![]() This prompted the park’s move to a much larger site in Vallejo. In the early 1980s, the developers who owned the land beneath Marine World realized skyrocketing Bay Area property values meant an office park/hotel would be more profitable than a constantly struggling theme park. This created the brief, cumbersome Marine World/Africa USA moniker. It was absorbed by another animal park, Africa USA, the brainchild of a Southern California animal trainer. The first troubles for Marine World came in 1972, when the almost brand-new park found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. One of Judy’s companions, an Asian elephant named Mardji, once found herself dressed up in horns and a wooly sort of beard at the behest of a man named George Lucas, who was shooting a movie called “Star Wars.” The bantha you see on Tatooine is Mardji the Tusken raider astride her was her Marine World trainer. She, famously, could water ski, and her stoic visage, zipping over her tank on an enormous pair of skis, became an icon of the park. An elephant water skis at Marine World Africa U.S.A. When Kianu and Bonnie arrived, they were among just a handful of killer whales ever held in captivity. The female killer whales were shipped via plane to SFO, with handlers spraying them with sea water throughout the flight. Next, two orcas were bought from fishers in British Columbia. Dolphins, penguins and pilot whales moved in. The first residents were purchased from an animal park that was going out of business in Florida. In order to bolster their fiscal standing, the owners brought in ABC (yes, the media company) to operate the park. The concept began in 1968, when the first iteration of Marine World opened in Redwood City. San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/San Francisco Chronicle via Gett Marine World staffer Steve Nagle and Rubi the orangutan walk past a line of Vallejo fifth and sixth graders out on a field trip in 1997. Once you are old enough to pay bills, however, the reason for all this uncertainty was readily apparent: Marine World was one of the region’s most financially embattled properties, constantly changing owners as it struggled to stay afloat. These constant changes were all mysterious, and mostly arbitrary, to any kid. They may remember it with different names - Marine World Theme Park, Africa USA, Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags - or in different locations, as it moved from the Peninsula to Vallejo in the 1980s. Generations of Bay Area children have memories of Marine World. “Unlike a zoo, where animals are simply animals,” the Napa Register once wrote, “Marine World has humans and animals romping together.” Spock swam back to Ray, and met his proffered hand with a flipper high-five. Spock took a few laps around the tank, satisfying his handlers that he was feeling spry once again. "With 2:30 lapsed, Clifford yelled, 'I've got it!’” the San Francisco Examiner reported, “and his arm came back out of Dr. Ray felt around the soft folds of the dolphin’s stomach, gently probing for hard metal. Spock’s breathing would become dangerously inhibited. A vet from UC Davis was put on speakerphone to talk Ray through the procedure. When Ray arrived at Marine World, his fingernails were trimmed and his right arm was thoroughly lubricated. He boasted an incredible reach of nearly 4 feet, and he said he was ready and willing to help the ailing dolphin. Ray was supposed to be boarding a plane for a Warriors road trip, but since he was injured, he wasn’t expected to play. Why not ask the tallest humans he knew: the Golden State Warriors.Īn urgent call was made to the team’s 6-foot-9 center Clifford Ray. It was then that park CEO Mike Demetrios had an idea. Despairing, the Marine World staff contemplated what to do next. ![]() If you have not looked at the physiology of a 12-foot bottlenose dolphin lately, perhaps a photo will remind you this is not a task for normal-sized human arms. Spock’s neck and fish out the bolt with their fingers. The best thing would be if someone could stick their arm down Dr. Veterinarians and doctors for humans were rushed to the theme park to inspect the beloved mammal. Alas, those confirmed the metal bolt was indeed deep in his innards. Spock’s mouth to make sure the bolt wasn’t just hiding below his girthy tongue, and X-rays were ordered up. The staff at Marine World went into action. Spock dove down and, to the horror of everyone watching, swallowed the bolt in one sharp gulp. But while unscrewing a large bolt, it slipped from his grasp. ![]() The diver was careful not to leave any tools within reach of the curious dolphin.
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