After a three week hiatus, the show must go on.
SeaWorld San Diego on Thursday brought back its sea lion and otter show, closed since March 6 as the park freed up its trainers to help with an unprecedented number of sea lion pup rescues along the coast. Sea Lions Live shows are held at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
SeaWorld San Diego has rescued a record 579 marine mammals so far this year, including 557 sea lions, more than twice its annual average.
The park reports, however, that its Animal Rescue Center has stabilized, and that’s allowing trainers to return to their normal role in the program. Suspending the shows allowed SeaWorld to make available six more animal specialists to assist with rescues.
“I can’t thank our sea lion trainers enough for the incredible help they gave to our Rescue Team over the past three weeks,” Mike Scarpuzzi, SeaWorld’s vice president of zoological operations, said in a statement. “I’m very proud of them and the amazing work they’ve done to give these sea lions a second chance at life.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration has said it is seeing significantly more stranded pups on California beaches than usual this year. Justin Viezbicke, the NOAA stranding coordinator for the West Coast, said Thursday that the agency has taken in 2,000 pups since Jan. 1, with 800 remaining in their facilities. The others have been release back into the wild, died, or been euthanized. Typically around the January to April pupping season the agency sees about 225 pups come ashore.
Viezbicke said warmer waters off the coast have made for a limited food source for sea lions, making it hard to care for newborns. He asked that beachgoers do not approach the animals, as they are already under stress.
