By Robbin Sheets, Ken Peters, Kristi Burtis, Lindy Donahue and John Stewart
We are killer whale trainers at SeaWorld San Diego and together we have more than 75 years of experience working and playing with, caring for, and most importantly, loving the killer whales living at our park. There are few people in the world who have a better understanding and insight into the behavior, personalities and social dynamics of these animals than we do.
For all of us, our careers as trainers began as childhood dreams of working with animals — dreams that were sparked by visits to zoos and aquariums like SeaWorld. Those sparks turned into passion and a lifelong commitment to caring for animals.
Since our first days as trainers, we have always put the animals first and were taught to understand the complexities of their behavior. Falling in love with a killer whale is easy. Wondering if a killer whale can fall in love with you is something different. That may sound anthropomorphic, but when a killer whale gestures to you to come over and play, even after you’ve just finished a show or enrichment session, it hits you: this animal likes me and wants to be around me. It’s almost impossible to explain the amazement of that feeling.
As trainers, we don’t just tend to the basic needs of the whales. We are part of their family, just as they are part of ours. We’ve built strong relationships with each whale that are based on positive interactions. The relationships we have with the whales are important components to their quality of life, and they thrive on the enrichment they receive from us whether during shows, training exercises, play time or husbandry sessions. Because of the incredibly close bond we have with these whales, we are able to share them with people every day.
Several months ago, we welcomed the newest member of our killer family when Kalia gave birth to a baby girl named Amaya. To witness the wonder of her birth, watch her bond with her mother and then see her begin relationships with the other whales is something very special. We’ve been able to observe her physical and social development, and now that we’re interacting with her, we’ve become part of her family too.
The lives of our killer whales are different than those living in the wild — not better or worse — just different. That said, our whales have healthy and enriched lives in our care. A peer-reviewed study just published in the Journal of Mammalogy, as well as recent government research, found that our killer whales live as long as observed wild killer whales.
The research that has developed much of what we know and understand about killer whales has been done by scientists who have access to our healthy whales in a safe and controlled environment. The trust we have with our whales allows scientist to gather information that would be impossible in the wild. Currently, we have multiple studies ongoing at the park learning more about killer whale hearing, heart rates and toxin transfers in mother’s milk. The knowledge gained from research with our killer whales actually helps wild killer whales.
We are very excited about our new Blue World killer whale habitat expansion project. This project nearly doubles the size of the current pools, and will allow us to expand our enrichment program for the whales, develop enhanced educational opportunities for students and guests, and give scientists the opportunity to conduct even greater research. The design process for Blue World continues to be an incredible experience for us. We are working with scientists, educators, veterinarians and engineers from inside and outside SeaWorld. The collaborative nature of this process has brought together a diverse group of talented people focused on bringing to life an even more remarkable home for our whales.
What brings us the greatest joy is that we’ve been able to inspire generations of people to love killer whales, just as we do. Before SeaWorld, killer whales were hated and feared. Over the past 50 years, nearly a half billion guests to all our SeaWorld parks, and other marine parks around the world, have gotten the chance to experience killer whales firsthand, learn about them and come to appreciate them for the wonderful animals they truly are.
With the threats that so many animals, including killer whales, are facing in the wild, zoos and aquariums like SeaWorld are more important today than ever. We are proud to share our lives with killer whales and, in turn, share their lives with you.
Sheets, Peters, Burtis, Donahue and Stewart are senior killer whale trainers at SeaWorld San Diego.
