New Pilot Whale at SeaWorld San Diego

Say hello to the newest member of our SeaWorld family -- Sully the pilot whale. Sully was found stranded on a beach in Curacao in July 2009. Suffering from severe starvation and dehydration, he was not expected to survive. However, rescuers in Curacao nursed him back to health. When Sully showed no signs of being willing or able to re-integrate into the wild, experts determined the best place for Sully would be in a marine-life park living with other pilot whales. SeaWorld is one of the few zoological facilities in the world with pilot whales. On Jan. 4, Sully boarded his own private cargo plane to San Diego. Hes doing great and is quickly getting acclimated to his new home.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Pilot
• Whale
• SeaWorld
• San
• Diego
• Sea
• Baby

[seaworld]

Hi, this is Melissa from SeaWorld. If you have any questions or concerns on our animals care please feel free to contact us through our YouTube channel email.

[p0lska2012]

uh, this has nothing to do with amusement. if the whale wasnt showing any signs of being willing or able to re-integrate into the wild a place like this is pretty much a last resort. So your saying you'd rather have this whale go out and die rather then go to a good home, get fed everyday, and played with on a daily basis?

[roflcopterXP]

Don't even try to spread nonsense. Sully is alive and well.

[peepchick101]

Glad to see Sea World actually 'saved' an animal after years and years of violently capturing them from their natural habitats and families in the wild and brutally killing many in the process. Good going, Sea World. Thanks for making our beautiful wild orcas endangered in the United States!

[B4Malfoy]

@nat365 Sully is partly deaf. He isn't able to communicate with other pilot whales and find food. He would starve in the wild. I'm agaunst captivity as well, but in this case, I rather want him alive in captivity than dead in the wild.. Oh and by the way, when he was still on Curaçao, a pod of pilot whales came by. They brought him to them, but he didn't join them. They did everything they could for him, but he just wasn't capable of going back. He knew he wouldn't survive on his own.

[nat365]

@frommmmars He was perfectly capable of fending for himself, and certainly old enough to catch his own fish. What should have been done is he should have been ignored when he swam back - eventually he'd have gotten the message, headed back out to sea, and most likely rejoined his pod (who were definitely big enough and noisy enough for him to find). And sometimes dead is, unfortunately, better than alive. The evidence of the mental torture cetaceans suffer in tanks is ample, if you look for it

[Seafret1412]

Didn't you release this whale into the wild again later? Or is this a different sully the pilot whale?

[HiddenHeartsCry]

@gally50 Good. Maybe they won't be eaten.

[frommmmars]

@paul1967uk

Just a brief notice of why I think you are not reasoning this well enough. We all want the best for animals. Sully was rescued in Curacao. (for video evidence or document evidence search "Sully Pilot Whale Curacao" or anything in that proximity).

It had been nurtured for 6 months and put back with other pilot whale pods two times (both times he swam back) before the decision for seaworld was made. Also video evidence of this.

Better an alive Sully than a dead one right?

[shamuroxy]

@gally50 where did you hear that?

[gally50]

FACT: Seaworld applied for a licence to purchase a pilot whale from Japan THIS YEAR.

[Cranma5678]

@realbushdoctor get your facts straight they dont buy animals anymore not for a very long time actually.

[bubblywums]

@realbushdoctor Sully has been at SeaWorld for more than half a year. It was before the attack and it is at another back all the way across the country. Do some research.