A whale was stranded at SeaWorld for 25 minutes before trainers assisted the animal and the horrifying incident was caught on tape. The video was shot by Carlo De Leonibus and his wife Ashley, who were visiting the park for their daughter Catiana's 11th birthday. The family was in the audience who watched as the short-finned pilot whale swam near the ledge of the pool it was being held in and inadvertently got stuck.
The audience looked on and witnessed the horrifying scene as trainers had left the pool and the stage due to an imminent lighting storm, leaving the SeaWorld stranded whale to struggle alone for almost a half hour. Leonibus stated, "After about ten minutes, I realized it was in distress. I felt very concerned, so I went down and told one of the employees who just dismally responded and said 'it's having fun, it's playing.' He didn't even bother to look at the whale, so I went back to the crowd. I began recording. "
After the employee was informed that the whale was in fact stranded, a voice came over the loud speaker telling the crowd that the pilot whale was fine, but according to witnesses it was 25 to 30 minutes before two trainers appeared and pushed the whale back in.
During the incredibly long wait time, audience members cried out for the stressed animal and shouted at employees for help. "The crowd was really upset and panicking," De Leonibus told The New York Daily News. "My daughter was screaming."
And while audience members and viewers of the YouTube video alike are outraged, SeaWorld has released a statement implying that similar incidents happen all the time and the pilot whale was never in any danger.
"Pilot whales come out on the ledge all the time and always get back into the deeper water without any problem. The younger animals are still inexperienced and sometimes it takes them a bit longer."
Check out the video below and let us know what you think about SeaWorld's actions.
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