How does the life of an orca in captivity vary from an orca that lives in the wild? Orcas are large toothed dolphins with distinctive black and white coloring and a distinguished dorsal fin. Orcas are often referred to as killer whales or black fish. Although orcas belong in open water, they are occasionally herded into enormous fishing nets. The young calves are then separated from their family groups called pods and transported to either an aquarium or a water park. Such aquariums and water parks are found around the world, including the Miami Seaquarium and and SeaWorld in Florida, Texas and California. An orca that lives within captivity experiences a different lifespan, diet, and habitat than an orca that lives within the wild. Orcas …show more content…
are found in open oceans around the world, but are most common in the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Orcas are often spotted off the west coast of the United Stated within the Pacific Ocean. When spotted, killer whales are typically seen together in family groups, or pods, that share a common dialect. In contrast to orcas in captivity, orcas in the wild are surrounded by other sea life and are an essential part of marine life. In most cases, orcas are the top predators in the ocean. Orcas use intricate strategies within their pods to locate and obtain prey including seabirds such as penguins like the Adélie, seals, sea lions, squid, whales, fish like salmon, and occasionally sharks and sea otters.
Different from orcas in captivity, orcas in the wild will work together to herd and encircle small prey near the water’s surface. By staying in a tight formation, killer whales will work together to obtain a seal or sea lion perched on top of an ice cap. Together, the orcas will charge the ice cap to create a wave that will push the seal or sea lion into the icy waters. In order to obtain much larger prey such as a blue whale, orcas will target calves and injured or ill whales. The orcas will work together to wear out the much larger prey; biting, colliding into, and pulling on the whale’s pectoral fins. This particular strategy can last for hours until the worn-out whale drowns. Orcas have also been known to purposely beach themselves on shore in an attempt to catch prey such as seabirds, seals, and sea lions. The diet and habitat of an orca will determine the longevity of its life …show more content…
span. The average lifespan of an orca within the wild is 30 to 50 years; although, orcas have been known to live longer. The average lifespan does not account for calves that do not live past the first six months of their lives or the orcas that die due to diseases, illnesses, or injuries. These diseases and illnesses include bacterial and fungal infections, parasites such as tapeworms and roundworms, skin diseases, and respiratory issues. When a killer whale becomes injured or ill, they tend to become stranded or washed up along the shore. On the other hand, orcas in captivity tend to die from other causes. Orcas living in aquariums and water parks tend to live in confined glass tanks.
These enclosures are hardly the length of two average whales. The measurements are 48 feet in length and 12 feet in depth. Aquariums and water parks will either house the orcas alone or house them with other orcas that are unsuited because they originate from different pods; therefore, the orcas have a different dialect. When orcas are forced to live within confined tanks, it often results in tension that leads to fights between the unsuited orcas. With no where for the orcas to retreat, such fights will cause injuries and occasionally death. Due to the enclosure that the orcas are forced to live in within the aquariums and water parks, the orcas are unable to hunt and obtain prey as they naturally would within the
wild. In contrast to orcas using intricate strategies to capture prey in the wild, orcas in captivity are fed dead and frozen fish. The dead fish lose all nutritional value once they are frozen and it disallows the orcas to practice their natural hunting skills. The dead fish are often used as positive reinforcement for orcas during training at water parks such as SeaWorld in Florida, Texas, and California. For example, when an orca is learning a new trick, if the trick is performed correctly, the orca will be given a fish. If the orca performs the trick incorrectly, the orca will not be given a fish. The diet and habitat of an orca will determine the longevity of its life span, likewise the diet and habitat of an orca will determine the longevity of its life span. Orcas living within enclosed tanks at aquariums and water parks experience premature deaths due to the poor environment surrounding them. The average life span for an orca within captivity is nine years; although, a small amount have been known to live up to 13 years. The average lifespan of an orca in captivity is less than half the lifespan of an orca in the wild. The premature deaths of orcas in captivity are linked to poor oral health, injuries from other orcas within the same tank, and illnesses. Many of the causes for the premature deaths could be prevented. It is cruel to capture, separate, and hold orcas in captivity. An orca belongs in the open oceans of the world where it can experience a natural habitat, hunting strategies, and live longer than the average life span of orcas in captivity.
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
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
Orca whales are the largest members of the dolphin family. Orcas are very curious creatures, they like to sky hop, which is when they poke their heads out of the water and look around, and they can also dive to as much as a hundred feet. These social animals live in pods and stay with them for their whole lives. They are so family oriented that they can may sleep together in a tight circle and have synchronized breathing. Orcas can grow up to thirty-two feet and can weigh nine tons. They typically eat five percent of their body weight and are amazing hunters. The lifespan of an orca in their natural habitat is about fifty years. This lifestyle for them is wonderful because they can swim as far as they want to and are free. Orcas should not be held captive because the capture process is dangerous, it is not good for their health, and their trainers are at risk. Free Willy. Dir Simon Wincer. 1993.Video. Warner Bros Home Video
They succeed in catching Tilikum, a large male orca, along with two other females, and almost immediately, an important question is raised in the viewer’s mind: What gives humanity the right to incarcerate and separate these animals from their natural environment and their families? As the documentary progresses, Tilikum begins to exhibit frustration and aggressive behavior at the amusement park due to the fact that he is being kept in a small underwater storage container when not on display. Eventually, this treatment leads Tilikum to kill his trainer by dragging her to the bottom of the performance tank and forcing her to drown. At this point, another question is presented: Is Tilikum’s aggressive behavior a product of nature, and the nature of orcas as a species, or is it due to his coerced captivity? Over the course of the documentary, a number of killer whales are caught and brought to different aquatic parks where the viewer gets a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to these animals and their families upon imprisonment.
Imagine yourself living in a bathtub for 25 years and you could do absolutely nothing about it. Wild orcas, better known as killer whales, have been captured to entertain audiences worldwide at aquariums. The most popular location is Sea World. Growing up in Miami, I could not control my excitement when it came time to go visit Lolita, the killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium. To be able to see such an amazing creature right in front of me was mind blowing.
For 50 years SeaWorld has entertained park guests with numerous stunts involving the majestic sea creature, the orca, also referred to as the killer whale, and their human trainers. What the on-lookers don’t see at these shows is what goes on behind the scenes: how the whales got there in the first place, and the conditions in which they are housed.
This is a big deal! As a human, I have unlimited space. Or, at least all the space I really need. Orcas at Seaworld can't say the same. It's like living in your closet for the rest of your life. How does that sound? Not very pleasing. Well I'm sorry to say, but this is how an Orca at Seaworld lives. These Orcas also have to share a tank with another Orca. The problem with this is that Orcas have their own language that they use with their families so when two completely different Orcas get plopped in the same tank, they speak completely different languages and because of anxiety, it causes aggression in the Orcas which is one cause of death.
Orca whales do not like to be taken from their family, held captive for many decades and put with other whales that they do not know. No other living organism on this planet would like to be put through the same thing. Orca whales are highly social animals, they are very intelligent, and are very emotional. If they are kept away from other whales, fed intermittently and received little attention from staff makes them get very emotional and can lead to death of people and the whales. Orca whales should not be held captive; they are beautiful creatures that are not great for people’s amusement and if they are treated poorly, they will act poorly.
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.
Orcinus orca is the scientific name for the massive marine mammal. Orcas are not rare, but have declining numbers in some areas (Martin.) Orcas are found from the Artic Ocean to the Antartic Ocean. (Britannica) They belong to the Delphinidae, or dolphin family, which is the largest of their species. Female orcas grow to be at the most 15 feet, and weigh up to 4 tons, but the males can grow as large as 20-30 feet, and weight up to 8 tons. (Martin) The color of the orca is white in some spots, black on the majority of the body, and gray just behind the dorsal fin. It is white on the chin, belly and the eye. The white patch above the eye is usually mistaken for the eye, and may confuse their prey, but acts as a camouflage for the eye. The name “killer whale” makes people tend to believe that this is a viscious man-eating mammal, yet it is one of the most shrewd, docile and playful species of the marine mammals. The orca is sexually mature at 10-15 years of age, much like humans, which is 12-13 years of age. They tend to mate year round, and is able to have a calf every two years. It is interesting to know that lactation of the mother lasts 12 or more months (Wynne.) The life expectancy of orcas is 45-50 years of age.
Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, are actually the largest member of the dolphin family. They were given the name “killer whale” by sailors who often observed them attacking and killing seals, sea lions, walruses, penguins, dolphins, polar bears and even other whales (Orcas).
Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually the largest type of dolphin. They have long black bodies with distinct white patches near their eyes. A killer whale can be up to 32 feet or more in length, and weigh up to 12,000 pounds. Females are a bit smaller, but live longer (Gorman). The name “killer whale” apparently came not because it is a vicious whale, but because it preys on whales. They do not have any natural predators, and they are considered the “top dog” of the ocean. Not even the great white shark stands a chance against these superb killers. “Unlike sharks, killer whales are cautious hunters, sometimes spending hours harassing a 1,000-pound sea lion so it can easily be drowned” (Francis). Orcas use many hunting tactics that are unique to their species, which is what makes them invincible.
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.
They claim that having Orcas in captivity is a good thing because the population is endangered; they say that the research they can do is just not possible in the wild, but at the same time how are they helping the population? Yes they breed them, increasing the population but what good does that do when they keep them locked up and use them to make money? SeaWorld. From the Animals: Captive, but not Contained article by Talal Al-Khatib. Animals may be captive in cages and pens, but that doesn’t mean they are contained, as was demonstrated in 2010 at Sea World.