Sea World Seeks Permit to Import Killer Whale

Sea World Inc. has filed for a permit to import a killer whale from a British marine park.

The application, required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, was filed with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said Dan LeBlanc, a Sea World spokesman in San Diego.

Sea World has 13 killer whales at four parks: in San Diego; Orlando, Fla.; San Antonio, Tex., and outside Cleveland, Ohio.

The company hopes to acquire a 15-year-old female killer whale now housed at Windsor Safari Park near London. LeBlanc said terms of the deal are confidential.

Brad Andrews, Sea World’s assistant zoological director, said the whale could wind up at any of the four American parks and that the decision would be based on where biologists feel the whale would best fit in with the animals already on hand.

Andrews said Sea World plans to use the British whale in its captive breeding program as well as for performances. The breeding program has produced five calves, the most recent at the Orlando park in July, 1989.

Review of the importation application is expected to take several months. Windsor Safari Park also must obtain an export permit from the United Kingdom Department of the Environment for the deal to go through.

The whale has been a part of the English park’s marine mammal collection since 1978, when it was obtained from a dolphinarium in the Netherlands.