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The effects of captivity on a killer whale
Should whales be held in captivity
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The Captivity Of Whales The sea is especially to the whales as the air is to birds as we know, we can not put the birds in the water and make them a life because each one of the animals created to be in their own environment only. Whales need that environment is to be free and can move up and down and side to side in the sea. The very nature of these animals makes them unique in the wild. Releasing any animal from wild life it not always a successful alternative for them. Some people think that the captivity is beneficial for whales for a few reasons, but the captivity has more consequences than benefits. One of the captivity consequences for whales and how it effect them life by the way that tread them is whales live in large groups called pods, and each of them has Family bonds, and often they bond for many years, but some of them last for a lifetime and that bond helps them protect from other species in the sea. Also, as most of people knows that the whales from large animals and could be hard for putting them in small cages. It might make them suffer from captivity stresses and will lower their resistance, and tend to be more aggressive behavior and make them more susceptible to disease. The cages are small, it can not fit the large animal …show more content…
and the one who like to move a lot. That will make their life in danger more of what they were in the wild because they used to be in large place to move wherever they want. This is one of the important consequence of the captivity for whales. Second bad consequence for the whales captivity and how they hurting them in certain way, as they show it in Blackfish of how they are hunting the small whales which they called the Orcas, and how they had been taken them from their mother which they hurting them so much.
Every mother feel the pain of how they are taking her children from her and to not seeing him anymore. While that they putting them in captivity most of them got hurt because they way that they are bringing them it's not easy to pull them from sea and putting them in small place to captive them, and some of them had scratch in their body. This is the second consequence of how they hurting them in certain ways and how that painful for their
mothers. Third danger consequence of the captivity for whales and how some of whales become a dangers for human life. For example, in film shows how people got hurt from those animals if they got frustrated. Most of trainers die by those whales because nobody knows what they think or what they want. Once the trainees practice the whales to present in a good way to the audience when they live or got traded in terrible ways, but nobody knows if they treated them in a good or bad way. Most of whales did not get enough food to make them full, and that might be the reason of how they got angry and reflect their bad reaction to the people who is nearby them and that some time cause the death of some of them. On the other hand, Some people think if they put the whales in captivity it will help them because as we know the sea exposed to pollution by some of ships transport that has oil tanker and factory pollution that throw poisons items in the sea, and this will affect most of them and will lead them to death. Another reason is if they got sick or anything that will affect their health nobody will know what will happen to them until they put them in another small safe place to check and medicate them to protect them. Also, the upbringing for those kind of animals in captivity might be the only way to save an endangered species. Finally, some people think selfishly because their only reason is to keep them in captivity for profits. Money is always the root of all evil and is the reason that these animals are kept the way they are now. However, they are taking advantage of their presence for interests some people like the SeaWorld and how they make entertainment shows as well as education, especially for children, and learn to appreciate the animal as well and about its environment. In addition, some of the searching people they can not do research for those animals while they are at sea because it will be hard for them to find each kind of them in a wild place like sea, but in the captivity they will find it easier for them to research. These are the reason why the people think that the captivity might be beneficial for the whales or other animals. In concluding, most of people argue about the captivity is beneficial for few reasons, but the captivity has more consequences than benefits.
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 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
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,...
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.
Suppose you were kidnapped from your family as a child by an alien species while your family watched in despair, crying out helplessly for your kidnappers to not rip you away from them. Now imagine then being strapped down and transported to a place unknown and once you arrive, you see that some of the other children that were also kidnapped have died. You then witness something that will forever remain engraved into your mind; you witness those monsters that took you hostage cut the children open, fill their bodies up with rocks, tie an anchor onto their feet and throw them into the ocean. The monsters then throw you into a tiny cage; you learn that you will not only never see your family again and die in that confinement but you will also work for these monsters and perform as a source of entertainment for them. You spend every night locked away into an even smaller steel cage that gives no freedom of movement at all and aren’t fed if you displease your new masters. Although this sounds like an outline for a horror movie, it is not. It is happening in real life and in our world. It is horrific, not only unethical but inhumane. This depicts the capturing process and life in captivity for public display of Orcinus Orcas, popularly known as Killer Whales since 1961. Although some laws regarding the capturing of whales have changed, whales are still being treated unethically. Just as inhumane as it is for this to be done to humans, it is equally inhumane for it to be done to animals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inhumanity is “the quality or stage of being cruel to other people or to animals” (dictionary.com) and that is what their captivity is...
Whales and all animals are meant to be free and live their lives without harm from humans; they should not live in a small tank or cage with nowhere to actually go. Whales are also recognized as being very intelligent and charismatic creatures, so why are they being held captive instead of enjoying their lives? There are many whale activists trying to make a difference. Also, there are many other ways to educate the public about them other than keeping them locked away in tanks too small for them. (Cowperthwaite, Gabriela. “Blackfish”, Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2013, Netflix). Coastal sanctuaries have been suggested as well as sea pens. Sea pens are very large coves in the ocean that have barriers around them. This would be way more beneficial for the orcas than a tank because they would essentially be back in their natural habitat. It also would be easier for researchers to learn about them and see how they really act not how they are trained to act. Today if they released all the orcas back into the wild they wouldn’t survive because they aren’t used to that lifestyle anymore it would only work for the babies (Tocco, Nicole. “Should orcas be set free?”. Scholastic
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
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.
“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in captivity. Killer whales have no record of ever harming a human being in the wild. In captivity, there have been many incidents of killer whales harming or even killing their trainers. What would cause them to do this in captivity, but not in the wild? They have been known to resort to aggression toward themselves and each other, in what scientist believe to be a stress induced behavior. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Evidence against having these wild animals in captivity is increasing and we need reevaluate the value of capturing and holding killer whales for our educational purposes, enjoyment, and profit.
Captivity is the state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved, according to Wiktionary. Every year, marine parks and aquariums, like SeaWorld, make billions of dollars through ticket sales. SeaWorld estimates about 70% of their total revenue is due to their performing killer whales (Jeffs). People visit from all over the world to encounter killer whales up close. “Their beauty and power, combined with willingness to work with humans, have made them legendary performers” (Gorman). 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.
The whale Tilicum who is responsible for multiple deaths of trainers is still in captivity and still performs in shows. He now has no life left in him and for hours will still sit in the same spot. This is no way to treat a living thing and in no way should wild animals like this be put into captivity. The bottom line is that these animals are living mammals and should not be put into situations where they are starved and kept in extremely small spaces to live out their lives. Companies like Sea World should no longer have whale shows and should release all of the whales that will be able to survive into the wild. Sea World would be able to survive without their whale show, and even though it is one of the biggest sources of revenue the park can make money in other endevures.
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.
First, one option is to keep them in captivity. Some pros to that are; we can learn from the whales, connect with them, and lastly, they are endangered. We can learn from the whales. We can do tests on them and figure out things about their brain activity and more about their bodies. We can also connect with them. If they trust us then they will want to please us and befriend us. If we are nice to them then they are will be nice back. Lastly, they are endangered. By keeping them in captivity we can breed them and try to get them out of the endangered list and protect them. The other opinion is that we should keep the whales in the wild. They become depressed and have bad anxiety from being forced to perform and live in that tiny pool. Imagine living somewhere and being forced to do things you don't want to and if you dont then you wont be fed? Imagine how depressed and frightened you would be.
Zoos display fascinating animals from all over the world for human entertainment, research, conservation, and education. Many scientists conduct studies on animals in captivity that they may not have been able to in the wild. Zoos educate all the visitors that come; they let people know everything that they know about the animals on display. We do learn a lot from these animals, but not all of the animals in the zoo are behaving like they normally would in the wild. Larger animals, such as elephants and orcas (commonly known as killer whales), have trouble with being confined in such a small area. However, many smaller animals benefit from zoos because they provide protection from predators, natural disasters, and poachers. They also benefit from conservation efforts; the babies being born get all the care they could ever need. Some animal rights activists are concerned that the conservation efforts are limiting the gene pool of the species. They argue that the small number of animals able to breed in captivity limits biodiversity and leads to weaknesses in the species overall. Zoos are wonderful places to study and learn about animals, but we need to improve the living standards for animals that struggle with captivity.