Putrid pool incident exposes surprise orca problem at tourist parks: 'Far from what we expected'

Tourists watching a show featuring captive orcas have watched in horror as a large male defecated in his pool and then splashed them with litres of poo-laden water. The viral incident has engendered plenty of laughs online but serves as a sad reminder these huge animals are forced to swim in their own excrement every day, according to a leading orca expert.

Dr Ingrid Visser told Yahoo News Australia that orcas are known to frequently defecate, and in the ocean that’s not a problem, because they’re simply on the move.

“These animals in the wild wouldn’t be circling around and then swimming back through their own excrement. They poop and carry on swimming," she said.

“But in an aquarium, they’re having to circle around and swim through their own excrement. They swim with their mouths open, their eyes open, it’s absolutely disgusting for them.”

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What does the putrid orca video show?

The video, which was filmed at SeaWorld San Antonio, shows an orca ejecting a stream of excrement as it dives inside its tank. A few giggles can be heard in the background. The orca then performs a stunt, where it jumps out of the putrid water and creates a huge splash in the direction of the audience.

We see the face of a shocked child, and hear faint screams, as audience members realise they have been saturated with the discoloured water.

Orca poop incident exposes wider theme park problem

While the experience would have been unpleasant for the audience, Visser thinks the incident exposes a wider problem for theme parks that house captive marine mammals. “These people in the audience were exposed once, these animals have to live in their own excrement,” she lamented.

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The footage has gone viral on social media, with one account suggesting the excrement smelled terrible and people were left gagging.

“It was shocking and far from what we expected,” one audience member told US media.

But Visser, who has visited captive orcas around the world, and is a critic of the industry, doesn’t think there’s anything unique about the incident.

“I’ve seen it happen at multiple shows, it just happens to be that someone filmed it this time,” she said.

Because orca will continue to exhibit wild behaviours despite being confined in tanks, Visser thinks the problem of crowds being sprayed with faecal matter will continue.

"What are they going to do, put diapers on the whales to collect the poop and prevent it getting in the water?" she quipped.

SeaWorld’s parent company, United Parks and Resorts, has been contacted for comment.

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