Agent’s Alert!

3 NIGHTS IN PRAGUE & 7 NIGHTS CRUISING THE DANUBE FOR R39 999 pps

entertainment purposes until December 31 2019. After that point, “If return to the wild is not possible, the orca may be used for educational presentations.”

That part makes animal rights activists sceptical, as they say it gives the parks a loophole, since the difference between education and entertainment would have to be clearly defined.

In keeping with the California law, Sea World San Diego ended its theatrical One Ocean show — in which the huge creatures performed tricks and stunts to applauding crowds — in March last year.

LEARNING CURVE

But the 10 orcas there still perform in the Orca Encounter, a show the park calls the “world’s first live documentary” — an educational experience that shows how killer whales eat, communicate and navigate.

They still receive cues from trainers, and still leap out of the pool — “to demonstrate behaviours seen in the wild”.

In Florida, there are seven orcas in total: six at SeaWorld and one at the Miami Seaquarium. The latter, Lolita, has spent a record-breaking 45 years in captivity. Some scientists say such whales could not survive outside the park because they have lived all or most of their lives in captivity.

SeaWorld plans to open a fourth park, the first outside the US, on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2022.

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LUncover chocolate-box towns, imposing castles and valleys resplendent with beauty during your cruise down the River Danube with Imagine Cruising.

The package includes:

● A three-night hotel stay in Prague (if you book a French Balcony, you stay at the five-star Occidental Wilson Hotel in Prague)

● A seven-night, all-inclusive river cruise on board A-ROSA Donna

● Unlimited soft and alcoholic beverages on board including wine, beer, spirits, coffee, tea, soft drinks & mineral water

● Flexible restaurant-seating times

● Free wi-fi

● Return flights, taxes & transfers

Price per person sharing: From R39 999pp This offer is valid for travel between May and October 2018. For information, call 0861 000 499.