Pilot Whales get a new home at Shamu Stadium

[cwgator]

SeaWorld's pilot whales get a new home at Shamu Stadium - Orlando Sentinel

SeaWorld Orlando’s four pilot whales have a new home in Shamu Stadium, where guests should soon be able to see them.

SeaWorld moved the whales Friday from the dolphin stadium, where they had performed in the Blue Horizons show that recently ended. Shamu Stadium will provide them with more room, SeaWorld spokeswoman Aimee Jeansonne-Becka said.

Three of the whales — Ava, Ace and Piper — were part of a mass stranding in South Florida in 2012. Fredi was rescued after being stranded in the Florida Keys in 2011. NOAA has deemed the whales unreleasable.

Since they’ve been at SeaWorld, they’ve gained a lot of weight — 1,000 pounds apiece. They tip the scales at between 1,400 and 2,000 pounds each.

The pilot whales are separated from the orcas at Shamu Stadium but can see them, Jeansonne-Becka said.

Once the pilot whales become acclimated to their new surroundings, guests should be able to see them from the underwater viewing area. An education ambassador will share their story with visitors. There are no immediate plans to make them part of the killer whale show.

Jeansonne-Becka said the water at Shamu Stadium was temporarily gradually adjusted over several days to a safe water temperature for both species to help with their acclimation. Both orcas and pilot whales are found in overlapping habitat areas in the wild, with similar temperature ranges, she said.

Pilot whales, like orcas, are members of the dolphin family. They are second only to killer whales in size. They have the same level of intelligence as bottlenose dolphins and are easily trained, according to the American Cetacean Society.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Do pilot whales and orcas get along...?

 

[cwgator]

They will not be in the same pools at the same time. They will be kept separate.

 

[epcyclopedia]

They will not be in the same pools at the same time. They will be kept separate.

Which lowers the living space of the orcas, no?

 

[WAJAS]

Which lowers the living space of the orcas, no?

That seems to be an accurate assumption. I wonder why they were moved though? They didn't really give a good reason in the press release.

Actually, I think they were moved because now they can be seen by park guests daily while when they were at Dolphin Stadium they were hidden from view most of the time.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Which lowers the living space of the orcas, no?

There's always been two separate areas.

 

[epcyclopedia]

There's always been two separate areas.

Yes but they moved the orcas through them and thus gave each individual varying amounts of living space.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Yes but they moved the orcas through them and thus gave each individual varying amounts of living space.

One side used to be used for the dolphins

 

[GAcoaster]

There was also a pool that was pretty much only for Tillikum. Now that he's gone there's more space.

 

[fryoj]

That seems to be an accurate assumption. I wonder why they were moved though? They didn't really give a good reason in the press release.

Actually, I think they were moved because now they can be seen by park guests daily while when they were at Dolphin Stadium they were hidden from view most of the time.

It says in the article to give them more room.

 

[WAJAS]

There was also a pool that was pretty much only for Tillikum. Now that he's gone there's more space.

That makes a lot of sense actually.

 

[SeaWorldRocks]

This is a great thing move for the pilot whales. They definitely needed more space than what they got at Dolphin Stadium. This also will eventually give SeaWorld a great learning resource for guests allowing them to be in under water viewing. Teaching us more about pilot whales and seeing them in ways we have not saw before. Pretty exciting.

 

[epcyclopedia]

But with BlueWorld canceled and then not building a new Pilot Whale tank from scratch - aren't they just making the conditions worse for the animals they already have using those tanks?

Which goes back to, why is the investment in a new water drop ride instead of tank expansion?

 

[WAJAS]

But with BlueWorld canceled and then not building a new Pilot Whale tank from scratch - aren't they just making the conditions worse for the animals they already have using those tanks?

Which goes back to, why is the investment in a new water drop ride instead of tank expansion?

There was also a pool that was pretty much only for Tillikum. Now that he's gone there's more space.

I think that answers your question.

 

[Scott W.]

But with BlueWorld canceled and then not building a new Pilot Whale tank from scratch - aren't they just making the conditions worse for the animals they already have using those tanks?

Which goes back to, why is the investment in a new water drop ride instead of tank expansion?

I think SeaWorld are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They need money to build the BlueWorld project but with such a drop in sales and a huge public backlash, they're not getting the finances required.

I'd love to think that building new rides might encourage people to return to the parks and this might have them invest in the project at a later date.

I'd also love to think that if they went ahead with the project tomorrow, that people might start to sympathise with them but I can't see it.

 

[epcyclopedia]

I think that answers your question.

They cycled the orcas through the various pools and he got along with that one other orca so they would sometimes be put together. Now the others are all held in a smaller space and without any cycling.

 

[WAJAS]

They cycled the orcas through the various pools and he got along with that one other orca so they would sometimes be put together. Now the others are all held in a smaller space and without any cycling.

Do you know that for sure? They still need to cycle them around because the underwater viewing has both pilot whales and orcas at different times. Keep in mind these pilot whales combined probably have the same if only slightly more weight as Tilikum.