Loro Parque trip report - April 2019

Shortly after the announcement of the birth of baby Ula in September 2018, I convinced my mum to book us a trip to Tenerife for April 2019. I was excited to go and see what could possibly be the last baby orca born in captivity, as the industry is facing many changes and appears to be dying out. The last time we went was April 2012, so a whole 7 years previously. The last time we went was after the deaths of Alexis Martinez and Dawn Brancheau, but before Blackfish has been released. So the last time was before the anti-captivity movement had really picked up momentum.

After a few days in Tenerife, we finally went to Loro Parque on the 5^th April. Whenever I go to an orca marine park, my first stop is always to race over to the orcas. My mother and I headed straight over to Orca Ocean, but when we were arrived, there were tall gates where nothing was visible inside the stadium. This was new since our previous visit. We then went to the dolphin show, and I used to previously go right to the top of the steps of the dolphin stadium and stand at the back and look over the ledge to be able to see the orcas. This now also had barriers up to prevent anyone from seeing the orcas. This isn’t too dissimilar to when I went to SeaWorld and Miami Seaquarium last year. Marine parks are seemingly making it near impossible to view orcas outside of show times now. My guess is that this has occurred in response to the Blackfish movement, and the marine parks are trying to prevent activists and anti-captivity people from taking footage of the orcas.  

Unable to watch the orcas during the dolphin show like I used to, I sat and watched the dolphin show instead. However, I did not feel entertained at all. I felt like I was watching a circus show. I did not feel as if the dolphins were being respected at all. And it was on that day I vowed I would never watch a dolphin show again (not including orcas). Now it may seem strange to people to read that I would be willing to boycott a dolphin show, but not an orca show, and I have done some thinking over this. As I do not know these dolphins individually, I realised I have more of an objective opinion regarding their situation. I don’t like what I see. But as I know each of the orcas by name, and I can recognize them, I have more of an emotional attachment towards them, and so I feel excited about seeing these individuals that I have come to know. This may not sound logical to an outsider, but its just how it is for me.

After the dolphin show, the orca show was on next so we went on through, and I finally got to see Baby Ula! At that time, she was in the back medical pool alone, however her mum Morgan got transferred in with her, whilst the other 5 orcas performed in the show. Prior to coming, I had read a lot of reports online that anti-captivity people were saying that baby Ula was sick/dying. I have to say, these reports seemed very inaccurate to me. I saw a healthy baby who was very active, interacting with her mother and jumping out the water. Physically and behaviourally, I did not see any signs of a sick baby. I also witnessed trainers performing target practice with Ula already, such as getting her to follow their hands and her be reinforced with rub downs.

Whilst in Tenerife me and mum visited Loro Parque a total of two times. And we attended every single orca show, just so I could have as much viewing time of baby Ula and the other orcas. As mentioned, baby Ula was very active and probably the most active of all the orcas. Outside of show times, most of the other orcas seemed very lethargic. Morgan was probably the second most active, as she would jump out the water at times, which Ula would copy. And then after that, I saw Adan sliding out to try and grab a ball on the other side of the pool. But other than that, the orcas didn’t do a whole lot before and after shows. Again, aside from Morgan and Ula, I also feel as if I saw very little social interaction between the orcas. They just seemed to swim in their own circular patterns, not taking much notice of each other. Before one of the shows, Adan was seen floating motionless by one of the gates. My guess was that he was interested in what Ula and Morgan were doing in the pool behind, and given the chance he would probably be interacting with them if he could. But I guess the lack of social interaction is attributed to the fact that this is an artificial family unit, and not one that a wild family would be made up of. A counter argument that trainers may say is that I was only viewing the orcas for a very small portion of the day, and they, who get to spend most of their day with the orcas, have witnessed regular social interactions between the orcas. But unfortunately I saw evidence of negative orca interactions, as I could see the rake marks on Adan, who after Ula is the youngest of the group. Prior to one of the shows, Kohana was also tail slapping around the show pool, which is supposedly a sign of agitation. So yeah, there was evidence of things not being fully great for the orcas. But as for Ula, she appears fine, and hopefully she doesn’t meet a premature end like Vicky..