WHALES IN BONDAGE!! Well, not quite...

A young SeaWorld trainer on the nose of a pilot whale.

Do not try this at home.

After our open-sea adventure, Kel and I did, in fact, saunter over to SeaWorld today. Having been spoiled by Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo, I was relatively unimpressed by SeaWorld's people management. It took us almost an hour to get INTO the park. It must have been Hire-An-Incompetent Week at the marine park. Well, I shouldn't be too unkind; we did get a $10 refund because of our wait, which they didn't have to do...but really, I don't wait well, especially when there are WHALES just over the fence.

Kel played with the mantra rays (whose tail tips had been surgically removed) but I couldn't help but think of Steve Irwin and kept my hands firmly in my pockets. (Actually, they live there and only come out for special occasions).

We then went to see the dolphin show which was great fun. Dolphins must have devolved from the porcine family because THEY ARE BIG HAMS. One young dolphin named Dolly jumped a hurdle that took it over 16 feet into the air. Gaudy. That's her below, leaping over a yellow rope.



The animals seem to be healthy and well-maintained, and their trainers show genuine affection to them. The marine mammals are regularly groomed and well-fed and have a decent volume of water to patrol. They are breeding in captivity, so perhaps a life of captivity has its perks. I guess that's how we rationalize the captivity of all animals, including our pets- it's a decent trade-off; loss of freedom for greater security, no predation, regular meals and health care. Kinda like having a job for room and board with a doctor.


After cavorting with the dolphins, who joyously soaked the first 14 rows of the audience as their finale, we meandered over to the sea otters. We ended up at Shamu Stadium, where the show was less impressive- killer whales are not the show-offs dolphins are- and more impressive, because it revolved around KILLER WHALES! The top predators of the ocean. In like, nothing feeds on them. In like, should the mood strike, good ole Shamu could have his trainer for lunch. Of course, they feed him 250 pounds of fish a day so that he won't be peckish come show time, but the size differential between the whales and their trainers makes you wonder how it came to be that they were ever captured in the first place- and trained in the second. I mean, really, how DO you train a whale? What do you do if it misbehaves? Give it a good spanking? Take a look at the next picture and see if you agree that only the very young with no sense of their own mortality ever take these jobs.

We had a great time, I have to admit. SeaWorld may be a commercial enterprise, but it is funding and supporting research and education about the other mammals with whom we share this blue planet. Conservation is as important as exploitation, and at least the exploited are respected and cared for. A sea zoo, if you will. Last week, we went into the ocean to see whales in the wild. Today we saw them in a pool. Both experiences increased our knowledge about these mammoth, mysterious creatures- as well as manatees, hippos, beluga whales, and all the other marvelous animals we were able to see first hand, up close, and personal today. It made me feel connected and protective of them. And that, I think, is the point of SeaWorld.

If you go... take a raincoat. The whales and dolphins ARE out to get you wet.