Life, and the Shows, Go on at Sea World : Killer Whales Return to Cheering Crowds

Killer whales Corky and Baby Shamu were sent back on stage at Sea World on Tuesday to the cheers of capacity crowds, many of whom were unaware beforehand of the bloody death of another whale during a performance a day earlier.

Kandu, mother of Baby Shamu, died Monday as a result of a collision with Corky, who performs under the name Shamu, during an afternoon show before thousands of spectators.

On Tuesday, four whale shows went on as scheduled at Shamu Stadium, although the mammals’ trainers did not go into the water. Park officials said they are unsure when the trainers will do so.

“That’s still being left up to the trainers, until they feel comfortable about going in again,” said Sea World veterinarian Jim McBain. “They want to wait until they feel good and the animals return to normal.”

The shows themselves were oriented more toward education than the spectacular performances usually given, McBain said. Park officials had briefly considered canceling the shows.

Most of the trainers were having more trouble adjusting to Kandu’s death than were the other whales. Many “had become really attached to Kandu,” McBain said.

The trainers put together a statement that Mike Scarpuzzi, director of the whales’ training, read to the audience at the start of the shows.

“I’m sure most of you heard of the tragic incident that happened yesterday,” he said. “I’m sure most of you can understand the difficulties we’re having today. But we’re going to go ahead and try to get back to normal. . . . We want (the whales) to get back into a routine.”

Many out-of-towners, however, had not heard of the fatal injury to Kandu.

“We’re sorry to hear about that,” said Paula Miles, on vacation with her husband and three children from Hemet, Calif.

“We came out to see (the whales). We probably would have come anyway,” she said.

After the announcement, the sun-splashed crowd warmed up to the whales’ antics. Most cheered wildly as the animals splashed spectators in the front rows, a traditional occurrence at the performances.

To the “oohs” and “aahs” of spectators, Baby Shamu and Corky performed as expected. “Baby Shamu seems to be calm and controlled,” Scarpuzzi told the audience. The whale, an 11-month old female, followed along in the pool as a trainer walked around the outside of the glass enclosure.

Despite the fact that Baby Shamu had still been nursing, park officials were confident that Kandu’s death would not have an adverse affect.

The calf was an obvious favorite with the crowd.

“I thought it was pretty good considering the mother wasn’t there,” said Barb Irwin, a park visitor from Idaho. “We came to see Baby Shamu.”

She said she heard about Kandu’s death as she was waiting in line to get in.

“We didn’t come all the way out here not to see” the show, she said.

Many in the crowd said the whale’s death did not affect their perception of the park.

“These whales probably get treated better here than in the wild,” said Mark Wofford, on vacation from Long Beach. “In the wild, they’d probably have to fight things like oil slicks and other pollutants that people put in the water. At least here the water is clean.”

Darin Ward, a San Diegan who has a season pass to the park and plans to have visited about 20 times by year’s end, feels Kandu’s death has ruined the best show.

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