The Marineland of Antibes was a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

founded in 1970 by Count Roland de La Poype in

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

(

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

), in the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

. It included a marine zoological park with

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums (sometimes called dolphinaria in plu ...

, a

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

(''Aquasplash''), a children's play park (''Kid's Island''), mini golf (''Adventure Golf'') and a hotel (''Marineland Resort''). It was property of the Spanish multinational company

Parques Reunidos Parques Reunidos (meaning "Reunited Parks") is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, fami ...

. It was one of the four French

s and one of the two European dolphinariums presenting

orcas The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopoli ...

. With over 850,000 visitors in 2018, it was the most visited site in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Since 2010, it has been accused of

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

mistreatment, with the claim that dolphinariums can't assure proper & healthy captivity conditions for that species. On 4 December 2024, Marineland of Antibes announced it would close permanently on 5 January 2025 due to declining attendance and increased regulation of animal captivity in France. It closed and abandoned ant least 14 animals to languish in France: mother and son orcas Wikie and Keijo among them. Following a 2021 law banning marine mammal performances as of 2026, Parques Reunidos (a former owner of Miami Seaquarium) abruptly closed their facility earlier this year without making accommodations for the animals living there. At least 14 marine mammals remain, including Wikie and Keijo. With the facility closed to the public, drone footage is the only outlet for assessing the park and animal care, and the footage that has been captured is grim. Rust and thick green algae are obvious in the video of the tank. The animals need a solution NOW. Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia, which has been ongoing for many years, but is not yet built, hopes the orcas can find placement there. This solution was previously rejected by the French government, yet the Project recently made clear that they are continuing their efforts in France for Wikie and Keijo, Abandoned at the former Marineland Antibes.Time is of the essence, and the orcas simply must be moved to an appropriate facility that can properly manage their care and well-being as soon as possible..

History

On 25 July 2006, the park was sold to the Spanish amusement park group

for about €75 million. In October 2015, a fatal case of severe flooding and inclement weather conditions hit Antibes, killing ''Valentin'', a 19-year old male orca born within the park. The park was deluged with mud, also killing sharks, sea lions and turtles, because it was left without electricity to pump in clean water.

Notable exhibits and shows

Orca Show

Once the largest

Orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

pool complex in the Europe, with a capacity of of water and a panoramic glass wall long. Marineland holds two

: 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.

Dolphin show

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).

Les Coulisses de l'apprentissage (sea lion show)

A live demonstration of the training techniques used with all the mammals in the park, in which the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

and

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

trainers disclose some of the "ropes" for preparing the show, to better understand the basis of the relationship between humans and animals.

The shark tunnel

In a tunnel through an aquarium containing nearly of water, visitors are surrounded by

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s and stingrays.

Polar bears

On 11 June 2021, polar bears Flocke, Indiana, Tala, and Yuma are no longer housed within Mainland, France, having been moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Activities

Encounters

Dolphin

Guests could spend 20 minutes wading in the dolphin tank while learning more about the animals as taught by trainer

Orca

Guests could spend 25 minutes interacting with orcas at "Orca Fjord" through a large panoramic window, with the aid and education from trainers.

Sea Lion

Guests could spend 20 minutes with sea lions in a private area and two trainers.

Sharks

Guests could obtain a diving suit and helmet to swim with sharks in the Shark Tunnel.

Gallery

File:Dolphin France.JPG,

Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

File:Apperò.JPG,

Nurse shark The nurse shark (''Ginglymostoma cirratum'') is an Elasmobranchii, elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, IUCN L ...

File:Humboldt penguins Marineland Antibes 1.jpg,

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. ...

s File:Carettaaaaaa.JPG,

Loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

File:Sea Lion FR.JPG,

Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and th ...

File:Pinguini Z.JPG, Antarctica Zone with

king penguin The king penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'') is the second largest species of penguin, smaller than but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. King penguins mainly eat lanternfish, squid, and krill. On foraging trips, king pen ...

southern rockhopper penguin The western rockhopper penguin (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), traditionally known as the southern rockhopper penguin, is a species of rockhopper penguin that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subanta ...

s, gentoo penguins and

macaroni penguin The macaroni penguin (''Eudyptes chrysolophus'') is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consid ...

s File:Dauphins antibes.jpg,

show

References

External links

Marineland official website
{{Coord, 43.6150, N, 7.1250, E, source:wikidata, display=title Zoos in France Aquaria in France Organizations based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourist attractions in Alpes-Maritimes Oceanaria 1970 establishments in France Zoos established in 1970 Parques Reunidos