SAN DIEGO — Despite last week's death of a killer whale during a fight with another whale at Sea World, nearly two-thirds of San Diegans would like to see the park's whale shows continue, a Times poll shows.

By a 3-to-2 margin, San Diegans also said they approve of keeping killer whales in captivity for amusement shows such as the one at Sea World, the poll found.

Conducted only six days after popular killer whale Kandu died as a result of injuries suffered when she attacked another female whale during a performance at the park, the poll found that the incident apparently has not dampened San Diegans' enthusiasm for the shows or caused them to seriously question the shows' propriety.

Favor Shows, Captivity

Sixty-five percent of those polled said they believe that Sea World's killer whale shows should continue. Only 23% favor discontinuing them.

Asked for their attitude about keeping killer whales in captivity to be used in amusement shows, San Diegans approved of the practice, 44% to 28%, with the remaining 28% being undecided.

The Times poll is based on telephone interviews conducted Sunday of 860 people throughout San Diego County. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

With 72% of those surveyed saying that they have attended and enjoyed Sea World's whale shows, the poll suggests that Sea World has a reservoir of public support that perhaps helped to mitigate the impact of the publicity generated by Kandu's death.

"If you've been to Sea World and liked the shows, you're probably more willing to look upon this as an unfortunate accident and not blame the park," said Times pollster I.A. Lewis.

According to Sea World officials, the poll's findings reflect the largely sympathetic public response that the park has received since Kandu died of hemorrhaging caused by a broken jaw sustained when she attacked Corky, a 7,000-pound female who outweighed her by about 2,400 pounds. Since the Aug. 21 accident, the park has received hundreds of telephone calls and letters, more than 80% of them positive, Sea World spokesman Dan LeBlanc said.

"Most people understand that animals are animals, and that what happened was an accident," LeBlanc said. "We're pleased this shows that this hasn't affected the strong public support for what Sea World's doing in terms of education and research."

Others Dismayed