Does SeaWorld Still Use Killer Whales? Last Baby Orca Born At Theme Park

RTR3HTDT — Trainers have Orca killer whales perform for the crowd during a show at the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego, California Mar. 19, 2014. Reuters

More than a year after SeaWorld said it would stop breeding orcas in captivity, the theme park chain announced the birth of its final killer whale calf. The unnamed baby was born Wednesday to a 25-year-old orca named Takara at the SeaWorld park in San Antonio, Texas.

Takara was already pregnant with the calf when the company announced it would cease breeding the animals last year.

"This is an exciting and emotional day for us at SeaWorld and we are all so proud to share this new killer whale calf with the world after a year and a half of planning and observing and providing all this special care," Chris Bellows, vice president of zoological operations at the San Antonio park, said Wednesday.

"This is life changing and a moment I will never forget.” – SeaWorld San Antonio Trainer Amy While mom and baby are doing well at this stage as expected, the SeaWorld animal care team is cautious in these critical early hours and days, waiting to observe key milestones like nursing.
A post shared by SeaWorld & Aquatica, Texas (@seaworldtexas) on Apr 20, 2017 at 5:07am PDT

The company said that the baby orca would be named sometime in the next few weeks. It also said the calf and other orcas couldn't be released into the wild because they were born and raised in captivity and would likely not survive.

"Although this will be the last opportunity for SeaWorld guests to see a baby killer whale up close as it grows and matures, SeaWorld will continue to care for the orcas at its parks for decades to come," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

SeaWorld had to shift its entire operation after the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" shed light on the lives of orcas in captivity. Backlash over the treatment of the animals and the conditions at the park led the company to scrap its orca breeding program at its 12 parks last year when they announced that the orcas at the park would be the "last generation."

For many animal rights activists, the move was not enough. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), called for the unnamed baby orca and her mother to be transferred to a seaside sanctuary for the remainder of their lives.

Since the release of "Blackfish," the company saw a significant drop in attendance and revenue. According to an earnings report released in November, SeaWorld's revenue for the first nine months of 2016 decreased by $26.5 million from the same period in 2015.