what impact will this have on the park's animal care and renovation master plan? I know Herschend owns a couple of AZA facilities but I don't know how much they care.
Care I wouldn't say is the correct term here. The biggest effect will probably be future expansions depending on how they evaluate how valuable the park is. Earlier this week herschend closed two different properties if that gives you an idea for where they are at. I do not expect this location to close because it is probably is pretty profitable.
They own Adventure Aquarium, Newport Aquarium, and Vancouver Aquarium already if that gives any perspective. AA is one of the better aquariums in the country and has what I would call some very impressive animal care (they had a great hammerhead live almost 20 years and a silky shark about the same that’s actually still alive now, and was the first one in US captivity to my knowledge). But that may not have much to do with the company ofc, besides the fact that they sign the husbandry team’s checks. Another perspective could be the fact that their company went through with Vancouver Aquarium’s mandated renovations to remove all cetacean exhibits, and took the chance to build huge new spaces for their existing seals, sea lions and sea otters instead of building something else in their place. It seems to me that they do prioritize a high standard of care as a company, or at the very least are willing to allow the money to be spent to do so and thus prioritize good optics.
Big News from the Reef! After an amazing collaboration with the students of Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary and your votes, we’re thrilled to introduce to you … Koa and Mālie Koa = brave warrior and Mālie = calm, gentle, peaceful seas. We’d like to recognize 1st grader Caleb B. for nominating Koa’s name, and 4th grader Carolina B. for nominating Mālie‘s name. Mahalo also to everyone who helped vote to name our shark pups. Come visit the park and stop by the Hawaiian Reef Lagoon to say hello! #SeaLifeTogether #WorldReefDay #SeaLifePark #MālamaKai #SharkPupReveal #whitetipreefshark | Sea Life Park