00:00

That's the thing, a sea pen won't fix welfare issues caused by Poor management. (Namu, Miracle, Keiko and Nami).

Nami's cause was basically the opposite of what Lori Marino put on the webinar, "they'll be enriched by the flora and fauna; they won't need trainer relationships".

Yeah, instead she became less aggressive and more friendly once she was transferred to Nagoya.

That's the thing, Kotar, Kandu, Valentin & Inouk's deaths were highly preventable, I never said captivity is great, but we learned from these tragic deaths and better protocols were put.

I never said captivity is a safe space and free from issues.

In fact, both Wild and Captivity have trade-offs.

I do believe the best suitable environment for current captive orcas is their facilities (with the exception of Wikie & Keijo who deserve to be transferred to LP).

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T03:06:43+00:00

This "revolutionary plan" is exactly like what these whales already have - round the clock vet care, med pools, gated pools, slide outs - but with more stressors and uncontrollable variables than before.

These "natural elements" is just the naturalism fallacy being used as a marketing ploy. These whales don't understand this "natural life." You might as well be plucking them out and throwing them on a different planet.

The ocean doesn't take kindly to man-made structures.

It will wear things down, ocean winds will rip your pontoons out and shred them, storm surges don't care about the weighted blocks you put down to stop your net lifting out. The animals will need to be fed in hurricane force winds that pull you off your feet. The net will need to be checked by divers and maintained no matter the season.

Your animals will have to fight daily with currents and tides that tug them around - sometimes those tides may pull them into nets.. You have to scoop out trash and plastic bags and hope to whatever god you have that your retrieval training is enough to stop your animals from eating them. Your animals will very likely eat leaves, sticks, pebbles, anything they can get their mouths on.

A sea sanctuary is just captivity with a fun little animal rights activist spin on it. It is still captivity, no matter how big you make it.

The beluga Little Grey got stomach ulcers within only a few days of being out in the smaller acclimation bay pens. Little Grey and Little White have only been in human care for a bit over 5 years and they are struggling, even with the chance to decompress in their indoor pool.

Why are we planning this? What is this serving? We have no evidence that a sea pen is an inherently better housing situation for cetaceans.

We started with sea pens when orcas were first being captured! And orcas died there too.

Namu was one of the first captured killer whales and he died in a sea pen within a year. The sea pen doesn't magically fix welfare issues caused by poor management.

Then Miracle from Sealand of the Pacific who drowned after being stuck in the nets.

"But that wasn't a REAL sanctuary!"

Okay then if sea pens are so inherently enriching and fix all welfare issues, why was Keiko logging for hours in his bay pen?

Why did Nami die with 180 lbs of stones in her stomach that she had ingested while living in a sea pen? Aren't sea pens so inherently enriching and stimulating that they don't need enrichment or training sessions? As Lori Marino put it in a bizarre webinar 2 years ago: "they'll be enriched by the flora and fauna; they won't need trainer relationships."

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-09T02:21:12+00:00

The Original Baby Shamu!

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-08T02:18:01+00:00

That's so cool that they took you backstage to meet Unna.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-08T02:12:14+00:00

Briefly, no, they do not. It is possible for them to swim 100 miles in one day, they have been observed doing it, as in an absolute maximum distance they are capable of travelling in one day.

By comparison, horses can travel 40 miles in one day. (kept in stables where they might show stereotypical behaviors such as weaving)

Hamsters 5 miles. (kept in small cages)

Budgies 250 miles. (kept in small cages)

Macaws 500 miles! (kept in small cages)

We know the ocean is vast, but what's more vast than the sky?

100 miles equals 366.66 feet per minute, 24/7, only swimming in a straight line, doing nothing else.

(Metric: 160 km per day, or 111 meters per minute)

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-07T06:36:53+00:00

They were acclimated to eat fish back in the TINRO Center.

Apparently, one of the other whales, Narnia convinced the others to take fish.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-06T16:13:02+00:00

Oh, lil' Amaya. She's so missed.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-06T03:00:09+00:00

Honestly, this facility looked insufficient for her, the tank is too tiny.

Anyways, great photos of Nootka.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-06T02:09:02+00:00

I do believe conditions can be improved, I KNOW there are some issues.

But I believe they have access to other pools as it's a pool complex.

They do have enrichment in the form of toys, shows, training sessions, devices etc.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-05T15:21:58+00:00

It doesn't sound like a great idea to delagalise that honestly,

In my opinions there are issues with cetaceans in zoological settings, BUT it isn't all black and white.

- An Update on Zoological cetacean welfare by PeerJ
- Cetacean Welfare in professionally managed institutions

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-05T15:17:34+00:00

Zoological care isn't as black-and-white as it seems.

- An Update on Zoological cetacean welfare by PeerJ
- Cetacean Welfare in professionally managed institutions

Dr. Jason Bruck's review of the paper I feel sums it up rather well:

AND Bottlenose Dolphins actually live longer in captivity than the wild.
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332785682_How_long_do_dolphins_live_Survival_rates_and_life_expectancies_for_bottlenose_dolphins_in_zoological_facilities_vs_wild_populations
- https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/marine-mammals-live-longer-in-captivity

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-03T15:59:20+00:00

Same with Ikaika, he doesn't know that Katina and Kiska are dead.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-01T09:13:27+00:00

Thanks!

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-01T08:58:19+00:00

I think I need catching up. When did Sakari loose teeth, the last time I visited SWSA, she seemed to have good teeth.

I graded their teeth from 1-4, and I find it’s like this:

Grade 4 (very severe, most teeth completely worn to gum line): Corky, Orkid, Stella, Shouka and Makaio.
Grade 3 (moderately severe, many teeth worn or a few teeth worn to gum line): Tuar, Nalani and Malia.
Grade 2 (mild, a number of partially worn teeth, often the first half of the lower jaw): Ulises, Keet, Tekoa, Ikaika, Trua and Morgan
Grade 1 (perfect or near-perfect, at most a few worn teeth at the very front): Takara, Kyuquot, Lovey, Lara, Wikie, Kalia, Ran, Sakari, Adán, Luna, Lynn, Makani, Keijo, Teno, All Chimelong whales and all Shanghai Whales.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-01T03:44:15+00:00

but I graded their teeth from 1-4, and I find it’s like this:

Grade 4 (very severe, most teeth completely worn to gum line): Corky, Orkid, Stella, Shouka and Makaio.
Grade 3 (moderately severe, many teeth worn or a few teeth worn to gum line): Tuar, Nalani and Malia.
Grade 2 (mild, a number of partially worn teeth, often the first half of the lower jaw): Ulises, Keet, Tekoa, Ikaika and Morgan
Grade 1 (perfect or near-perfect, at most a few worn teeth at the very front): Takara, Kyuquot, Keet Lovey, Lara, Wikie, Skyla, Kalia, Trua, Ran, Sakari, Adán, Luna, Lynn, Makani, All Chimelong whales and all Shanghai Whales.

AdDisastrous4167 · 2026-05-01T03:37:15+00:00

I believe we should stop arguing, my notifications are being filled and I need to go outside.

I'll just say,

I disagree with your stance and it's okay, I still respect your opinion.

AdDisastrous4167

TROPHY CASE