A SeaWorld stranded whale caught on a viral has left not only the witnesses, but online viewers upset over SeaWorld's delay in helping the beached whale back into the water.
The whale was flapping and wriggling around as he tried unsuccessfully to get back into the water. The viral video was taken by Carlo De Leonibus and his wife Ashley, who visited the Orlando theme park on July 20 for their daughter Catiana's 11th birthday, according to the New York Daily News.
Their daughter was having a great time ant SeaWorld, until lightening began to strike and the whale show was cancelled. As they milled around the large pool before heading for cover, they noticed a stranded whale. With no trainers in sight, De Leonibus went to inform a SeaWorld employee of the situation, was told not to worry about the stranded whale.
"He said, 'Oh, it's just playing. They do this all the time. It is normal behavior,'" De Leonibus said.
De Leonibus returned to the stands and continued filming as the whale struggled. The video shows another whale who comes up and tries to help the stranded whale, but is unable to push him back into the water. Other witnesses are heard in the background stomping their feet, threatening to protest is someone from SeaWorld fails to help the whale.
"The crowd was really upset and panicking," he said. "My daughter was screaming."
An employee tried to calm the audience down by announcing over the loud speaker that the dolphins slide up on their own and will make their way back into the pool.
In their defense, the park released a statement to WESH-TV in Orlando that said the whale was "not stranded or beached." SeaWorld said the whale captured in the video was young and may have had a harder time wriggling off a ledge than older, more experienced whales.
The stranded whale video comes just in time before the release the documentary "Blackfish," which examines the deaths of three trainers due to the killer whales. The movie makes the case against the captivity of the whales which leads to the disturbing behavior. SeaWorld is attempting to block the release of the documentary, but the stranded whale viral video may work against them.
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