Behaviors of Orca Whales, affects that captivity has on once wild animals, differences between captivity and the wild.…
With such deliberate placement, the writer seeks to exemplify insight of the article by providing historically iconic dates in cetacean captivity, particularly those which have made an impact in media coverage of the topic. By searching through news articles of these dates, the student is immediately able to locate cover stories and breaking news videos of various attacks. Along with dates, statistics can also be found within the entry. Several times throughout the pages, the whale Tilikum appears in association with three deaths in the past years he has been held in captivity, and his being the largest whale in captivity. This means that Tilikum has a violent past, and can easily overcome a trainer. Another statistical factor that is referenced is that of Mean Duration of Captivity, or MDC. “Based upon the MMIR data, and represented in Appendix A, we have calculated the mean duration of captivity (MDC) to be less than nine years. This is regardless of whether an orca was extracted from the ocean, or born at a theme park.” This statement emphasizes that orcas live shockingly short lives while held in captivity, due to less-than-ideal living conditions. The statistics provide the student with a grasp of exactly of much or how many ways the actions of the parks have an effect on the animals living in captivity. It provides concrete evidence on which we can rely for an image of things such…
Methods of study were primarily based on physical appearance of the dolphin. Cranial measurements were taken from 40 commonly used measurements, as well as tooth counts from 18 specimens of bottlenose dolphins from across…
References: truncates). October 22, 2010. Orange Coast College, Marine Science Department Report for the Coastal Dolphin Survey…
In this lab activity, you will investigate how predation, birthrates, and death rates influence the carrying capacity of the killer whale and seal populations within their…
Although there have been many animal advocates protesting against SeaWorld, there are other people who don’t mind the Orcas being at SeaWorld. “Shamu the show and the marine parks’ collection of orcas have been inextricably linked to SeaWorld since the San Diego park’s origins more than a half century ago” (San Diego Union-Tribune 1). The killer whales have been the face of SeaWorld for many years. The Orcas are one of the main reasons people go to Seaworld. Shamu is the famous name that all the Orcas are known as, because of the captive killer whale that appeared at shows in SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960’s. “She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female, after her death, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld…
Orca Whales in the wild hunt a variety of food including salmon, tuna, stingray, seals, sea lions, otters, and even the occasional shark. Orcas in captivity do not have that luxury. They are fed a combination of mostly frozen whitefish, salmon, mackerel, and herring. Veterinarians working for parks like SeaWorld also slip vitamins, supplements, antibiotics, and some steroids into the Orca’s food in order to keep their diet balanced. Orcas in captivity are also controlled by food, and so is their training. Orca trainers are taught to reinforce the animals’ good behavior with food. When you look at this behavior through the eyes of an Orca, it turns into food deprivation. The Orca learns that if it does a certain maneuver correctly, a whistle will blow, and it will receive a fish. If the Orca does not do the maneuver correctly, no whistle and no fish (slave to entertainment,…
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…
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.…
I picked my essay about orca whales in captivity, specifically in SeaWorld. I made some researches about that and looked at several documentaries about whales in captivity as well in wild life. I found a very interesting article in Los Angeles Times, which I want to analyze. The first SeaWorld Park opened in 1964 orca whales were not popular; they were even hated and also hunted. Half a centaury later people came to SeaWorld and learned about these animals and started to like orca whales, which led to, that visitors don’t think orcas belong in human care. The California Coastal Commission, which is a state agency, wants to ban breeding orcas in SeaWorld. SeaWorld declared they are ending the breeding program with orcas and the theatrical shows…
The cruel act of confining Orcas to bathtub sized pens is not only inhumane, but also a hazard to current and future Orcas by affecting their physical, mental, and social health. Orcas, who are more commonly known as killer whales, can grow up to twenty to thirty feet on average and swim up to 100 miles a day, keeping their body healthy and fit. Aside from their large and strong body structure, Orcas are highly intelligent and social animals that work together in pods when hunting while even being capable of swimming as deep as thirty feet. So why in captivity, are Orcas being kept in pools that range from eighteen to twenty-eight feet deep?…
Animals have been an obvious source of entertainment for humans for centuries. From ancient bull fighters to the lion tamers at circuses to modern day movies, animals have played a vital role in human entertainment. In modern day documentaries where one sees a dramatic close up of a wild cougar wandering ever closer to the camera, they are being deceived. It is a common tactic in documentary filming to use ‘wild’ trained animals that have been trained to perform certain actions on command. However, to get these animals to perform exactly how the director wants to get results, these trick animals are often beaten if they don’t behave exactly how the trainers ask them to. These tactics to provide entertainment to paying customers aren’t a recent development, starting in the early 1900s, the travelling circuses became popular and also…
Killer whales in captivity should be let back into the wild, because the whales have echolocation, they are causing harm to the humans taking care of them, and they are spacing issues at the capturing centers. These are just some of the important reasons why killer whales in captivity should be released. Presently, echolocation is how orca’s find their food, and navigate through the ocean. The orca’s make a sound and the sounds are reflected of off different objects in the ocean, then the orca will know where he or she is and if there is food nearby.…
Orcas, also known as killer whales, have been in captivity for over fifty years. The magnificent stunts the animals are trained to do is jaw dropping. Killer whales, on the other hand, do not seem to feel the same positive regard. Infact, they have killed or injured more than one-hundred people during their stay in captivity. Keeping killer whales in captivity not only threatens the whales, but harms humans as well.…
squid at the bottom of the food web, and killer whales, blue whales and seals at the top, and it…