Sealand of the Pacific

Sealand of the Pacific
Date opened 1969
Date closed November 1992
Location Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates 48°25′30″N 123°18′06″W / 48.4249°N 123.3018°WCoordinates: 48°25′30″N 123°18′06″W / 48.4249°N 123.3018°W

Sealand of the Pacific was a public aquarium in South Oak Bay at The Oak Bay Marina, near the city of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. It was famous for its orcas, which were the main attraction.[1]

History

The aquarium opened in 1969 and first became notable as the home of the famous and much-loved orca, Haida (captured in 1968).[2] When the aquarium decided to capture a mate for him, Sealand became famous. This was because the young female whale that was captured, named Chimo, was a partial albino. Her striking white colouring had never been seen in captivity, and she quickly became one of the most famous captive whales anywhere. She died in 1972, a little over 2 years after her capture; the disease which caused her albinism, Chediak-Higashi syndrome, made her very susceptible to illness. Haida, her mate, mourned her death, and remained alone for years. Eventually, Sealand captured a female whale named Nootka II for his mate. Nootka II, however, died after 9 months. His third mate, Nootka III, was also short-lived. By the time of the death of his third mate, Haida displayed no interest in them.

Sealand became famous again in 1977, when it became home to Miracle. Miracle was a baby orca found alone, shot, starved and sick. She was captured and moved to Sealand, where she was nursed back to health. Miracle became a star attraction, but was kept in a separate pen from Haida. Several years later her companion in the pen, a seal named Shadow, drowned in the nets forming the pen.

As anti-captivity protests began to put pressure on aquaria, Sealand agreed to release Haida. Haida unfortunately died a few days before the scheduled release in October 1982, with no evidence of foul play to be found. His release had been part of a bargain for the aquarium to acquire new whales. Many people were outraged by the plan of capturing more whales, and staked a protest at the supposed capture site. Sealand soon obtained three whales captured from Iceland.

The three new orcas, Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II, never had good dynamics together, and indeed, the male Tilikum was often chased into the medical pen by the two females.

1991 Accident & Closure

On 20 February 1991, Keltie Byrne, a 20-year-old student and part-time orca trainer, slipped and fell into the whale pool after a show. Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II dragged and repeatedly submerged her until she drowned, despite other trainers' efforts to rescue her. The poor relations between the whales, unfamiliarity with trainers in the water, and the pregnancy of at least one of the females (Haida II) were cited as possible causes.[3][4][5][6]

Sealand of the Pacific closed shortly after the incident in November of 1992. All three of the whales were sold to SeaWorld in the United States. Tilikum and Nootka IV went to SeaWorld Orlando, while Haida II and her baby Kyuquot went to SeaWorld San Antonio. As of February 2010, only Tilikum and Kyuquot were alive.

Orcas Kept At Sealand

References

  1. ↑ "Oak Bay Marine Group timeline".
  2. ↑ frontline: a whale of a business: viewer discussion
  3. ↑ PBS: A whale of a business excerpts from chapter 7 of “The Performing Orca – Why the show must stop” by Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Bath U.K. 1992.
  4. ↑ Helm, Denise, Tilikum incident still haunts Wright, Oak Bay News 04 Mar 2010
  5. ↑ Sealand opens its doors for first show since drowning, The Vancouver Sun 04 Mar 1991
  6. ↑ Trainer dragged to death by whales, Toronto Star, Feb 21, 1991
  7. ↑ http://cetacousin.bplaced.net/orca/profile/sop921.html