Marineland

On Wednesday, August 15, 2012, the red eyes of a harbour seal named Larry stared out from behind bars on the front page of the Toronto Star, in the first story of the series Inside Marineland. Larry immediately went viral as readers worried about his welfare and that of other animals at the tourist attraction. Linda Diebel had already spent four months searching out and interviewing Marineland whistleblowers. She was then joined by colleague Liam Casey, and they continued to investigate the park for another nine months.

 

Marineland: Inside the Controversy chronicles how the Star found out about Larry and other ailing or deceased animals at Marineland, including Smooshi the walrus and Skoot the baby beluga. The eRead details the digging that led to  sources, and it explains how the series has galvanized a movement to increase oversight of marine parks and captive animals.  It is a compelling look into the inner workings of both journalism and Marineland.

Star Dispatches is a weekly series of quality journalism in ebook form from the newsroom of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper.