SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego News

RatioTile said:
Does anyone know if the common murres/guillemots in the puffin exhibit are the subspecies U. a. californica, or another subspecies?
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I don't know their subspecies unfortunately but they are not rescues but rather from the AZA SSP.
RatioTile said:
It looks like both the stingrays in the sea turtle tank and the Atlantis tank have the keeled back and tail, which southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) have. Maybe they divided an import of them so the larger ones are housed in one tank, and the smaller ones in another? The color also varies between them, with the ones in Atlantis being grayer and the ones with the sea turtles being browner.

Stingray ID Help - Atlantis Tank

Stingray ID Help - Atlantis Tank

  • Media owner RatioTile
  • Date added
  • Comments 1
12/2023.

Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus) - Sea Turtle Exhibit

Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus) - Sea Turtle Exhibit

  • Media owner RatioTile
  • Date added
12/2023.
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You are correct they are both Southern just with the juveniles in Turtle Reef. The lighting in Turtle Reef is also very strange which could be the reason for the discoloration you saw.
 
I emailed the park and they got back to me saying that in the 80's, the murre founder stock was a mix of nominate and U. a. californica, and they've interbred as they were treated as one population.
 
Asking in the forum because it seems a few people go semi-regularly and SeaWorld has one of the worst websites I've ever had to deal with:

1) Are the leopard sharks still there? There was a disagreement in the sharks holders thread. I've found some evidence on their site that they are but I trust SeaWorld websites not at all.

2) What carpet sharks are there currently? I can't find any recent data. Wikipedia and the website suggest the two most common bamboo shark species and nothing else, but neither are terribly reliable sources.
 
Also, do they have zebra sharks? SeaWorld didn’t list them in our email correspondence but they also omitted the bamboo and lemon sharks I’m 99% certain are there so I’m not taking it as a comprehensive list.
 
Persephone said:
Also, do they have zebra sharks? SeaWorld didn’t list them in our email correspondence but they also omitted the bamboo and lemon sharks I’m 99% certain are there so I’m not taking it as a comprehensive list.
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I saw a zebra shark there a few weeks ago. They called it an Australian Leopard Shark or something like that as an alternate common name they prefer, but it was definitely am adult zebra shark.
 
RatioTile said:
I saw a zebra shark there a few weeks ago. They called it an Australian Leopard Shark or something like that as an alternate common name they prefer, but it was definitely am adult zebra shark.
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What we call a zebra shark is called a leopard shark in Australia, it's super confusing. An aquarium choosing to go with the Australian name is really odd, especially with it being California, where there's our leopard sharks at any place that has a tank.
 
TinoPup said:
What we call a zebra shark is called a leopard shark in Australia, it's super confusing. An aquarium choosing to go with the Australian name is really odd, especially with it being California, where there's our leopard sharks at any place that has a tank.
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The sign said "Australian Leopard Shark" and the attendant stationed there to provide live interpretation said that "juveniles are called zebra sharks; adults are called Australian leopard sharks." I guess the common name difference is like South Africa calling Sand Tiger Sharks "Ragged-Tooth Sharks" or the more even split between Giant Grouper/Queensland Grouper.
 
RatioTile said:
The sign said "Australian Leopard Shark" and the attendant stationed there to provide live interpretation said that "juveniles are called zebra sharks; adults are called Australian leopard sharks." I guess the common name difference is like South Africa calling Sand Tiger Sharks "Ragged-Tooth Sharks" or the more even split between Giant Grouper/Queensland Grouper.
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The attendant was wildly incorrect lol. Yep, it's just two names for the same species, with the names being very region-specific, like maned duck vs australian wood duck.
 
Persephone said:
Asking in the forum because it seems a few people go semi-regularly and SeaWorld has one of the worst websites I've ever had to deal with:

1) Are the leopard sharks still there? There was a disagreement in the sharks holders thread. I've found some evidence on their site that they are but I trust SeaWorld websites not at all.

2) What carpet sharks are there currently? I can't find any recent data. Wikipedia and the website suggest the two most common bamboo shark species and nothing else, but neither are terribly reliable sources.
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SeaWorld no longer has the Leopard Sharks unfortunately neither off nor on display. Here is a list of all the shark species San Diego has including the carpet species asked for:

Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus)
Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris)
Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum)
Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)
Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo)
Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum)
Brownbanded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum)
Speckled Carpetshark (Hemiscyllium trispeculare)
Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)

As others have mentioned SeaWorld San Diego does refer to their Zebras as Australian Leopard Sharks for an unknown reason.
 
Another smaller update but live fish have been added to the Dine With/Under Water Viewing for the killer whales. This has allowed the whales to start demonstrating natural hunting behavior. Recently Makani and Corky have figured out how to work together to hunt the fish as well. Truly very exiting for both visitors and the whales and a huge welfare improvement as nothing like this has been done since Orlando temporarily had a similar feature in 2019.
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
Another smaller update but live fish have been added to the Dine With/Under Water Viewing for the killer whales. This has allowed the whales to start demonstrating natural hunting behavior. Recently Makani and Corky have figured out how to work together to hunt the fish as well. Truly very exiting for both visitors and the whales and a huge welfare improvement as nothing like this has been done since Orlando temporarily had a similar feature in 2019.
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What species of fish do they feed to the orcas?
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
Another smaller update but live fish have been added to the Dine With/Under Water Viewing for the killer whales. This has allowed the whales to start demonstrating natural hunting behavior. Recently Makani and Corky have figured out how to work together to hunt the fish as well. Truly very exiting for both visitors and the whales and a huge welfare improvement as nothing like this has been done since Orlando temporarily had a similar feature in 2019.
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This is a very interesting concept that I hope spreads to all dolphin holders across the globe!
 
RatioTile said:
What species of fish do they feed to the orcas?
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Sorry my fish ID skills are not very good but I'm sure you can find some photos of the fish on an app like facebook or instagram that park visitors have posted? As for non-live fish the species the orcas get are mainly salmon, herring, and mackerel with a couple others being added in for variety.
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
Another smaller update but live fish have been added to the Dine With/Under Water Viewing for the killer whales. This has allowed the whales to start demonstrating natural hunting behavior. Recently Makani and Corky have figured out how to work together to hunt the fish as well. Truly very exiting for both visitors and the whales and a huge welfare improvement as nothing like this has been done since Orlando temporarily had a similar feature in 2019.
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RatioTile said:
What species of fish do they feed to the orcas?
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This has been an on and off feature for a while. It’s why the boulder at the bottom of the pool is there. The species I last heard of was Golden Trout, but they very well could have changed the species.
 
Westcoastperson said:
This has been an on and off feature for a while. It’s why the boulder at the bottom of the pool is there. The species I last heard of was Golden Trout, but they very well could have changed the species.
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The park has done live fish feeds in the past but from what I've heard this is a more permanent fixture. Sadly the rocks had to be moved as the whales have figured out to move them around the tank and I believe it is a new fish species as the specimens do not resemble golden trout
 
Sydney said:
Do you mean Sandy and Bullet? They aren't rescues, but I'm not sure why the pair was in Zoo Support for a while.
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No bullet was and has been at the Stadium over the last year. I am unsure which individuals they were but one of them was injured or sick and the other was showing symptoms as well so they were being housed in the rescue center pools for quarantine. Both are back at their respective homes now. Compared to San Antonio, San Diego doesn't have an off-site Zoo Support habitat but rather moves sick animals if their is not space for them at their present habitats to the rescue center's large animal pools.
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
No bullet was and has been at the Stadium over the last year. I am unsure which individuals they were but one of them was injured or sick and the other was showing symptoms as well so they were being housed in the rescue center pools for quarantine. Both are back at their respective homes now. Compared to San Antonio, San Diego doesn't have an off-site Zoo Support habitat but rather moves sick animals if their is not space for them at their present habitats to the rescue center's large animal pools.
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Do you remember around which dates they were in the backpools/rescue pools? I can try to find videos when they were there to find which dolphins they are. I remember back when I went in late June, that Tobie was there a few weeks prior, and there was a different dolphin living in that area, who I would assume to be Cascade before her death. I'm going to try to do a listing of who's in each area.
 
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