Shamu

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the only part of Sea World that I really liked was the Shamu show. The show actually stars several killer whales, but Shamu is the headliner. It seems that because he is so much larger than the others, he doesn't do all the tricks that the smaller ones do. The trainers make a big deal when it's Shamu's turn to swim out. They make the audience chant "Shamu, Shamu". Then he swims out and splashes every part of the audience with his HUGE whale tale. The other whales do a dance routine with the trainers, jump and flip out of the water, and let the trainers surf on them. At the beginning of the show they play a video about working with these animals. The trainers never TELL the whales what to do, they ASK them! It's very dangerous, since NOTHING in the ocean hunts the killer whale. They're beautiful animals with a peaceful look, but looks are deceiving...

These two pictures really let you see the size difference. The first picture is Shamu, of course.