Innovation has become one of the hall-
marks of the Animal Rescue Center. “One
of the great things about SeaWorld is that
we’ve got our own welding shop, paint shop,
automotive shop, wardrobe department, et
cetera, so if we need something invented or
created to rescue an animal, we can get it
done on-site right away,” Westberg says.
Everything used to handle J.J. the gray
whale, for example, had to be fabricated
on-site. SeaWorld San Diego also placed
special satellite transmitters on rescued
Guadalupe fur seals and tracked them,
in partnership with Hubbs-SeaWorld
Research Institute, in order to gain crucial
data on the rarely studied creatures when
they were returned to the wild. Also, vets at
the San Diego park were among the first
to use stem cell treatments in penguins and
sea lions, and pioneered cataract surgery on
sea lions in the early 2000s in collaboration
with other veterinary ophthalmologists in
the region and a consulting ophthalmolo-
gist from Ohio State University. Down in
Orlando, the SeaWorld team has created
prosthetic beaks for injured birds.
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
In addition to rescuing wildlife, SeaWorld
also maintains a number of ongoing educa-
tion and outreach programs to inform local
residents and visitors about the plight of
animals in the wild and how they can help
to keep the oceans clean and safe.
Through conversations and handing out
animal information cards, the rescue team
continually works to educate the public
about the Marine Mammal Protection Act
and the park’s rescue program while they’re
out on the beaches.
SeaWorld also educates through social
and consumer media. For example, on World
Oceans Day, the park did a live Facebook
feed while the rescue team returned reha-
bilitated sea lions to the ocean. The feed
included information on how animals in the
wild can be adversely affected by pollution
and litter, including helium balloons that
people let loose and end up in the sea.
The park’s education and conservation
department has partnered with San Diego
Unified School District and San Diego
Workforce Partnership to develop a new
program called Ocean Link Lab to immerse
middle school students in the heart and
science of the park. This project-based
learning experience, which focuses
on the SeaWorld Animal Rescue and
Rehabilitation Program, was presented as a
pilot program to students from a few local
middle schools last spring and will return in
fall 2016 as a permanent offering in the San
Diego school district.
“Shamu TV”—an environmental edu-
cation series produced by SeaWorld and
Busch Gardens—presents stories about
endangered and threatened species and
the exceptional efforts by people working
tirelessly to save them. The series may be
viewed in school classrooms on DVDs or
online on computers and hand-held devices
via ShamuTV.com and YouTube. A Teacher
Toolbox with activities and resources helps
instructors to enhance lesson planning
around each episode.
SeaWorld is also behind “Sea Rescue,”
a Daytime Emmy Award-winning chil-
dren’s series that airs Saturday mornings
on ABC. The half-hour show details the
rescue, rehabilitation and return of marine
animals to the wild. More than 100 epi-
sodes have been broadcast since the series
debuted in 2012.
Environmental edification is also a staple
inside the park—during pre-shows at major
venues, during behind-the-scenes tours and
in the Rescue Plaza near Shamu Stadium,
where large screens showcase videos about
marine animals that received a second
chance at life. Meanwhile, SeaWorld’s
Creating a Cleaner World program has
eliminated the use of plastic shopping bags
and polystyrene foam products at restau-
rants in the park in favor of environmentally
friendly alternatives like reusable and paper
bags and compostable plates. All of these
efforts help make a safer world for animals
to return to.
“One hundred and 10 percent, the goal of
the program is to give animals that second
chance—return them back to the wild,”
Westberg says. “That’s the best day for us.
… That’s what we’ve been working toward.
When you see this skinny little sea lion now
fat and happy running down the beach,
that’s cool.” n
BY THE NUMBERS
In 2015, SeaWorld San Diego
rescued a record number of
animals including:
930 California sea lions
31 northern elephant seals
w
24 harbor seals
11 fur seals
2 common dolphins
386 marine birds
3 sea turtles
23