SeaWorld's Commitment to Conservation and the Environment

SeaWorld's Commitment to Conservation and the Environment

Since first opening its gates more than 40 years ago, SeaWorld San Diego has allowed visitors to experience an incredible array of wildlife while learning unforgettable lessons about the importance of wildlife and habitat conservation, animal care, education and research. SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks have been consistently recognized for their groundbreaking efforts to breed endangered species and promote conservation of wildlife and the environment. They also collaborate with international conservation organizations to protect threatened habitats in the U.S. and around the world.

Here are just a few of the parks’ recent accomplishments:

Breeding Successes
Summer of 2006 witnessed a batch of babies at SeaWorld. Aviculturists celebrated more than 20 Caribbean flamingo chicks at the park between June 14 and Aug. 10, while aquarists cared for more than 35 bat ray pups born between May and August, double the average birth number for a single year.

SeaWorld’s world-renowned breeding program also enjoyed other successes last year with several significant hatchings, including bamboo sharks and a chestnut-breasted malcoha.

Endangered Species Preservation
In 2006, SeaWorld’s bird department celebrated a major success. A pair of endangered hooded cranes, the only breeding pair in North America, hatched another chick. The successful couple has had three chicks in the last four years. SeaWorld supports the conservation of the hooded crane by participating in the Population Management Plan organized by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

SeaWorld continued their efforts to help the endangered light-footed clapper rail, a species that thrived in Southern California marshlands until loss of habitat put it on the endangered species list. Along with the Chula Vista Nature Center, independent wildlife biologists and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, SeaWorld participated in the highly-successful captive breeding protocol. The birds were bred by the Chula Vista Nature Center and some of the eggs were incubated and hand-raised at SeaWorld through a method called modified puppet rearing, which limits human contact, thereby preparing the chicks for eventual release. When the chicks were full grown, they were moved to transitional enclosures on marsh habitat, and then released along marshes from Santa Barbara to Sweetwater Marsh. Through the program, more than 150 chicks have been bred, raised and released since 2001.

SeaWorld San Diego also continued to help another imperiled species in 2006 by celebrating Sea Otter Awareness Week in September. In order to heighten guests’ awareness about the threatened species, the park featured daily sea otter presentations and free sea otter fact sheets. The California sea otter is listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Threats include oil spills, entanglement in fishing nets and disease. The three California sea otters now on display at SeaWorld’s Rocky Point Preserve were originally stranded and rescued as part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation program.

SeaWorld Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Program
The biggest rescue stories of 2006 occurred in the summer with the satellite tagging of two elephant seals, one Northern fur seal and two Guadalupe fur seals. In cooperation with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI), the rehabilitated animals were tagged with satellite-linked radio telemetry devices to collect information about the animals’ location, diving patterns, seawater temperature and changes in population. Research performed in cooperation with HSWRI and SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Program plays an important role in providing scientific information that influences environmental management decisions and conservation programs that protect the habitat of marine animals and helps to improve SeaWorld’s techniques for animal rescue, rehabilitation and release.

In 2006, SeaWorld’s team of animal care experts rescued 148 marine mammals, including California sea lions, elephant seals, fur seals, harbor seals, a common dolphin and a Northern right whale dolphin. Of those rescued, nearly 70 percent were nursed back to health and returned to the wild. This is an amazing success story. Of the 287 birds rescued, 177 were pelicans and the remaining 110 included dozens of species, such as gulls, egrets, hawks and cormorants. Since 1970, the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks have rescued more than 14,000 animals.

Through the SeaWorld Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Program, thousands of animals have been rescued, treated, sheltered and rehabilitated. With an average 200 rescues per year, the animal rescue team routinely rehabilitates and returns approximately 65 percent of the animals to the wild. Marine species treated by the SeaWorld San Diego team include sea lions, seals, seabirds, dolphins, sea turtles, whales and sea otters.

Conservation and Recycling
In 2006, SeaWorld San Diego recycled more than 14.4 million pounds of manure, paper products, metals, greenery, pallets, cooking oil, construction demolition debris and batteries, in addition to more traditional recyclable materials. Since 1996, the park has received San Diego’s Recycler of the Year award nine times and is an 11-time recipient of the prestigious State of California Waste Reduction Awards program. Excellence in recycling is just one component of SeaWorld’s comprehensive environmental program, which ranges from team member awareness, education and energy efficiency to seeking out recycled products for purchase and use. In addition to its animal care efforts, SeaWorld and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, are dedicated to the environment and the conservation of natural resources. SeaWorld integrates conservation practices throughout its operation. The park voluntarily implements programs recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as the most acceptable management techniques for handling storm-water runoff and other environmental issues. SeaWorld even has its own Green Team. The team coordinates beach cleanups and other volunteer activities and is constantly working to enhance the park’s recycling programs, which help educate team members on environmental issues.

THE ADVENTURE GOES FAR BEYOND OUR PARKS

From Antarctica to the Arctic, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens have contributed more than $20 million over the past three decades to efforts aimed at saving some of Earth's most endangered species, habitats and ecosystems. That commitment continues today. The following programs illustrate additional ways the parks extend their conservation commitment around the world:

SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund
The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund allows visitors to the nine Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, as well as members of the general public, to help protect wildlife and wild places. Contributions strengthen the parks’ existing efforts to preserve endangered wildlife; expand conservation education around the globe; support worthy conservation and research organizations worldwide; and to aid ill, orphaned, injured or stranded animals. At the three SeaWorld parks (San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando, Fla.), guests can contribute by experiencing a Saving-A-Species Tour, where a portion of the fee goes to the Fund. They also can contribute by purchasing select park merchandise where 15 percent of the proceeds go to the Fund, or by visiting the organization’s Web site, www.swbg-conservationfund.org.

Since 2004, the non-profit SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has granted more than $2.2 million to 180 field conservation projects in the U.S. and more than 40 countries. From restoring estuaries along the U.S. coast to saving sea turtles in Costa Rica, these environmental partnerships allow the parks to share animal expertise, strengthen efforts to protect wildlife and reach millions of people with conservation success stories. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Fund directs 100 percent of the external donations it receives directly to wildlife conservation. Busch Entertainment Corporation — the parent company of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks — covers all administrative expenses for the Fund.

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI)
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and long-time partner of SeaWorld, enjoyed another momentous year in terms of research projects both local and international.

In 2006, Hubbs researchers began an exciting collaboration with SeaWorld San Diego and the San Diego Zoological Society. This first-of-its-kind study of polar bear hearing evaluates the potential impacts of noise on these magnificent Arctic animals.

The Institute also established a joint-use molecular diagnostics laboratory at its Mission Bay facility, in partnership with the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, SeaWorld San Diego and the University of Florida. The new lab is designed to detect new marine mammal viruses and to develop diagnostic tests that will be used for disease screening of select populations of bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions.

Established in 1963, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute is dedicated to providing effective solutions to conflicts that arise between human activity and the natural world. Hubbs-SeaWorld scientists apply sophisticated technologies to seek the solutions that protect and conserve marine animals while benefiting humans and their reliance on marine resources. A long-time partner of SeaWorld, HSWRI provides scientific information that is invaluable to the development of appropriate environmental management decisions, conservation programs and the understanding and protection of our ocean resources. To learn more, visit HSWRI's Web site at www.hswri.org.

SeaWorld Oiled Wildlife Care Center
In 2006, SeaWorld received more than 177 pelicans for rehabilitation at SeaWorld’s Oiled Wildlife Care Center (OWCC). The juvenile birds, found starving and emaciated, apparently lacked the proper hunting skills necessary to survive. The majority of pelicans were transported by local citizens who found the debilitated birds on beaches, backyards or in the desert. Some arrived from as far away as Phoenix. SeaWorld, the only facility in San Diego that rehabilitates brown pelicans, cares for these endangered birds throughout the year. The birds are typically released after about two weeks.

The SeaWorld OWCC is a collaborative operation run by the park’s mammal and bird departments, along with the statewide Oiled Wildlife Care Network. The center, which opened in 2000, serves as an example of a private and public partnership dedicated to environmental stewardship. When not used for oil spill response, the 8,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art complex houses ill or injured animals in SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Program.

Conservation Partnerships
Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks work with and support conservation organizations around the world that share its vision and commitment. Partners include the following organizations:

National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
The Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks are long-standing supporters of National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat program, designed to encourage homeowners across the U.S. to create wildlife-friendly backyards. The program aims to protect native fauna and flora by certifying habitats that meet the four basic wildlife survival needs: food, water, shelter and places to raise young. In addition to helping NWF reach out to homeowners and schools, the parks also have constructed demonstration habitats to teach guests how they can enjoy and protect wildlife at home. In 2006, the parks’ support of this program enabled NWF to achieve a significant milestone: 70,000 certified backyard wildlife habitats across the U.S.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund supports The Nature Conservancy's efforts to protect the Meso-American Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world. The 400-plus mile reef supports some of the most diverse marine life including the world’s largest living fish, the whale shark. Today, the Meso-American Reef is threatened by unregulated tourism, over-fishing and development. With support from the Fund, The Nature Conservancy is working with local governments, scientists and citizens to build a marine reserves network to protect and preserve this critical habitat. In addition, the parks and the Fund support TNC’s “Rescue the Reef” program, aimed at protecting and preserving reef ecosystems around the world.
National Audubon Society (NAS)
For more than a decade, SeaWorld has contributed to the success of a seabird conservation program off the coast of Maine, “Project Puffin.” Launched in 1973 by the National Audubon Society, the program has developed techniques to restore puffins and other seabirds to habitats once decimated by human activities. In addition to SeaWorld’s financial support, dozens of the parks’ dedicated aviculturists have lent their time, energy and expertise to help Audubon restore these historic nesting sites. Thanks to Project Puffin, there are now more puffins nesting in the Gulf of Maine than anytime since 1900.
World Wildlife Fund
Within the last year, the Fund supported a World Wildlife Fund project in Costa Rica aimed at reducing egg poaching of endangered leatherback sea turtles. Encouraging one-time poachers to instead become naturalists and ecotourism guides, the Fund’s support reduced the egg poaching rate at Costa Rica’s Playa Junquillal from 100 to zero percent in less than a year. In addition to supporting WWF’s rhino and tiger conservation efforts throughout Africa and Asia, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund also helps WWF protect leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles vulnerable to bycatch in longline and coastal gill net fisheries. Specifically, the Fund helps WWF promote widespread improvement in fishing gear and techniques by engaging industry and governments in innovative alternatives to traditional equipment and methods.