Marineland’s proprietor, Marie Holer, has died. However the southern Ontario park stated Friday it “stays below sturdy management” with a “sturdy succession plan.”
Holer’s “grace, kindness, and unwavering help had been integral to the material of Marineland’s legacy,” the park stated in a press release.
“Our founder, anticipating life’s uncertainties, had put in place a strong succession plan to make sure the continuity of our operations,” it stated. “All our initiatives are progressing as deliberate.”
Marineland didn’t say who will inherit the keys to the park.
Final yr, Marineland stated it was in search of a brand new proprietor to assist transition to a brand new period.
The park stated this yr that transition to new possession was ongoing, however didn’t present particulars. Property data this summer time confirmed no change in palms.
As rumours of a sale swirled, the park introduced it might solely open for 2 months this yr, July and August, fairly than from the Could lengthy weekend to Thanksgiving. Its final day of operation for the season was Sunday.
It opened below vastly decreased charges with all of its rides closed and most of the animals off limits.
Holer took over Marineland, in Niagara Falls, Ont., from her husband John Holer after he died in 2018.
The pair labored facet by facet for many years, rising the enterprise into some of the widespread zoos within the nation.
However the park additionally attracted a variety of criticism from protesters through the years, many involved in regards to the well-being of the marine mammals saved in captivity.
Former workers spoke out in regards to the allegedly poor therapy of its animals 10 years in the past, which the park denied.
Since then, each the province and the federal authorities have handed legal guidelines towards conserving killer whales in captivity.
Seventeen whales have died at Marineland since 2019, together with its final killer whale, and the final captive orca in Canada, Kiska, which died in 2023.