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. This argument about Orca whales is very important. The abuse that these animals go through is unbelievable and uncalled for. They face starvation, dorsal fin damage, and withdrawals from not seeing their family if they were taken from the wild. Orca whales love to play but it is hard when they are being abused. Whales in the wild have dorsal fins that stand straight up (Killer Whales Don’t Belong In Captivity). The whales at any marine park have dorsal fins that …show more content…
Tilikum and his other tank mates have been abused enough, especially Tilikum. Tilikum is a very popular whale, he is the biggest whale held in captivity and has been abused by his tank mates for an extremely long time. It is not just Tilikum being abused but the other 56 whales that are still held captive (WDC). At least one hundred fifty whales have been taken into captivity; one hundred twenty-seven of these whales are now dead. There have been at least forty-five whales, that have been documented have died at SeaWorld. Corky is the longest whale being captured from the wild that is still alive. All of Corky’s offspring has survived. If Corky’s offspring has not survived, health conditions for the whales are not okay. These whales should live as long as they can, have the best lives, and not be held
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
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
The mental and physical stress affects the whale’s bodies, which leads them to lash out in different ways. Expressed in the “Blackfish” documentary, Tilikum shows his stress in different ways, from breaking teeth to three deaths of trainers. Tilikum, in attempt to manage stress, chewed on the concrete and metal walls of his tank, shattering his teeth. Many of the Orca’s teeth end up being drilled, hollow, or fractured. Tilikum eventually turned to a different way of relieving stress. The first occurrence happened in February 21st, 1991 where Sealand trainer and marine biologist student Keltie Byrne fell into a pool with the holding of three orcas, one including Tikilium. Keltie’s autopsy read that she was drowned by being tossed among the three orcas like a playtoy (“Orca”). The second occurrence happened on July 6th, 1999, a man trespassing through the park named Daniel P. Dukes was found dead across the back of Tilikum one morning when the park was being opened. He was found with many wounds and punctures to his body, his autopsy showed he had a profound death of drowning. The last occurrence happened February 24th, 2010 when Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer was pulled into the water by Tilikum, who had her ponytail in his mouth. The death of Dawn Brancheau concluded that she was killed by blunt force trauma and being drowned. “Tilikum (orca)”. By levels of stress being strained, different animals take out stress
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
The whales are usually pregnant for 15 to 17 months; but having young every 2 to 6 years. In captivity about 163 orcas have died. As well as about 30 miscarried or stillborn calves (“10 Things…”). SeaWorld force breeds the orca’s. They do this by having the animal lye on its back while they masturbate it. The people take the sample and put it inside of a female (“The Fate of…”). They do this to make the numbers of orca’s they are capturing to go down. In all actuality they are making things worse. They have inbred these animals. They don’t know what it could do to the baby inside of the mother. It could come out with some type of deformation, and the wiring in their brains could become
Perhaps once you view Blackfish by Gabriela Cowperthwaithe, you will begin to have an understanding of how the whales feel. The documentary follows an Orca by the name of Tilikum. Tilikum had been involved in three deaths, including a Marine Biologist named Dawn Brancheau, who was killed by Tilikum while performing with him. The film also highlights why keeping whales in captivity is dangerous and also touches on the death of Dawn Brancheau who was faulted for her own death due to her ponytail hanging low. After watching the documentary, I began to analyze Gabriela Cowperwaithes claim; essentially, she doesn’t feel it is right to have whales in captivity because it makes them aggressive and perhaps insane after being held in captivity for so long.
Three of the killings were done by one famous whale at SeaWorld, named Tilikum.
One of the things this company claims is that the killer whales actually live longer in their care. According to the website Sea World of Hurt, this is completely false, killer whales in the wild have a similar life span to humans, they can live from anywhere to 50-100 years. Held captive, these animals hardly live past twenty-five years. In the wild, an orcas dorsal fin is straight, which is the way it should be. In captivity, you will mostly see their dorsal fins flopped over or completely collapsed.
Imagine seeing a majestic killer whale floating at the bottom of its pool—depressed. Tapping on the glass does not stir this gigantic friendly beast. Every once in a while she will make her whistling and calling noises. This killer whale, named Katina, and her infant killer whale was taken away from her (Kirby 43). Katina was separated from her new calf because the calf was acting out during shows. Kalina’s family pod was broken, leaving Katina alone and depressed in her pool. Katina would call out to her Kalina, but nothing would subdue her sadness (112). Killer whales should not be kept in captivity because captivity not only leads to aggressive behavior and emotional anguish of the whales, but also injuries, and furthermore deaths of the trainers.
For example, SeaWorld asserts “that while research suggests that some wild killer whales can live as long as 60 to 70 years, their average lifespan is nowhere near that,” (source). In the wild, the average lifespan is 30 for males, 50 for females, and can live up to 80-90 years old. In captivity, in such environments as those at SeaWorld, most orcas die in their teens or 20s and only a handful survive past 25. The annual mortality or death rate for orcas is 2.5 times higher in captivity than it is in the wild. Activists believe that the capture and transport of these animals is extremely cruel, due to the psychological stress caused by the separation of pod members, and the stress caused during transport.
Australian beaches are some of the best in the world and WA beaches are some of the best in Australia. But this may soon no longer be a view held by everyone if the WA government continues to support and allow the shark culling off Perth's major beaches. Hi I'm Maya Koentgen, a marine biologist, ecologist and fellow beach user, and I'm here to tell you why shark culling needs to stop. At the moment hundreds of innocent sharks are being caught and killed and why? Because they are simply swimming in their own homes that us humans have invaded.
Millions of people visit Sea World each year (The Fate). They crowd into Shamu Stadium to be entertained by the killer whales as they perform. Their eyes widen, and they sit in awe, as these enormous creatures effortlessly propel themselves out of the water. The children in the audience squeal with delight as the orca’s giant tail sends a wave of ice water over the crowd. But these fast-paced, high-spirited shows hide a darker reality. They are designed to mask the reality of the bare, cold concrete walls that the Orcas are forced to call home. It’s time for people to realize the plight of these mammals. Keeping Orcas in captivity is both harmful and cruel.
In recent years, humans have gained the ability to tame and train these creatures. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity simply because it is cruel, unnatural, and dangerous. Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually
Orca captivity is a major problem that is going on in today’s society. Many people have different emotions whether or not orcas should be banned from captivity. SeaWorld is harming the orca’s life, rather than improving its health. All killer whales in captivity should be released back into the wild. These large incredible creatures should enjoy their lives out in the open, instead of living in small tanks. With releasing these large animals back into their own habitat, it will create a more beneficial life to the whales.