by L.S. Watts

Created on: July 07, 2009

Each year thousands of people flock to one of Sea World's three locations to see the ever popular Shamu show. They love the experience of sitting in the wet zone during the magical show in hopes that Shamu will not only help them beat the heat, but entertain them beyond their wildest imaginations. The show displays killer whales doing jumps, tricks, and choreography with their trainers.

The name Shamu has not only become a household name but an icon in pop culture. In fact, over twenty movies and television shows have made some reference to the famous killer whale. Some of these include Saved by the Bell, White Chicks, Family Guy, Scrubs, and Frasier. However, many people don't realize that Shamu is actually a stage name and the show itself had a rocky start.

The first killer whale to be brought into captivity belonged to Marineland of the Pacific in Northern California in 1961. Unfortunately, the killer whale died within twenty-four hours due to injuries sustained for repeated collisions to the tank walls.

The next killer whale brought into captivity was in 1964. Moby Doll was brutally captured and dragged back to the Vancouver Aquarium by harpoon after he didn't die from being shot. Despite brutal treatment, Moby Doll was still docile thus changing many people's views on killer whales. Originally he was supposed to be a dead model for a sculptor named Samuel Burich.

Killer whales being used for entertainment purposes began in 1965. After two failed attempts of keeping a killer whale alive in captivity, Ted Griffin decided to try where others had failed. In 1965, a killer whale was accidentally captured when he got caught up in fishing nets off the shores of Namu, British Columbia. Ted Griffin, owner of the Seattle Public Aquarium, bought the killer whale for $8000 in hopes of befriending it. The killer whale was named Namu, after the town its captures were from.

Ted Griffin befriended Namu and began to swim with the killer whale. He then saw the potential for profit as he partnered with D. Goldsberry, owner of Sea World at the time, to capture more killer whales. Before Namu's death eleven months later, Shamu was introduced to him. Although Shamu means friend of Namu, it was anything but friendly. Neither killer whale liked each other. A month after introductions, D. Goldsberry brought Shamu to Sea World, San Diego after paying $100,000 for her.

Shamu was trained to do a variety of tricks. After a well-choreographed show, a star was born. Shamu was

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