Journeying On: Why I Support SeaWorld

SeaWorld

Tilikum & Malia present

28,000 Rescues & Counting!

Just this month, the SeaWorld Rescue team surpassed 28,000 rescues: a phenomenal feat by any stretch of the imagination. But lets break down the numbers a little. In their 51 years of operation, SeaWorld has rescued 17,460 birds, 7,531 seals and sea lions, 2,050 turtles and reptiles, 553 manatees, 479 whales and dolphins, 39 otters, and 90 other marine mammals. This ultimately breaks down to an average of 1.5 animals rescued every day. But lets put this all in perspective: since 1998, PETA, who is indisputably SeaWorld's largest critic, has euthanized approximately 35,000 animals, averaging roughly 2,000 every year. Who is the evil, animal abusing organization, again?

Courtesy: SeaWorldCares.com

Amazing Up-Close Animal Connections

Every single time I visit a SeaWorld park, the amazing connections I make with the animals there are spectacular. I am the living proof that SeaWorld's mission does, in fact, work. Because of the amazing encounters I've had the privilege of being a part of, I have been, and continue to be, inspired to take action to protect our oceans, the animals who inhabit it, and out planet as a whole.

I have had the uncommon opportunity to see whales and dolphins in the wild. Off the coast of Florida, Massachusetts, and British Columbia, I have seen Bottlenose dolphins, Humpback whales, Minke whales, and even orcas. But nothing, and I mean nothing, comes close to being just inches away from an animal, watching them live, play, and most importantly, thrive in places like SeaWorld. Connecting with these animals, that I really do consider to be almost family, has been one of the most fulfilling and worthwhile things I have ever done.

First-Class Animal Care

In addition to SeaWorld's amazing rescue program, the animal under their care receive the best possible care. One of the biggest misconceptions about animals in captivity is they get sick more often then their wild counterparts. In reality, it just appears that they do because an illness that is fairly simple and treatable in captivity, is almost always fatal in the wild.

One of the most fascinating things we have learned from keeping different animals in captivity, is what happens to their bodies when they live past their maximum expected age of their species (in the wild). Scientists have studied illnesses like arthritis in sloths, who live about 20 years in the wild, but 40 years in captivity, and how it effects them.