ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld Orlando is spotlighting some of its coolest residents this Walrus Awareness Week.
Located inside the theme park’s Wild Arctic experience, guests will find a handful of mammals including Beluga Whales, Harbor Seals and the incredible Pacific Walruses.
You could call the pod of walruses at SeaWorld Orlando an interesting family affair.
Inside the habitat, guests will find 41-year-old Garfield, 20-year-old Kaboodle, their calf, 4-year-old Kora, and 1995′s rescued walrus, Aurora. All four animal ambassadors call SeaWorld Orlando home and have been educating guests and raising awareness about the threats they face in the wild.
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Walruses are best known for their long white tusks, brown blubbery skin and adorable whiskery faces. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, males are larger than females and measure approximately 10-feet in length. Herds can be found in the arctic waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas between Alaska and Siberia.
See full interview in the video at the top of article.
So, what makes the pod of walruses so special at SeaWorld Orlando?
The walruses are four of just 13 currently in zoo or aquarium facilities in the United States. Having them in the hands of SeaWorld Orlando’s animal ambassadors provides them with excellent around-the-clock care and gives the public the opportunity to see these creatures up-close.
Staci Owens is one of SeaWorld Orlando’s zoological specialists that helps take care of the pod.
Early each morning, Owens and a team of other animal care experts prepare large buckets of food which includes clams, fish, squid and blocks of clear gelatin, which they say provides the animals with good hydration. Kaboodle, for example, gets 50 pounds of food in the morning, while Garfield, at one time, receives much more due to his size.
With the occasional slurp, back, or grunt each walrus is fed and checked out daily through behavioral husbandry, which teaches the animals to voluntarily participate in their own care.
While these animals serve as animal ambassadors to people around the world, walruses in the wild are facing critical threats. Some of the biggest issues for walruses and other arctic creatures include habitat disruptions, human disturbances and the disappearance of crucial arctic sea ice.
“These animals can’t swim indefinitely,” said Owens. “They need the sea ice to rest. Females, like Kaboodle, use the ice to give birth, nursing and raising their calf’s. With the lack of sea ice, these animals are having to travel longer distances from where they would normally go.”
Conservation efforts are underway to help these magnificent creatures.
“Together, we can make a difference so future generations of walruses to have access to sea ice,” explained Owens. “Even the smallest daily actions can make a difference like recycling, reducing plastic use, shopping small businesses, consuming and eating sustainable fish and turning the lights off at home and bumping the thermostat up when you leave the house. Each small action can help the animals that call the arctic home.”
The next time you visit SeaWorld Orlando, be sure to stop by and check out the pod of walruses at Wild Arctic. Most you will find one of them relaxing or taking a swim throughout the habitat.
For those guests hoping to elevate their experience at SeaWorld Orlando, be sure and check out the Walrus Up-Close Tour at Sea Lion and Otter Stadium.
During Walrus Appreciation week, which runs through Dec. 8, animal care experts will be on hand to provide knowledge about the walrus heard and way you can help them in the wild.
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