SeaWorld Created "Hybrid" Orcas Like Jurassic World? EXPLAINED

#orca #seaworld #kpassionate
A former killer whale trainer recently claimed that SeaWorld’s orca breeding program was like Jurassic World, a movie whose premise "is that they created hybrid dinosaurs" saying, "that is exactly what we did at SeaWorld[...] The main takeaway with creating a hybrid orca is that you truly have no idea what you've created because they don't exist in nature. So all things are possible."

Is this true? Did SeaWorld's orca breeding program really create hybrid killer whales? Or is this an over-sensationalized headline designed to get clicks?

While many people disagree with SeaWorld’s decision to breed orcas in the first place, the truth is that SeaWorld did not create Jurassic World style killer whales. They did breed the Southern Resident Killer Whales and the North Atlantic Type 1 Orcas but these are not different subspecies. They are different ecotypes of killer whales.

There are some in the scientific community who are pushing to review the taxonomic classification of killer whales. But even if it was determined that the Southern Resident populations and the North Atlantic Type 1 were in fact different subspecies, it still wouldn’t mean that SeaWorld’s breeding program was exactly like Jurassic World.

Breeding two different subspecies of animals can actually be a good thing because it creates genetic diversity. It’s for this reason that conservationists are hoping to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon coast. They hope that it would allow Northern Sea Otters and Southern Sea otters (two different subspecies of otters) to interbreed and diversify the gene pool.

While misleading headlines like “SeaWorld Denies It Created Hybrid 'Jurassic World'-Style Orcas” generate views… the clickbait only serves as a distraction to real issues facing killer whales. In the wild, Southern Resident Killer Whales are critically endangered. One of the greatest threats they face is a lack of genetic diversity caused by inbreeding.

It should also be noted that SeaWorld ended their orca breeding program in 2016.

I am a marine biologist with over a decade of experience working with marine mammals. However, I have never worked at SeaWorld and I have never worked with killer whales. I have also been critical of SeaWorld in the past, as you can see in the video.

Links & Cited Sources
https://nypost.com/2022/08/25/seaworld-denies-creating-giant-jurassic-world-style-orcas/
https://www.newsweek.com/orca-killer-whale-population-lowest-level-west-coast-noaa-report-1666254
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180424141138.htm
https://www.fws.gov/project/sea-otter-feasibility-assessment
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/scientists-find-mystery-killer-whales-cape-horn-chile
https://orcapod.fandom.com/wiki/SeaWorld_Orlando

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