Marineland of Antibes | |
---|---|
Type | Amusement park, dolphinarium, public aquarium, marine zoo |
Location | Antibes, France |
Area | 26 ha |
Created | 1970 |
Operated by | Parques Reunidos |
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, [1] a water park (Aquasplash), a children's play park (Kid's Island), [2] mini golf (Adventure Golf) [3] and a hotel (Marineland Resort). [4] 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. [5]
It is one of the four French dolphinariums and one of the two European dolphinariums presenting orcas. With over 850,000 visitors in 2018, [6] it's the most visited site in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Since 2010, it has been accused of cetacean captivity, with the claim that dolphinariums can't assure proper & healthy captivity conditions for that species.
On July 25, 2006, the park was sold to the Spanish amusement park group Parques Reunidos for about €75 million. [7]
In October 2015, a fatal case of severe flooding and inclement weather conditions hit Antibes, [8] killing Valentin, a killer 19-year-old whale born within captivity inside the park. [9] The park was deluged with mud, also killing sharks, sea lions and turtles, because it was left without electricity to pump in clean water. [10]
The largest Orca pool complex in the world with a capacity of 11,000,000 US gallons (42,000 m3) of water and a panoramic glass wall 64 metres (210 ft) long. Marineland holds two orcas: Wikie and Keijo. The two orcas will be transported to Japan in 2024.
As of April 2020, Marineland housed a total of 12 bottlenose dolphins. The names of the dolphins are: Malou (F), Sharky (F), Rocky (M), Dam (M), Neo (M), Nala (F), Tux (M), Ania (F), Jo (F), Kai (M), Luà (F), and Ollie (F).
A live demonstration of the training techniques used with all the mammals in the park, in which the seal and sea lion trainers disclose some of the "ropes" for preparing the show, to better understand the basis of the relationship between humans and animals.
In a 30-metre (98 ft) tunnel through an aquarium containing nearly 2,000,000 litres (530,000 US gal) of water, visitors are surrounded by sharks and manta rays.
On June 11, 2021, polar bears Flocke, Indiana, Tala, and Yuma are no longer housed within Mainland, France, having been moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. [11]
For €70, guests can spend 20 minutes wading in the dolphin tank while learning more about the animals as taught by trainers.
For €69, guests can spend 25 minutes interacting with orcas at "Orca Fjord" through a large panoramic window, with the aid and education of trainers. [12]
For €39, guests can spend 20 minutes with sea lions in a private area and two trainers. [13]
For €60, guests can don a diving suit and helmet to swim with sharks in the Shark Tunnel. [14]
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae, Platanistidae, Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, and possibly extinct Lipotidae. There are 40 extant species named as dolphins.
The orca, or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, they are found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
The toothed whales are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. 73 species of toothed whales are described. They are one of two living groups of cetaceans, the other being the baleen whales (Mysticeti), which have baleen instead of teeth. The two groups are thought to have diverged around 34 million years ago (mya).
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 United Parks & Resorts. The parks feature orcas, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals.
Marineland of the Pacific was a public oceanarium and tourist attraction located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast in Los Angeles County, California. Architect William Pereira designed the main structure. It was also known as Hanna-Barbera's Marineland during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marineland operated from 1954 until 1987, when it was purchased by the owners of SeaWorld San Diego. The new owners moved the popular killer whales and other animals to their San Diego facility and abruptly closed Marineland.
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins perform for the public, others are part of larger parks, such as marine mammal parks, zoos or theme parks, with other animals and attractions as well.
Marineland, is a themed zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The park has performing marine animal shows, exhibits of marine and land animals, and amusement rides. It keeps dolphins, sea lions, and beluga whales. Until 2023, the park also kept walruses and orcas. The park also keeps bears, deer, and other land animals. It was founded and operated by John Holer, a Slovenian immigrant, from 1961 until his death in 2018. It is privately owned and operated by his family.
Loro Parque or 'Loro Park' is a 135,000 m² zoo on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species. The park was conceived as a paradise for parrots and has developed over the years into one of the biggest attractions of the Canary Islands, with over 40 million visitors.
Dolphin drive hunting, also called dolphin drive fishing, is a method of hunting dolphins and occasionally other small cetaceans by driving them together with boats, usually into a bay or onto a beach. Their escape is prevented by closing off the route to the open sea or ocean with boats and nets. Dolphins are hunted this way in several places around the world including the Solomon Islands, the Faroe Islands, Peru, and Japan, which is the most well-known practitioner of the method. In large numbers dolphins are mostly hunted for their meat; some end up in dolphinariums.
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.
Seven Seas Marine Life Park was a marine mammal park, and animal theme park built and owned by the city of Arlington, Texas, United States.
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.
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.
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.
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a theme park situated in Hengqin, Zhuhai, People's Republic of China. It was designed by PGAV Destinations. The park broke ground on November 28, 2010 and soft-opened on January 28, 2014. The grand opening occurred on March 29 of that year. The first phase of the park cost RMB 10 billion to build. It is part of the Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort, which aims to become the "Orlando of China". According to TEA and AECOM, it was the 10th most visited theme park in the world in 2018, with 10.83 million visitors.
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.
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 was Inouk.
The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act is an act of the Parliament of Canada. Passed into law in 2019, the Act bans the capture and keeping in captivity of cetaceans. There is a grandfather clause for cetaceans in captivity when the law first came into force, and other exceptions, such as where a provincial government has issued a licence to keep cetaceans for research purposes.