John Hargrove | |
|---|---|
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| Occupation | (former) SeaWorld Trainer |
John Hargrove is a former senior killer whale trainer for SeaWorld and supervisor of killer whale training at Marineland of Antibes in France. Hargrove appeared in the 2013 documentary Blackfish , wrote a book about his experiences in Beneath the Surface, and has campaigned in support of legislation in California and New York to end the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity.
John Hargrove grew up in Orange, Texas. At a young age, he saw his first Shamu killer whale show at SeaWorld Orlando, and envisioned a career as a killer whale trainer. [1] [2] In 1993, when Hargrove was age 20 and attending the University of Houston, [1] he was hired as an apprentice trainer at SeaWorld San Antonio. [1] [2] In 1995 Hargrove was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego in California where he worked until 2001. He was ultimately promoted to a Senior Trainer at Shamu Stadium. [3] Immediately after resigning from SeaWorld California, Hargrove was hired by Marineland of Antibes in France until 2003. He then left the industry until March 2008, when he returned to SeaWorld in San Antonio where he was promoted to a Senior 1 trainer at Shamu Stadium. He worked there until resigning in August 2012. [3]
As of 2015, Hargrove resides in New York City. [4]
Seven days after resigning from SeaWorld, Hargrove was interviewed for the documentary Blackfish . In the film, he speaks about his career training killer whales and his belief that these whales are not suitable for captivity. [5]
After promoting Blackfish, Hargrove was asked to co-sponsor the Orca Welfare and Safety Act proposed by Democrat Assemblymen Richard Bloom. Hargrove testified on April 8, 2014, before the California State Assembly. [6] [7] [8] in May 2014, Hargrove was invited by New York State Senator Greg Ball and Assemblyman James Tedisco to Albany to speak at the fourth annual New York State Animal Advocacy Day. [9]
Hargrove is the author of a memoir, Beneath the Surface, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2015. [10] Howard G. Chua-Eoan co-authored the book, which covers Hargrove's experiences with orca at SeaWorld and in nature. It reached #18 on The New York Times nonfiction hardcover best-seller list. [11]
SeaWorld increased its criticism of Hargrove after the book was published, saying Hargrove quit after being disciplined for a severe safety violation while at SeaWorld. [12] SeaWorld also forwarded to reporters a five-year-old cell phone video of an intoxicated Hargrove using the racist slur "nigger". [13] Hargrove accused SeaWorld of conducting a "smear campaign" [12] against him to distract from the issue of killer whales in captivity. He later apologized for the language in the video. [14] Hargrove said the "severe safety violation" was only a delay in notifying supervisors after he corrected another employee's error, and that his leaving SeaWorld was unrelated to it. [12] On November 9, 2015 PETA presented Hargrove its Courage of Conviction Award for revealing SeaWorld's treatment of captive orcas. [15] Days later, Hargrove's memoir was optioned for film by producers Michael K. Snyder and Rachel K. Stotts through Crash Films. [16]
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature orcas, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals.
Corky II, often referred to as just Corky, is a female captive orca from the A5 Pod of northern resident orcas. At approximately the age of four, Corky was captured from Pender Harbour off the coast of British Columbia on December 11, 1969. She has lived at SeaWorld San Diego in San Diego, California since 1987. As of 2023, she is the oldest and longest kept captive orca. SeaWorld San Diego celebrates her birthday on 2 January every year.
Shamu was a female orca captured in October 1965 from a southern resident pod. She was sold to SeaWorld San Diego and became a star attraction. Shamu was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She died in August 1971, after about six years of captivity. After her death, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld "Shamu" shows for different orcas in different SeaWorld parks.
Ramu III was an Orca who resided at the now-defunct Windsor Safari Park in Berkshire, England between 1970 and 1976, and later, at SeaWorld San Diego in California between 1976 and 1986. An adult male, Ramu was caught on August 8, 1970, after his pod of eighty orcas was 'corralled' during the Penn Cove capture in Penn Cove, near Coupeville, Washington, United States. At capture, Ramu was 13.32 ft long and a member of the Southern Resident Killer Whales' L-pod. It is assumed his family members still survive in the Salish Sea and in nearby Pacific coastal waters.
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park located in Orlando, Florida. Although separately gated, it is often promoted with neighboring parks Discovery Cove and Aquatica as well as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, all of which are owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. In 2022, SeaWorld Orlando hosted an estimated 4.45 million guests, ranking it the 10th most visited amusement park in the United States.
A marine mammal park is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in special shows. A marine mammal park is more elaborate than a dolphinarium, because it also features other marine mammals and offers additional entertainment attractions. It is thus seen as a combination of a public aquarium and an amusement park. Marine mammal parks are different from marine parks, which include natural reserves and marine wildlife sanctuaries such as coral reefs, particularly in Australia.
Howard G. Chua-Eoan is a Chinese American journalist and author. He is currently international editor of Bloomberg Opinion, the opinion and editorials side of Bloomberg News. He was previously deputy editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and News Director of Time magazine, and is a New York Times bestselling author.
The Marineland of Antibes is a theme park founded in 1970 by Count Roland de La Poype in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes), in the French Riviera. Covering 26 hectares, it includes a marine zoological park with dolphinarium, a water park (Aquasplash), a children's play park, mini golf and a hotel. It is the property of the Spanish multinational company Parques Reunidos, whose majority shareholder is the British investment fund Arle Capital Partners. The current director is Arnaud Palu.
Orcas are large, powerful aquatic apex predators. There have been multiple orca attacks on humans in the wild, but such attacks are less common than those by captive orcas. In captivity, there have been several non-fatal and four fatal attacks on humans since the 1970s. Experts are divided as to whether the injuries and deaths were accidental or deliberate attempts to cause harm.
Samoa was a female killer whale captured in November 1983 in Iceland. She was captured off the east coast near Berufjordur and was sent to Saedyrasafnid aquarium before she was sold to Acuarama, a Brazilian aquarium along with a male named Nandu.
Kotar was a male killer whale captured off the southeast coast of Iceland in October 1978. At the time of his capture, he was only 210 cm long and he is believed to be the youngest killer whale taken into captivity from the wild that survived.
Dozens of orcas are held in captivity for breeding or performance purposes. The practice of capturing and displaying orcas in exhibitions began in the 1960s, and they soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness, and sheer size. As of 1 January 2024, around 59 orcas are in captivity worldwide, 35 of which were captive-born. At that time, there were 18 orcas in the SeaWorld parks.
Dawn Therese Brancheau was an American animal trainer at SeaWorld. She worked with orcas at SeaWorld Orlando for fifteen years, including a leading role in revamping the Shamu show, and was SeaWorld's poster girl. She was killed by an orca, Tilikum, who was also involved in the deaths of Keltie Byrne and Daniel P. Dukes.
Tilikum, nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves throughout his life.
Shamu was the stage name used for several captive performing orcas at SeaWorld as part of their theatrical Shamu show beginning in 1960s. The original Shamu died in 1971, but the name was trademarked by SeaWorld, and has been given to different orcas over the years.
Ulises is a male orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego in California. He was captured off the coast of Iceland in 1980 and is currently the oldest male orca in captivity as of 2022. SeaWorld San Diego celebrates his birthday on 1st January every year.
Blackfish is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. It concerns Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld and the controversy over captive orcas. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2013, and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films for wider release. It was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
Tilikum v. Sea World was a legal case heard in the US Federal Court in 2012 concerning the constitutional standing of an orca. It was brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on behalf of Tilikum, an orca kept in the SeaWorld Orlando park, against the SeaWorld corporation.
Wikie is a female Orca who lives at the Marineland of Antibes in Antibes, France. Her mother was Sharkane and her father was Kim II. Her elder sister is Shouka and her elder brother is Inouk.
