Just over a year after SeaWorld announced plans to end its controversial orca breeding plan, the company’s last killer whale has been born in its captivity.
The last generation of orcas under SeaWorld’s care, the company now has a total of 23 killer whales across its parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando.
The yet-to-be-named calf, born at SeaWorld San Antonio, is the offspring of 25-year-old Takara, who was pregnant before SeaWorld chose to end its orca breeding practices.
“With this being the last killer whale birth at a SeaWorld park, this is the last opportunity for researchers to study orca development in ways that cannot be done in the wild, helping to conserve this amazing species,” said a statement from SeaWorld.
“Information learned from Takara and her calf will add to SeaWorld’s extensive database about killer whales and their calves, which contribute directly to conservation efforts for populations, like the southern resident killer whales that are threatened by pollution, overfishing and human development.”
Currently in a phase of transition under CEO Joel Manby as it tries to transform its image, SeaWorld struggled in 2016, with revenues and attendance both down on the previous year’s figures.
SeaWorld blamed attendance declines on Hurricane Matthew, which temporarily closed its Florida attractions in October, also blaming “softness” in the Latin America market, which traditionally is a big draw for the operator.
The operator also had to endure the death of infamous orca Tilikum, who died in January this year and was featured in the 2013 anti SeaWorld documentary
Blackfish, which has been at the root of the company’s ongoing struggles.
