Orcas In Captivity Essay

Have you ever been to Seaworld and been in awe as the gigantic Killer whales leap and perform for you and a crowd of visitors? Have you ever wondered what those Orcas thought of doing this act and being kept in a tiny pool away from the Ocean and their pod? Orcas should not be in captivity due to a large number of very concerning and heartbreaking issues.
One common issue with Orcas in captivity is the “killer” aspect of the orca. Orcas are commonly referred to as Killer Whales because of their fierceness in the wild when catching their prey, yet there has never been a recorded incident of an orca attacking a human in the wild. In captivity, it’s a different story, “In front of a crowd of visitors, Tilikum dragged his trainer Dawn Brancheau

under the water and killed her.” Melissa Hogenboom mentioned. Tilikum the orca referred to in this statement has been in captivity since the 90’s and has taken part in the killing of 2 other humans before Dawn. This was because of the stress of being in captivity without his friends and family. It is simply too dangerous to keep orcas in captivity.
Another big issue concerning orcas in captivity is the fact that they are very social animals.

In the wild Orcas live their entire lives in a large pod with their family and friends. Orcas even develop their own language to speak within their pod. Aisling Maria Cronin explained, “Putting a group of newly captured orcas – traumatized after having been torn away from their families – into a small enclosure, and asking them to “socialize” with one another could be seen as the equivalent of forcing a group of human strangers who speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds into a small room, and informing them that they must now spend the rest of their lives together, whether they like it or not.” This is horrible for the orcas considering how social they are. Putting them together can cause fights between orcas and very stressful conditions. Orcas that are very stressed and anxious can ruin their teeth trying to ease stress by biting on tank

bars.
Orcas lives are very boring and dreadful in a small tank. They tend to live about 60 to 100 years in the wild, “Kalina was only 25 years old when she died. She was forced to live her entire existence in an understatedly artificial environment, crammed into a chlorinated swimming pool with other suffering orcas,” the website in defense of animals expressed in an article. Orcas have to spend these 20 or so years in captivity swimming in a tiny tank around and around waiting for their next performance. Orcas swim an average of 140 miles a day in the wild, but in captivity, they are given a tank that to them is the size of a bathtub.
Seaworld has tried to defend the fact that Orcas in captivity help with research and conservation efforts, “Whales in SeaWorld’s care help scientists better understand and conserve wild killer whales.

It also notes that the park recently pledged to spend an additional $10 million on orca research,” Seaworld proclaimed. Even though Seaworld “pledged” to do this there is no proof they actually have. “In any case, say, scientists and conservationists, the study of orcas in the wild is becoming less difficult and less invasive, making captive research less important. Advances in technology, from satellite tagging to biopsy darts, have made it much easier to get detailed data on wild marine mammals,” Tasneem Raja stated. Modern technology has made it significantly easier to study these marine mammals in their natural habitat where they act much different than when they are in captivity. “Captive studies are limited in what they can tell us about wild killer whales as the captive environment is artificial. Captive killer whales behave and react differently to wild killer whales and they also suffer from different health issues,” Jane Warley remarked. Orcas in captivity don’t have the family and social lives that orcas in the wild

have.
In conclusion, Orcas should never be in captivity. When they are in captivity they become dangerous, they lose the most important part of their lives, their social connections, and they live shorter life spans. So please, stop breeding your orcas; you are making their lives miserable.