Multimedia News Release - Killer Whale From Cleveland Gets New California Home (With a Pool)!
April 20 2004 - 6:31PM
PR Newswire (US)
Multimedia News Release - Killer Whale From Cleveland Gets New
California Home (With a Pool)! Shouka's Cross-country Flight Went
'Swimmingly' VALLEJO, Calif., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Big,
beautiful Shouka the killer whale is getting comfy in her new
California home today, following yesterday's cross-country trip
from Cleveland to Six Flags Marine World in the San Francisco Bay
Area. To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sixflags/12170 . (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040420/SIXFLAGSSHOUKA-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040420/SIXFLAGSSHOUKA-b )
Shouka flew first class aboard a 747 transport jet, along with
dolphins, anteaters, snakes, sharks, otters, sea lions, tarantulas
and about 400 other animals -- a veritable "flying ark" to make a
modern-day Noah proud. Shouka and her mobile menagerie received a
California Highway Patrol escort down the freeways from Mather
Field in Sacramento to the Six Flags park in Vallejo. The
4,000-pound, 16-foot-long orca seems to be settling into her new,
bigger, two-million-gallon pool just fine and should be ready to
meet visitors by the end of the week, according to whale trainers
and veterinarians who accompanied Shouka on the five-hour flight.
Shouka traveled in a custom-made, water-filled transport container,
cradled in a supportive sling to keep her blowhole above water and
allow her to breathe normally. She takes up residence as the
pampered diva among Six Flags Marine World's 3,000-member animal
family, holding court in the chilled salt water of the former
Pacific Stadium, now renamed "Shouka Stadium." The four-pool
facility received more than $1 million in renovations in
anticipation of Shouka's arrival. The 10-year-old orca was born at
Marineland Antibes, a marine life park in France, and has been
placed on a long-term loan with the Six Flags organization, first
at its Aurora, Ohio, park and now at Six Flags Marine World. Her
name, pronounced "Shoo-ka," means "beautiful one." She is
energetic, healthy and eats 125 pounds of fish each day -- mostly
herring, mackerel and smelt. Beginning Friday, April 23, Six Flags
Marine World visitors will get the opportunity to see Shouka and
observe her feeding, care and informal interactions with her
trainers. Rehearsals for a formal Killer Whale Show starring Shouka
may begin in the next few weeks, with the new educational show
debut likely by Memorial Day. Elsewhere around the Park, the newly
arrived dolphins and 400 other finned, furred, and feathered fellow
passengers are resting up from their transcontinental flight, and
will soon be meeting their resident Six Flags Marine World
counterparts and Park guests. Six Flags Marine World is an
accredited member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and
Aquariums (http://www.ammpa.org/) and the American Zoo and Aquarium
Association (http://www.aza.org/).
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040420/SIXFLAGSSHOUKA-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040420/SIXFLAGSSHOUKA-bhttp://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sixflags/12170DATASOURCE:
Six Flags Marine World CONTACT: Jeff Jouett, Public Relations
Manager of Six Flags Marine World, +1-707-556-5227, or
ftp://ftp.com Web site: http://www.sixflags.com/
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