Vacation - Day Four/Five - Sea World

Beluga Whale

Day 4 of the vacation was spent at Sea World.  We rode the rides, saw animals, and watched shows.

The nice thing about all of the attractions is they were not far from where we were staying.  It was maybe a 15 minute drive (without traffic).  Nice and comforting.  Any case, we did manage to get some photos of the animals.

I included only on the photos which I took with my phone, and I only took a few of my favorite animals.

More Beluga

Beluga Whales

I find Beluga Whales fascinating creatures.  Found in the arcitic and sub-arctic conditions, the Beluga Whale has interesting adaptations to its environment.  The lack of a dorsal fin permits it to travel close to floating ice packs, and the white color acts as camouflage.

Perhaps most interesting is the ability of the Beluga to 'turn' its head from side-to-side because the neck vertebrae are not fused, as is found in other whale species.




Penguins

Check out the Penguin

Penguins are my favorite of animals.  The flightless birds are found in the Southern Hemisphere and are excellent hunters in the water.  The penguin family consists of 17 different types of birds, each with unique adaptations.

Normally, birds are the most colorful of all the animal species, with penguins being the possible exception.  I say 'possible exception' because they still maintain some distinctive plumage in some types, but for the most part they do not exhibit the wide range of colors found in other birds species.

He stood up just to show off

These particular pictures are of the Magellianic Penguins.  Overall, they are just really cool birds (pun intended).














Orca (Killer Whale)

Big Momma

When at Sea World, one has to see the Apex Predator of the sea, the Killer Whale.  The girls and I got into a little dispute when I called it a 'big dolphin', and we had to settle it by going on the Internet to verify it.  Dad was right, it is a dolphin.  Interesting note: dolphins, porpoises, and whales are all different classifications of animals, although they are related to each other.  'Dolphin' usually refers to true oceanic dolphins and porpoises, while 'whale' refers to whales and the larger dolphins.

Full View of the Big Female Swimming Around

Final Verdict
After the long trip to get here, Day 4 and 5 were relaxing.  We needed it.  It was nice to have more than one day at the park so we could take our time visiting the animals and the rides.

One animal the girls enjoy. which I don't have a photo of, is the polar bear.  Arionna is tall enough to ride all the rides, which was great, and many times we got soaked.  We did bring plenty of sunscreen, but even so we had a little bit of red showing by the end of day 5.  Nothing painful, but it was easy to tell we had been outside in the California sun.

I'll finish this entry with a few more shots of Kasatka, the big female at the park.

Diving to the Bottom

'Standing' on Her Tail