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A viral video from SeaWorld San Antonio has shocked and amused viewers, showing a whale releasing feces mid-performance. The incident happened during an orca show, leaving guests in the splash zone unexpectedly covered in both water and whale feces.
Whale takes a shit at Sea World San Antonio, crowd gets splashed right after pic.twitter.com/vw3kjoG89U
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) October 19, 2024
Incident During Popular Orca Show
The incident happened during one of SeaWorld's well-known orca shows, in which the creatures do leaps and flips among other tricks. One orca finished a high leap at the same time that it let up excrement, which sprayed onlookers and entered the splash zone. Families with young children were among those impacted, and other people said the stench was intolerable.
“It was shocking,” said Samantha King, a guest who witnessed the event. “We expected to get wet sitting so close, but not like that. It smelled awful, and people were gagging.”
SeaWorld’s Response
Officials from SeaWorld moved swiftly after the event. The impacted visitors were led to a designated decontamination location as soon as the show was halted. They received bottled water, soap, and towels there to use for cleaning. In addition, visitors may purchase clean clothes from the gift store and use the park's bathing facilities if necessary.
Later, the park issued an apology statement for the incident. "We regret this unfortunate event and are taking every step to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests. Our team followed established protocols to minimize health risks and will review our procedures to prevent this from happening again," the statement read.
Health Risks Addressed
Marine researchers commented on the possible health hazards, even if the audience's initial response was one of pain. Whale feces are a natural waste, but they may also include germs and other illnesses, according to marine expert Dr. Lisa Brown. "The risk of infection is low, but there are still concerns. Direct contact with feces can be dangerous, especially for those with compromised immune systems or open wounds."
The health and safety policies of the park are established to deal with these kinds of circumstances because handling live animals entails unknown hazards. According to these protocols, employees must separate afflicted visitors, carefully clean any exposed surfaces, and provide medical support as needed. In this instance, SeaWorld attested that medical personnel assessed the visitors and that no illnesses or injuries were recorded.
Social Media Reactions
Social media users laughed and cringed at the terrible incident as soon as the video became viral. While some questioned the safety of these performances, others drew attention to how unpredictable working with huge sea creatures can be.
SeaWorld San Antonio insists that safety is still its top concern and that stringent procedures are followed while doing shows in spite of the event. Online discussions over the dangers to visitors and the moral implications of retaining huge animals in captivity have been spurred by the occurrence.
Park’s Established Protocols
For a considerable amount of time, SeaWorld San Antonio has been well-known for its educational and entertaining animal shows. Still, as experts point out, there are hazards associated with live animal performances. Dr. Brown stressed that germs or parasites that might be harmful to humans could be present in the orca's excrement. "It's vital to prevent direct contact with whale excrement because they can contain pathogens,” the doctor said.
Although these occurrences are uncommon, park authorities stated that they do have backup measures in place to handle any health issues related to animal excrement. This include tidying up any exposed areas, separating visitors, and offering medical attention when required.