Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known simply as Ocean Park, is an animal theme park in Hong Kong. Covering an area of in Wong Chuk Hang, it is the largest theme park by area in Hong Kong, and is also the city's second-oldest theme park, after the now-defunct Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park.
Opened on 10 January 1977, Ocean Park was initially popular but by 2005 had become unprofitable and was widely expected to close due to the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland.Allan Zeman: Hong Kong's Mouse Killer , Forbes, 13 February 2007Catching the Wave at Ocean Park , Citi International Case Competition 2008Varsity survey shows Ocean Park Challenged , Periscope, Joyce Lam, Chinese University of Hong Kong The park responded with a billion development plan that eventually expanded it to over 80 rides and attractions. Visitor count steadily grew to 7.6 million in 2014. From this redevelopment, it became the world's 13th-most visited theme park and one of the largest theme parks in Asia.Ocean Park press release , 3 December 2014
The park is built on either side of a large mountain, separating it into two areas, the Waterfront and the Summit, which are connected by a cable car system and a funicular. The Summit, which consists of several hills, has an outdoor escalator that was previously the world's longest. The theme park has various attractions and rides, including four roller coasters, and also live animal exhibits with different themes, such as a giant panda habitat, rainforest, and polar displays, as well as an aquarium featuring the world's largest aquarium dome. Between 1979 and 1997, Ocean Park was most famous for its signature orca, Hoi Wai. The park has housed giant pandas since 1999 and was previously home to the world's oldest male and female giant pandas.
As well as being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong aims to merge entertainment and education, including conservation advocacy. However, it has been criticised by wildlife advocates for practices including the capture of wild marine animals such as dolphins and orcas and the presentation of shows featuring such animals performing.Wild or captivity? , HK Dolphin Watch
Ocean Park is also known for holding the Halloween Bash, the largest Halloween event in Asia.
History and development Planning and opening Conception Ocean Park was originally conceived as a marine life centre. The idea was first proposed on 3 March 1959 by J. D. Bromhall, chief scientific officer of the Fisheries Research Unit at the University of Hong Kong, who revealed a plan to develop in the city a super aquarium, called an "oceanarium". Bromhall explained the plan by referencing one of the world's two oceanariums at the time – the Marine Studios in Florida, which he described as a type of aquarium where "the species of fish are not separated" and "the conditions are as near as possible [to] those at the bottom of the sea".
In August 1967, the British Hong Kong government offered to provide a free land grant for the project. The site was located at Brick Hill in Aberdeen and occupied . The grant cost about million. In May 1971, it was announced that the oceanarium would come under the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which provided million in funding.
Cetacean curation During the oceanarium's planning stage in 1970–1971, it hired Kenneth S. Norris as lead consultant. At the time, Norris had previously served as curator for Marineland of the Pacific, and contributed to the conception of SeaWorld and Sea Life Park. He in turn hired Douglas "Ted" Hammond as a veterinarian, who would remain with Ocean Park for the next 15 years and become its curator. In efforts to collect dolphins for the oceanarium, Hammond and his team established satellite bases in the Philippines, Japan, and the Penghu Islands near western Taiwan.
In the Philippines from 1974 to 1975, the team attempted to capture spinners, Fraser's dolphins, and melon-headed whales in Cebu, but were ultimately unsuccessful as these sensitive pelagic species could not adapt to captivity. All of the captured individuals were eventually released back into the wild or died before they could be transported to Hong Kong.
Hammond and his team were more successful in Japan and the Penghu Islands, where they chose to procure dolphins from fishermen who engaged in dolphin drive hunting. Species collected as a result included the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the false killer whale, the pacific white-sided dolphin, and the short-finned pilot whale. This practice was used by the team from late 1974 to 1987. During this period, more than 90% of all cetaceans housed in Ocean Park were obtained in this way.
Hammond's choice to obtain animals from drive fisheries ended up having a long-lasting impact in the industry. From 1978 to 1993, dolphin brokers and other zoological institutions followed his example and procured dolphins from the same drive fisheries. In some cases, Ocean Park also served as a temporary housing facility for drive-sourced animals being transported elsewhere, including the Knowsley Safari Park, the Ancol Dreamland, and the United States Navy.
Opening Following five years of construction, Ocean Park officially opened on 10 January 1977, with Sir Murray MacLehose, Governor of Hong Kong, conducting the opening ceremony. The park's opening was delayed multiple times due to bad weather, landslides, fire, and testing of the cable cars. Also to blame were two disease outbreaks among the park's marine mammals, which killed 38 dolphins, 4 whales, and 5 harbour seals by the time the park opened (see ). The park's admission fees were also criticised by community leaders; resultingly, MacLehose's inauguration speech was downbeat, with him saying that "[i]t is my hope that in the course of time... the headland will gradually be developed to provide room for its enjoyment by larger numbers who may not always wish or be able to pay to see all the exhibits at one time."
20th century Marine mammal deaths During the 20th century, Ocean Park drew criticism for the deaths of its marine mammals, particularly its cetaceans. Survival rates were especially poor from the 1970s to mid-1980s, which was later attributed to mismanagement, poor husbandry and veterinary practices, and natural causes.
During its preparatory stage in the 1970s, Ocean Park first experienced two major die-offs caused by outbreaks of infectious diseases. In 1974, the park received 20 Pacific bottlenose dolphins acquired from Izu Peninsula in Japan. However, 14 of them would die of erysipelas within four months. Following the outbreak, it became standard procedure in the park to immediately vaccinate new animals against the disease, though this practice was stopped almost a decade later around 1983, due to concerns about the vaccine's toxicity. No further issues with erysipelas have since been recorded at Ocean Park.
Soon after the erysipelas outbreak, melioidosis infections would also kill an additional 24 bottlenose dolphins, 4 pilot whales, and 5 harbour seals between 1975 and 1976. According to Yuen Kwok-yung, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, the outbreak may have been intensified by Ocean Park's practice of burying dead dolphins near its coast. Yuen explains that bacteria in the corpses would wash into the sea after heavy rainfall, which would also lower the water's salinity and allow the bacteria to multiply. This contaminated seawater would then be drawn up for the park's animal tanks. The park would continue to be affected by melioidosis infections for the following decade, with the disease contributing to 73% of cetacean deaths in 1976–1978, and 57% in 1979–1983. However, some of these deaths may not have been completely due to melioidosis, as later examinations revealed that at least three of the dolphins that died also had other existing medical conditions.
A later report, published in 1994 in Asian Marine Biology, admitted that Ocean Park experienced "serious problems [that led to] poor survival" during the first 13–14 years of operations. Among the paper's authors was Stephen Leatherwood, then-veterinary and education director of the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation. The study reported on the survival rates of 139 cetaceans housed at Ocean Park from 1974 to 1994, of which only 32 remained by September 1996. The survivorship record for the park's 54 Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops gilli) was described as "very poor", with an annual survival rate of 24.5%. Apart from deaths related to erysipelas and melioidosis, food poisoning and gastritis were also responsible, causing 9 deaths. The report attributed these to "start-up problems", which it said "certainly bespeak a failure in husbandry and veterinary practices". However, it suggested that the species' innately poor adaptability to captivity was also involved, reporting that the park's 44 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) had a much higher annual survival rate of 82.8%, albeit still "below the industry average [of 93%]". The park's five short-finned pilot whales also suffered from poor survivability, with all of them dying within 10 weeks of their arrival back in July 1976.
The overall poor survival rates of Ocean Park's cetaceans were attributed to "periodic overstocking, often with species poorly suited for survival in Hong Kong's climate", and the "initial inadequacy of the water filtration, purification, and chilling system". The report wrote that these factors had since been addressed in some way, and annual survival rates began to improve in 1983. Reasons cited included an improving quality of veterinary care, an aggressive vaccination programme, and major improvements to the water intake and purification system, among other factors.
Park development
Between 1982 and 1984, the Jockey Club invested a further million into developing facilities at Tai Shue Wan and thrill rides in the park's Summit area. In July 1987, Ocean Park ceased to be part of the Jockey Club, instead becoming a statutory body incorporated under the Ocean Park Corporate Ordinance. Its board of directors is appointed by the government. The Jockey Club established a million trust to ensure the park's continued development. At present, Ocean Park is managed by the Ocean Park Corporation, a financially independent, not-for-profit organisation.
21st century Ocean Park had maintained an income surplus since its opening, until the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which resulted in four consecutive years of deficits totaling million. The park briefly recovered in the 2001–2002 financial year, recording million in profit and a 23% increase in attendance up to 3.4million. However, it was soon severely impacted by the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, which saw tourism numbers fall and locals stay home, resulting in a roughly 70% decrease in the park's attendance. Ocean Park was subsequently threatened with the possibility of closure, and also faced competition from the planned Hong Kong Disneyland in the coming years.
In response, businessman Allan Zeman was brought on as chairman in 2003 by the city's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. At the time, Zeman was known for leading the creation of the city's popular nightlife district, Lan Kwai Fong. With the challenges Ocean Park was facing, Zeman later recounted that he thought Tung was "out of his mind", but ultimately took the position following repeated pleas by Tung. Half of the park's board was also replaced. That same year, the Chinese government launched the Individual Visit Scheme, which brought an influx of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong, allowing the park to rebound in the 2003–2004 financial year with profits of million.