Michelle's Reviews > Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Kill

I’m not sure what made me pick up this book. Maybe because it’s about Sea World and I live in San Diego. I’ve seen them rescue random marine animals and I also worked at Sea World a couple summers during college. Alas I’ve been sort of anti-Sea World lately for reasons I didn’t fully comprehend. This sure as hell explains it.

The author does an excellent job of winding a narrative through this non-fiction piece. It reads much like a story, or at least parts of it do. The science is fascinating and I don’t know how anyone could read this and not agree that orcas should not be kept in captivity. Some animals do fine in such surroundings (provided the proper care) and indeed even live longer. Not so with the “killer whales.” It is amazing to think a creature that normally travels 100 miles a day is confined to such a small place. I couldn’t live in Shamu Stadium the rest of my life and I’m a tad smaller than an orca.

The Shamu Show should be banned and I will not step foot in Sea World until it is…and I say that as someone who loved going there growing up, who worked there, who’s taken her children there. They do some good, which even the author acknowledges. Several times I’ve been jogging on the beach and have seen them rescue a sick sea lion. But orcas and the ridiculous (non-educational) shows are an entirely different story. These are highly social, highly intelligent creatures. They live their lives in families, not segregated from one another in separate pools. Sons travel beside their mothers forever. At Sea World the various “Baby Shamus” are stripped from the mother immediately. It’s no wonder the infant mortality rate is so high, why the lifespan is a fraction of the age as those in the wild, why so many females die shortly after having one of their calves stripped.

So either those who run Sea World are stupid or they believe their own hype: the ocean is scary and increasingly polluted, how else would the fine folks of America get to see these majestic creatures. First of all, as one character aptly pointed out, if cetaceans are affected by humans in the wild (pollution, loud boats, etc.), the solution is not captivity, it’s fixing the damned ocean! And I liked the stat about how it’s much cheaper to see the whales in the wild than pay for a day at Sea World.

Alas it’s about the bottom line. Even in court they’ve testified that “water work” is needed for the bottom line. All throughout the book those in charge constantly hide things, lie, cover up, and provide misleading data. I’m no animal rights activist. I’ll wear leather and eat meat all day long but it’s absolutely heartbreaking. These are truly intelligent, social creatures being made crazy by their imprisonment.

A healthy chunk of this takes place during the time I worked there. I remember the protesters but like all Sea World employees was given talking points (and healthy doses of Kool-Aid). This was when Free Willy came out and it was fascinating to learn the whole story behind Keiko.

This is a very important read, for anyone.