| Marineland of Antibes | |
| Type: | Amusement park, dolphinarium, public aquarium, marine zoo |
| Location: | Antibes, France |
| Area: | 26 ha |
| Created: | 1970 |
| Operator: | Parques Reunidos |
The Marineland of Antibes is a theme park founded in 1970 by Count Roland de La Poype in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes), in the French Riviera. Covering 26 hectares, it includes a marine zoological park with dolphinarium,[1] a water park (Aquasplash), a children's play park (Kid's Island),[2] mini golf (Adventure Golf)[3] and a hotel (Marineland Resort).[4] It is the property of the Spanish multinational company Parques Reunidos, whose main shareholder are the investment funds EQT Partners and Elliott Management. Since 2017, the director is Pascal Picot.[5]
It is one of the four French dolphinariums and one of the two European dolphinariums presenting orcas. With over 850,000 visitors in 2018,[6] it's the most visited site in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Since 2010, it has been accused of cetacean captivity, with the claim that dolphinariums can't assure proper & healthy captivity conditions for that species.
On July 25, 2006, the park was sold to the Spanish amusement park group Parques Reunidos for about €75 million.[7]
In October 2015, a fatal case of severe flooding and inclement weather conditions hit Antibes,[8] killing Valentin, a 19-year old male orca born within captivity inside the park.[9] The park was deluged with mud, also killing sharks, sea lions and turtles, because it was left without electricity to pump in clean water.[10]
The largest Orca pool complex in the world with a capacity of 11000000gal of water and a panoramic glass wall long. Marineland holds two orcas: Wikie and Keijo. The two orcas were supposed to be transported to Japan in 2024 but French NGO One Voice obtained that the court prohibit Marineland from relocating the orcas before the end of the independent assessment.[11]
As of April 2020, Marineland housed a total of 12 bottlenose dolphins. The names of the dolphins are: Malou (F), Sharky (F), Rocky (M), Dam (M), Neo (M), Nala (F), Tux (M), Ania (F), Jo (F), Kai (M), Luà (F), and Ollie (F).
A live demonstration of the training techniques used with all the mammals in the park, in which the seal and sea lion trainers disclose some of the "ropes" for preparing the show, to better understand the basis of the relationship between humans and animals.
In a 30m (100feet) tunnel through an aquarium containing nearly 2000000l of water, visitors are surrounded by sharks and manta rays.
On June 11, 2021, polar bears Flocke, Indiana, Tala, and Yuma are no longer housed within Mainland, France, having been moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park.[12]
For €70, guests can spend 20 minutes wading in the dolphin tank while learning more about the animals as taught by trainers.https://www.marineland.fr/en/rencontres-inedites/rencontres/dauphins
For €69, guests can spend 25 minutes interacting with orcas at "Orca Fjord" through a large panoramic window, with the aid and education of trainers.[13]
For €39, guests can spend 20 minutes with sea lions in a private area and two trainers.[14]
For €60, guests can don a diving suit and helmet to swim with sharks in the Shark Tunnel.[15]