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Killer whales behavior research essay
Killer whales behavior research essay
Killer whales behavior research essay
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Free the Whales Orcas, or killer whales, are one of the world’s most powerful predators. Killer whales are mammals that can live up to fifty to eighty years in the wild. They can grow up to thirty two feet weighing close to six tons. Killer whales hunt in deadly pods that may have up to forty individuals. Each pod is unique and does not have the same techniques and characteristics as every other pod. These whales have a variety of communication sounds that are specific to their pod. Killer whales have different types of languages just like we do with other humans (National Geographic Socitey). Because killer whales are so big and have these characteristics, is it right for them to be kept captive at amusement parks such as SeaWorld? The warrant …show more content…
That specific lobe has to do with processing emotions. This extra lobe has evolved in their brain causing them to have a very emotional life (Blackfish). When their very own child is ripped from these mammals, they get very emotional. There is a scene in the documentary BlackFish when a calve had been taken away from the mother and she was constantly sending high pitch vocals. A vocalist whale expert came to study these sounds and concluded that the mother was sending long distance screeches so she could reach her baby. For SeaWorld to keep separating the mother and calve knowing how much it hurts these mammals is …show more content…
In 2010, a trainer named Dawn Brancheau was doing a show just like she had done plenty of times. Tilikum is the name of the whale that she was doing the show with. He got a hold of Brancheaus ponytail, dragged her in the pool and mauled to death. After six years, SeaWorld still claims no responsibility for the vicious attack (Occupation of health and safety cooperate). Former trainers claim that Brancheau did nothing wrong to cause her death. They claim that it was an action from the whale caused by him getting frustrated because he did not do a behavior correctly and was not given a treat. It is not a good thing for these whales to be interacting with the trainers while having these super high stress levels. It puts these trainers in a very dangerous situation. These whales are not supposed to be caged up. These are beautiful intelligent creatures that deserve a great life. They should not be forced to be caged in for entertainment. It is not morally right for humans to do this to these whales. For the benefit of humans, killer whales are neglected. SeaWorld needs to stop breeding these mammals and give them the life they deserve. SeaWorld tells so much lies to customers about these whales and it is time that they start speaking the truth. Many kids think SeaWorld is such a good place for these whales but in reality it is not. That may be what SeaWorld claims but it is a lie. These whales suffer every
These killer whales are massive creatures living in these cramped pools not doing what they want to do when they want to do it. Mr. Jett and Mr. Ventre also said “...Typically spending their entire lives within tight family groupings, orcas captured from the wild, have been traumatically extracted from the security, comfort and mentoring which these groupings provide. Captured animals are confined to small, acoustically-dead, concrete enclosures where they must live in extremely close proximity to other whales with which they often share no ancestral, cultural or communication similarities.” Seaworld ends up throwing these animals in random groups of whales that are not their families, having whales that have never been outside of the concrete wall, to whales that all they know is the wild. The Documentary Blackfish states that one of the killer whale
The trainers along with Cowperthwaite believe to have them in a captivity like SeaWorld is inhumane. I agree with this documentary, Blackfish. This documentary gave a perfect visual representation on why I do not like having animals in a cage or in a small area. Having animals captive, working hard, and hardly fed is wrong, especially only allowing them in a small area to roam. Watching this documentary made me feel sympathy toward these poor animals that must go through with this harsh life style. Just like Cowperthwaite, I strongly believe the orcas shall not be held in these small areas and be allowed to live in their natural
Since whales are normally peaceful in the wild and they only seem to attack while in captivity, the argument is that captivity is wrong and dangerous for killer whales. This argument is supported by detailed facts about how the whales are tortured and agitated by other whales with no outlet. Both female and male whales are confined to a swimming pool where they are in a way being forced to try and mate. The female whales tend to abuse the male whales, which leads the whales to become mentally and physically unhealthy resulting in attacks on trainer. In the interviews with Corinne Cowell and Nadine Kallen, they mentioned that when they visited Sealand of the Pacific that three whales were confined to a “dingy pool”. Another appeal to pathos is when a neurologist that has studied killer whales mentions how the animals are very intelligent and are well-aware of what is going on around them. (SeaWorld) Killer whales have similar brains to humans, but have a bigger part of their brain where emotions are processed. With this, whales are more aware of their emotions and the bonds they make with humans and other animals. (SeaWorld) With the huge amount of raw footage, first-hand accounts, and true information, the film is able to grasp the attention of the viewers with the amount of emotion that is shown from the former trainers and the whales themselves. With these tactics, the film effectively appeals to the
SeaWorld also claims that the whales being kept there are treated humanely and are in no way unhappy. Although Cowperthwaite’s film clearly explains that that is a far cry from the truth with many trainers saying that the whales were often bullied by others which left them with painful rake marks that are created by teeth scraping against the whales skin. If whales did not perform a trick properly they would not be given food which left the whales hungry and extremely agitated. Behind the scenes footages shows whales being attacked by others with one whale even breaking its own jaw which led to an artery becoming severed and the bled out and died shortly after.
The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director
Second reason why they shouldn’t be kept in a captivity. You can’t recreate on orcas natural environment. The pods sea world cannot hold 40 or more whales which are usually in a pod. If it holds 40 orcas they will make more babies and after their gonna be so much whales and the water won’t hold that much whales. Because whales are the size of bus school and is just like 40 bus
Out of the 156 whales they have taken into captivity from the wild, 129 are dead. Including orcas bred within SeaWorld, at least 165 have died in their facilities (Schelling). Another falsehood SeaWorld claims is that collapsed dorsal fins are completely normal and common of all male orcas. It is actually quite rare to find in the wild, while every single one of their male whales has a collapsed dorsal fin (“8 Shocking Facts…”). SeaWorld also guarantees that they never separate a calf from its mother and even have posted a picture of a baby and its mother as proof. What they didn’t tell the public was that soon after that picture was posted they shipped the calf off to Spain alone to a different park. A past trainer even said that there had been at least 19 separations of mother and calf that he knew of at his location. All of these factors previously stated added up have a large influence on the whales mentally. Many whales are afflicted by psychosis and anxiety and in turn are given drugs such as Valium to keep them performing in shows. There have been various occasions, often swept under the rug by SeaWorld and away from the public eye, where the drugs didn’t work enough (Schelling). There
Keeping these huge animals in small pools does not seem right. Big mammals are not meant to be in small pools. When these mammals are born they stay with there mother all of their lives. They never leave their mothers until they are captured and put in small pools which is not right. Killer whales hunt in pods, the oldest female in the pod is usually the group leader. Each pod has its own set of whistles, clicks, and calls that only members of the pod recognize similar to having a unique language. Members of many pods hunt in teams. For example, they may work together to create waves to knock a seal from an ice floe and into the open water. In many pods,...
It all began with good intentions. People thinking that they can control these animals and not expect any negative impacts. It was all due to wanting to explore and entertain with the animals. However, not all animals are meant to be taken from the wild to be show animals. After many years of unfair ways, SeaWorld is doing the right thing by closing down the whale exhibit even if it isn’t by choice because it is unhealthy for both the humans and animals involved.
People believe that it is no different than training a dog to perform tricks in order to receive a treat as a reward. Some scientists and ecologists also believe that rather than leaving some orcas that are abandoned by their pods, these orcas would be able to live out their lives in captivity. Captivity is not always a bad thing for many wild animals. In fact captivity is what has helped to save the lives of many endangered species and has allowed them to survive and be seen thousands of people around the world. Orcas are an especially hot topic in the science and ecology fields across the globe. Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family and are extremely unpredictable creatures in the wild. These facts being true makes it extremely difficult and nearly impossible to study the lives and mannerisms of killer whales in the wild. Simply because of this some scientists believe that it is best to hold some orcas in captivity in order to study them and learn more about the psychological stages and happenings in the population as a whole. In some cases it is best for the orcas to be in captivity. The United States Fisheries have set rules and regulations that ensure that all the marine life that is held in captivity has a purpose. This purpose must be educational in some form. The fisheries also mandate that the tanks the orcas are held in are kept at a certain standard to
And even a six year old wasn’t blind to that fact. The issue of keeping Orcas in captivity and under the care of man has been a controversial practice ever since the first dolphins and whales were taken into aquariums for the amusement of humans. In more recent times, the documentary Blackfish (which has been recently broadcast on popular TV stations such as CNN) that focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, has brought to light the controversy over captive killer whales. Orcas are majestic, beautiful, and intelligent creatures that should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment because of the harm they cause. SeaWorld, a leader in the captivity and use of killer whales for entertainment, has counterattacked the points made by the documentary Blackfish, which brought many points to light.
I think that killer whale shows should be banned because killer whales can protect themselves in the wild,they can lose natural abilities to hunt and feed themselves, and that killer whale shows can ruin the population of killer whales. My first reason is that, that killer whales could protect themselves in the wild because from a website called “animals.mom.me,” it said that “Orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years-their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 years for females. The average age of death for orcas that have lived in seaworld is 13 years old.” So this shows that if you do not capture orcas (killer whales), they will have a longer life span because they can protect themselves in the wild and can survive much longer than 13 years in an aquarium.
As an act of frustration, they take their teeth and rake other whales’ bodies. They would be covered head to tail with rake marks. Park guests would sometimes recall that during shows they could see blood, due to severe rake marks
What is your definition of “family.” A grouping of parents, and children, or maybe a brother and a sister with an aunt or uncle. Well seaworld has redefined family. They tell their viewers that they care about the social structure of their whales, and that they keep families together when in reality their “families” are just an artificial assemblage of whales that they found or bought and put in a pool together. Imagine being put with a bunch of strangers you don’t even know, thats not a family, its just a random grouping. A common controversial issue has been going around the US for years. Should killer whales in seaworld be kept in captivity. Some people believe that it is inhumane and unhealthy whereas others think that it is educational for the viewers and has no negative impact on the animals. Seaworld killer whales should not be held captive.
An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.