Orcas In Captivity Research Paper

A problem that goes highly unnoticed is the horrifying treatment of orcas that are in captivity. Now I personally have an irrational fear of this species, but even this topic has pulled my heart strings and has me wanting to make a difference. The first story I heard that referred to orcas being held in captivity, was about a young orca named Tilikum. He was ripped from his family when he was only two years old when he was only 13 feet long. After his capture, he was kept in a cement holding tank for close to a year at a marine zoo in Iceland as he waited to be transferred to a marine park in North America. He was held captive against his will, all he could do was swim in small circle and float aimlessly at the surface of the water. Tilikum was very far away from the expansive ocean where he would swim over 100 miles a day alongside his family members. Finally, he was transferred to the rundown
88% of orcas in captivity have died prematurely. In order to prevent this from happening to future orcas, I feel we should not captivate wild orcas (or animals in general) for the pleasure of others. If an animal is injured or needs help, they should go to a sanctuary. Animals should never be cruelly snatched from their home. While getting all orca captivities to release them back in to the wild is a bit of a long shot, creating coastal sanctuaries is not. These sanctuaries are where captive orcas can rehabilitated and retired. They could be sea pens or netted off bays or coves in temperate to cold water natural habitat. The sanctuary would offer the animals respite from performing and the constant exposure to a parade of strangers. Expert caretakers would continue to train retired whales for veterinary procedures, but would not get in the water and would remain at a safe distance. Hopefully these sanctuaries will become empty over, with all the rehabilitated orcas released into the