Mundo Marino

Mundo Marino S.A.
Date opened 1979
Location San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina
Coordinates 36°20′24″S 56°44′49″W / 36.3401°S 56.74696°W / -36.3401; -56.74696Coordinates: 36°20′24″S 56°44′49″W / 36.3401°S 56.74696°W / -36.3401; -56.74696
Website www.mundomarino.com.ar

Mundo Marino is the largest aquarium in South America. It is located in San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina.

Attractions

Flamingos at Mundo Marino.
The lake.

Mundo Marino's orca

Shamenk the Orca.


Kshamenk, also known as Sharmenk or Shamenk, is a male orca, or killer whale, held at Mundo Marino. Kshamenk is estimated to have been around 4 years old when captured in 1992. He has been without the company of other orcas since 2000, when Mundo Marino's female killer whale, Belén (also known as Bethlehem), died.

Mundo Marino claims to have rescued him after he stranded, and kept him for public display when its staff determined he could not be released. However, Kshamenk may have been force-stranded (driven ashore on purpose) and retained to circumvent Argentine laws against the commercial capture of wild marine mammals.[1]

Six Flags Marine World park in Vallejo, California, had been trying to acquire Kshamenk from Mundo Marino as a companion for their female orca, Shouka (she now lives at SeaWorld California). But Mundo Marino does not own Kshamenk; he is legally being held in trust by Mundo Marino for the people of Argentina. This means that Mundo Marino cannot sell Kshamenk because the orca isn't its property. Furthermore, Argentine Law forbids the export of live native wildlife, including orcas.[1]

On February 14, 2013, Kshamenk became a father for the very first time when Kasatka, a killer whale from SeaWorld San Diego, gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Makani. On December 6, 2013, Kshamenk became a father again when Kasatka's daughter Takara, an orca from SeaWorld San Antonio gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Kamea.

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Held Captive: Orcas". humanesociety.org. The Humane Society of the United States. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2011.

External links

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