Orca Captivity Essay
Tanks. Collapsed dorsal fins. Fights. Stress. Depression. Abuse. Death. This is captivity. Orcas, or commonly known as killer whales, have been held in captivity since 1961. Marine parks, like SeaWorld and Marineland, tear orca families apart by plucking whales from the ocean and selling them for millions of dollars or trapping them in tanks for entertainment. Most of the times, there are orcas that are sometimes aggressive towards the other orcas in the tanks and are forced to do tricks and entertain an audience in order to get food. Captivity is flat out cruel and it needs to be brought to an end. Wild orcas have an average lifespan of 30 to 50 years, and females can live to be 80 to 100 years old (males live 60 to 70 years). The average
…show more content…
death age in captivity is just 13 years old. “At least 156 orcas have been taken into captivity from the wild since 1961 (including Pascuala and Morgan).129 of these orcas are now dead.” States http://us.whales.org. Most of the times, the orcas die from bacterial infections. At SeaWorld San Antonio, an orca named Takara had a calf (a baby orca) named Kyara. On July 24th, 2017, Kyara died, probably from pneumonia. She was only 3 months old. “Dozens of other captive killer whales, including the SeaWorld orca named Tilikum, who was made famous in the documentary "Blackfish," have also died from bacterial infections.” Says https://www.livescience.com. Marine parks like SeaWorld and Marineland are probably endangering the orca species because of all the orcas that have died there. Orcas are very sociable, intelligent animals.
In the wild, they live in complex social groups called pods. Pods can range from 2 individuals to 40 members, and the pod members are usually family and are very close to one another. What marine parks do? Tear the orca families apart by stealing a member of the pod and basically putting them in jail and holding them hostage. Usually, all the other orcas in the tanks at marine parks are from different groups and they don’t even speak the same language! Yes, each pod has its own language. There is sometimes violence that breaks out between the whales in the tanks, and they hurt each other. Of February 24th, 2010, SeaWorld orca trainer Dawn Brancheau was beginning a show with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity. The performance began as usual, and Dawn was petting him. Tilikum wasn’t showing any signs of aggression, but all of a sudden, Tilikum attacked her.
She was later declared dead, and SeaWorld claimed that it had nothing to do with Tilikum being in captivity. “OSHA ( Occupational Safety and Health Administration) found that in the 20 years leading up to Brancheau’s death, the park generated 100 reports of aggression and precursors to aggression—including 12 incidents resulting in the injury or death of a trainer…” Says https://www.seaworldofhurt.com, who believes it was the result of being in captivity. There have been no reports of human death caused by orcas in the wild, and only a few reports of
aggression. Most importantly, the orcas are kept in tanks, which is basically like jail for them. Orcas are such large and intelligent animals, and they are confined to, for them, what is like a bathtub. According to https://www.seaworldofhurt.com, the orcas at SeaWorld would have to swim 1,208 laps (around the perimeter of the tank) or 3,105 lengths (back and forth at the longest part of the tank) in the park’s largest tank to equal what they would swim in the wild. Another problem is collapsed dorsal fins, which happens to 100% of all the male orcas and some of the females in captivity. “...likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish. SeaWorld claims that this condition is common—however, in the wild, it rarely ever happens and is a sign of an injured or unhealthy orca.” says https://www.seaworldofhurt.com. Orcas in captivity have it hard. They can’t swim freely, they are put with unfamiliar orcas, fights break out between whales, the males’ usually 5 foot tall dorsal fins fall over, and most die young. Orca and dolphin captivity needs to be stopped, and thankfully, with the release of the film Blackfish, many people are finding out the truth about how SeaWorld treats their orcas through all their lies and are willing to help. Orca and dolphin captivity is cruel. Orcas aren’t killers, and they deserve better than captivity. It’s an ORCA, not a killer!
death age in captivity is just 13 years old. “At least 156 orcas have been taken into captivity from the wild since 1961 (including Pascuala and Morgan).129 of these orcas are now dead.” States http://us.whales.org. Most of the times, the orcas die from bacterial infections. At SeaWorld San Antonio, an orca named Takara had a calf (a baby orca) named Kyara. On July 24th, 2017, Kyara died, probably from pneumonia. She was only 3 months old. “Dozens of other captive killer whales, including the SeaWorld orca named Tilikum, who was made famous in the documentary "Blackfish," have also died from bacterial infections.” Says https://www.livescience.com. Marine parks like SeaWorld and Marineland are probably endangering the orca species because of all the orcas that have died there. Orcas are very sociable, intelligent animals.
In the wild, they live in complex social groups called pods. Pods can range from 2 individuals to 40 members, and the pod members are usually family and are very close to one another. What marine parks do? Tear the orca families apart by stealing a member of the pod and basically putting them in jail and holding them hostage. Usually, all the other orcas in the tanks at marine parks are from different groups and they don’t even speak the same language! Yes, each pod has its own language. There is sometimes violence that breaks out between the whales in the tanks, and they hurt each other. Of February 24th, 2010, SeaWorld orca trainer Dawn Brancheau was beginning a show with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity. The performance began as usual, and Dawn was petting him. Tilikum wasn’t showing any signs of aggression, but all of a sudden, Tilikum attacked her.
She was later declared dead, and SeaWorld claimed that it had nothing to do with Tilikum being in captivity. “OSHA ( Occupational Safety and Health Administration) found that in the 20 years leading up to Brancheau’s death, the park generated 100 reports of aggression and precursors to aggression—including 12 incidents resulting in the injury or death of a trainer…” Says https://www.seaworldofhurt.com, who believes it was the result of being in captivity. There have been no reports of human death caused by orcas in the wild, and only a few reports of
aggression. Most importantly, the orcas are kept in tanks, which is basically like jail for them. Orcas are such large and intelligent animals, and they are confined to, for them, what is like a bathtub. According to https://www.seaworldofhurt.com, the orcas at SeaWorld would have to swim 1,208 laps (around the perimeter of the tank) or 3,105 lengths (back and forth at the longest part of the tank) in the park’s largest tank to equal what they would swim in the wild. Another problem is collapsed dorsal fins, which happens to 100% of all the male orcas and some of the females in captivity. “...likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish. SeaWorld claims that this condition is common—however, in the wild, it rarely ever happens and is a sign of an injured or unhealthy orca.” says https://www.seaworldofhurt.com. Orcas in captivity have it hard. They can’t swim freely, they are put with unfamiliar orcas, fights break out between whales, the males’ usually 5 foot tall dorsal fins fall over, and most die young. Orca and dolphin captivity needs to be stopped, and thankfully, with the release of the film Blackfish, many people are finding out the truth about how SeaWorld treats their orcas through all their lies and are willing to help. Orca and dolphin captivity is cruel. Orcas aren’t killers, and they deserve better than captivity. It’s an ORCA, not a killer!