On Monday 18 July 2022 in a social media post, Sea World Gold Coast announced the death of a juvenile False Killer Whale, that had been under the parks care since stranding on a Kingscliff beach in March.
Sea World Gold Coast Facebook Post 18 July 2022 ~Sea Wold Gold. Coast
At the stranding; initially stating that the animal was a juvenile 'female,' Sea World also said that they planned to rehabilitate the young (male) FKW, so it can 'join a new pod.' However it was quite obvious from other statements made at the time, that his release back to the wild, after being taken to Sea World, would be highly unlikely.
Sea World provided a number of updates through its social media platforms, yet the park ceased all communications about the animals situation in May, until his death 2 months later. Despite the public's ongoing interest in the animals rehabilitation and still belonging to the State,* Sea World (and the State) now refused to be transparent about the FKW's care or the cause of his death.
Advocating Wild contacted Sea World in late June questioning if the FKW was still alive, to which a park employee responded that he was. The employee stated that he was "not on display" but that he was "out of critical care."
Less than 2 weeks later on 9 July, visitors to the park observed the FKW in a public display pool at the Dolphin Bay precinct. Yet, in its announcement of his passing, Sea World stated:
“… after almost 4 months of receiving around the clock care and rehabilitation from our expert team…”
and
“The young animal remained in a critical care situation throughout the rehabilitation process and sadly was not able to overcome the ongoing health issues…"
This ‘critically ill’ (according to Sea World) juvenile FKW was seen less than one week before his death, in a publicly accessible pool, next to the park’s large, noisy filtration system and entirely alone. He was in water, topped up from the public Broadwater; that is also shared with other species of cetacean and pinnipeds in those pens. The biological load in his pool would also include, storm water runoff, wild bird excretions, body oils, fats, chemicals and other human body fluids from the adjacent pool areas hosting multiple public in-water interactions.
Critical care — it is understood — should be undertaken in an intensive observation setting; where an animal would receive constant monitoring and minimum exposure to pathogens.
Sea World’s public announcement — that this cetacean was in “critical” and “around the clock” care — clearly was not the case.
FKW Sea World Gold Coast 9 July 2022 ~ Supplied
Advocating Wild wrote to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and asked if Sea World had applied for a permit to publicly exhibit the FKW, as well as a questioning a number of other inconsistencies regarding information surrounding his care.
In response DAF advised: "Permits and actions in relation to the keeping of injured, sick or orphaned wildlife under authority of a rehabilitation permit are the responsibility of DES and Sea World."
The Department of Environment and Science (DES) was also contacted, however has yet to respond to our correspondence.
Wizard of Oz - Coincidence or deliberate deflection?
Sea World do not traditionally announce its cetacean deaths - its not a topic it likes to discuss nor is it a palatable topic for the entertainment-seeking visitors to the park. However Sea World could not avoid an announcement on this occasion given the publics interest in this unusual species - but Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Sea Worlds Parent company, could deflect with a bigger and more appetising announcement within the 24-hour media cycle.
The FKW, according to Sea World, passed away on Thursday 14th July, yet the park didn't announce his death until the following Monday at 5pm. Perhaps a coincidence? Or perhaps a tried and tested strategy – better to wait for a busy news day and count on no one reporting on things after 5pm?
Movie WorldGold Coast Facebook Post 18 July 2022 ~ Movie World
Movie World Gold Coast Facebook Post 20 July 2022 ~ Movie World
On Monday 18th July, the same day the FKW death was posted, Village Roadshow Theme Parks released a hint that something big was coming to one of its other themed parks.
Two days later, Australian media was saturated with the announcement of a new Wizard of Oz precinct at Movie World – a much more flavoursome story.
*It is currently unknown if Sea World applied to Department Environment and Science to retain the False KIller Whale.
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