SeaWorld

SeaWorld, in full SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., American company that manages several commercial theme parks, including four—three SeaWorld parks, in San Diego, California, Orlando, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, and the Discovery Cove park in Tampa, Florida—that feature marine life. The company also operates water parks in San Diego, Orlando, San Antonio, and Tampa; the Busch Gardens amusement and wildlife parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Virginia; and Sesame Place, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

All the SeaWorld parks have educational displays and aquariums housing a variety of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals, including dolphins and orcas (killer whales).

Until the late 2010s each of the SeaWorld parks featured circuslike performances by trained orcas, which were alternated in several daily shows and introduced to audiences as “Shamu,” a stage name that the company trademarked. In 2013 the company became the target of protests by animal-welfare organizations following the wide release of Blackfish, a documentary that chronicled SeaWorld’s mistreatment of the orca Tilikum. The animal’s abusive captivity allegedly drove it to kill three people—including Dawn Brancheau, an orca trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, in 2010. Facing drastic declines in attendance at SeaWorld parks, the company announced that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity and that it would revamp its orca shows to emphasize the animals’ natural behaviours.

The first SeaWorld opened in San Diego in 1964. Its aquariums hold hundreds of species of fish, including sharks, and its facilities house various exotic birds. The park in Orlando features a large coral reef aquarium. Covering 250 acres (101 hectares), SeaWorld San Antonio is the largest marine zoological park in the world. Although it initially was open year-round, the Texas theme park adopted a seasonal schedule in 1989.

SeaWorld sponsors educational programs for students and provides guided tours and publications. In 1976 the Orlando park initiated an animal rescue and rehabilitation program to aid injured or orphaned animals. Scientists at the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego conduct marine studies, especially research in bioacoustics and the migration and diving habits of sea turtles and pinniped mammals.