23/01/2019
https://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/seaworld-loro-parque-exposed/
Loro Parque (Spanish for “parrot park”) is a zoo and marine theme park located on the island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. Loro Parque displays captive birds, dolphins, and sea lions and, in partnership with SeaWorld, keeps orcas jammed in cramped tanks.
SeaWorld “loaned” the facility four orca calves to launch Loro Parque’s “Orca Ocean” in 2006. Keto and Tekoa came from SeaWorld San Antonio. Kohana and Skyla—both of whom were torn away from their mothers at the young ages of 3 and 2, respectively—were from SeaWorld Orlando. These massive ocean-going animals were flown thousands of miles in a wide-body transport plane, and cranes were used to move them from their plane transport pens into the tanks.
SeaWorld was heavily involved in “managing” the orcas, including overseeing their care and training. A SeaWorld senior trainer reportedly supervised the training session when Keto killed trainer Alexis Martinez in 2009. Since then, SeaWorld has tried to distance itself from Loro Parque.
We worked with SeaWorld on every aspect of this program.” —Patricia Delponti, director of communications and public relations at Loro Parque
Since the launch of Orca Ocean, two orcas have been added. Morgan was taken from her ocean home on the promise that she would never be publicly displayed and would be released back into the ocean as soon as she was rehabilitated—but she never was. Two calves, both in**ed, have been born at Loro Parque: Vicky, who died when she was only 10 months old, and Adán, who has survived for four years in a concrete tank.
Two PETA staffers visited Loro Parque and filmed orcas who had fractured teeth and other injuries, who listlessly floated in tiny tanks, and appeared to have mucus running from their eyes. Dr. Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian with experience with marine mammals, reviewed the footage.
Here is what Dr. Rally found:
1. Frustrated orcas bite the sides of the tanks.
Orcas are intelligent animals who work cooperatively, have sophisticated social structures, communicate using distinct dialects, and swim up to 100 miles every day. Being denied the opportunity to engage in such natural behavior leaves orcas frustrated and bored. With little else to do, they neurotically mouth and bite the sides of the tanks.
An orca who was confined to one of the smaller back tanks floated on the surface and was seen rubbing his or her head against the concrete.
2. Many orcas have missing or broken teeth.
The orcas’ worn and damaged teeth were visible when they opened their mouths to accept food. Some orcas have teeth that are completely missing or ground down to the gumline. Many of the orcas at Loro Parque had exposed pulp cavities.
Open pulp cavities were identified by Dr. Rally on the left side of this orca’s mouth. Orcas in captivity often fracture their teeth when biting on hard surfaces in their tanks. Fractured teeth are prone to infection and orcas are often forced to endure drilling procedures that are believed to be painful due to the presence of nerves and living tissues inside the teeth.
Park workers drill into the teeth in order to open a cavity that allows for daily cleaning.
Open pulp cavities at Loro Parque
This daily cleaning is done to reduce the risk of serious infection that can cause illness or even death in captive orcas when their teeth inevitably become fractured or severely worn. However, some captive orcas still suffer from these complications in spite of the procedure.
Skyla was observed begging for food at the stage. She appears to have a missing tooth with a deep pulp cavity exposed.
According to Dr. Rally, orcas in the wild don’t typically lose their teeth, so Skyla’s tooth was likely pulled because of trauma or an infection. Several of her other teeth are worn down to expose the pulp cavity. Also, note the blue tint on some of the orcas’ teeth. It may be from the blue paint.
Shortly after SeaWorld delivered them to Loro Parque, several of the orcas began using their teeth to chew off pieces of the molded rubber that surrounds the tank. As a result of this unnatural behavior or others like it, the first three or four teeth on both sides of Keto’s mouth are completely or partially worn down.
After performing a trick, Keto again opened his mouth and revealed exposed pulp chambers on four teeth that are completely worn down to the gum line.F6-D1-highlighted
A third orca appeared to Dr. Rally to have significant wear on several teeth already.
Tekoa, confined to the smaller medical tank, opened his mouth, exposing a number of pulp cavities.
3. Orcas float listlessly and exhibit atypical behavior.
Wild orcas are inquisitive, energetic, and almost always on the move. Orcas at Loro Parque often float motionless at the surface, bob listlessly, or beg nearby trainers for food.
Keto was seen floating listlessly at a gate and eventually turned onto his side in what Dr. Rally says may have been an effort to keep an eye on the trainers walking over the bridge.
At the conclusion of one of the shows, this orca proceeded to float listlessly on his or her side and bob up and down.
Apparently prompted by sheer boredom or a search for food, Adán, the youngest orca at Loro Parque, slid in and out of the water.
This odd behavior was seen repeatedly.
4. Trainers lock orcas in the smaller tanks and ignore them.
Orcas are sometimes kept isolated in holding tanks, and trainers pay little attention to them. From the very beginning of Orca Ocean, SeaWorld officials taught Loro Parque orca trainers, including during sessions at SeaWorld’s San Antonio and Orlando parks. SeaWorld’s corporate mindset and how its trainers view and treat the orcas have driven the trainers’ attitudes at Loro Parque.
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Bored orcas have so little to keep their bodies and minds engaged that they beg nearby trainers for food by opening their mouths. The Loro Parque trainers, who learned how to interact with orcas from SeaWorld trainers, generally ignore them.
These two orcas, Kohana and Keto, were filmed while locked in a medical tank, which is also used as a holding tank. They attempted to get food and/or attention from trainers, but they were completely ignored.
Without sufficient space to swim around, they continued to float listlessly.
An orca, believed to be Morgan, was observed by Dr. Rally in the back tank splashing and trying to get the attention of a nearby trainer.
Tekoa was locked in the medical tank for the duration of the second show. According to Dr. Rally, he exhibited signs of boredom and agitation as he bobbed up and down, floated listlessly, and lingered near the gate.
5. Orcas have “rake marks” caused by aggression and attacks from tankmates.
Rake marks appear when dominant animals scrape their teeth against the skin of less aggressive animals. Lower-ranking members of the forced and unnatural grouping are routinely bullied but have no way to escape because of the cramped tanks. These attacks can result in painful and serious injuries, and they have been reported as being so severe that blood seeped from orcas’ wounds.
This orca, who was locked backstage, has a small rake mark on the side of her body.
Morgan, who slid out of the water during a performance, has two sets of rake marks on her left side.
Tekoa slid out and rotated on stage during a performance. Dr. Rally observed extensive rake marks on both sides of his body that ran from the orca’s head to the tail fluke. The orca’s dorsal fin also appears to be collapsing, which is the result of captivity, having inadequate space to swim and dive.
Later, Tekoa flipped onto his side, exposing rake marks along the animal’s body and fin.
6. Some of the orcas have mucus running from their eyes.
The observers and Dr. Rally saw a clear mucus-like substance hanging from Keto’s left eye, possibly because of irritation from the chemically treated water.
