Sea World Shamu

Illustration of an orca jumping from the water, with a splash, in front of a white semi-circle background. "Sea World" is written in red text below the whale. The rest of the background is blue. In small black letters, at the very bottom, the copyright date and company name is written. 

SeaWorld first opened in San Diego, CA in 1964.  It was originally planned as an underwater restaurant, but grew into a marine zoological park.  Today there are two additional locations in Orlando, FL and San Antonio, TX. SeaWorld was the subject of much public criticism when the 2013 documentary film Blackfish came out alleging animal mistreatment at the parks. Following backlash and state legislation in California, in 2016 SeaWorld announced they would stop their orca breeding program and live orca shows at the parks.