Historical Levels Of The Southern Resident Orca Population

Furthermore, the marine mammal science community, which has long maintained a neutral stance on the question of whether orcas are a suitable species for captive display, has finally recognized the need to engage. An informal panel discussion on captive orcas is scheduled at the 20th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in December, the first time this topic will be openly addressed by the world's largest marine mammal science

The conditions that the captured killer whales are forced to live in are not acceptable replacements for the wildlife habitats that they have been ripped from. All the enclosures that the orcas are kept in do not provide an adequate amount of space that the animal requires. The size of an orca in relation to the size of the tanks they are forced to live in is comparable to the

Get out of line and take a stand to stop the unjustified capture of killer whales. Orcas, also known as killer whales, have been imprisoned, against their will, for years. Evidence proves many Orcas are inhumanly captured, from the ocean, for the sheer pleasure of human entertainment and profit. Irrefutably, these majestic, intelligent, marine creatures belong in one place, and one place only, the ocean. Clearly, documentation proves, these magnificent mammals do not thrive in captivity, become irritated, and have injured or killed hundreds of humans.

Since 1961, Killer whales have been held captive in a tank for entertainment. Helpless whales get captured from their families and get forced to live in artificial social groupings. At least 56 orcas have been captured and are currently held in captive. 23 of them were captured from the wild, and 33 were captive born. At least 163 orcas have died in captivity, not including the 30 miscarriages held in captivity. As you can tell, killer whales have a great negative impact when their in captive.

People say that keeping orca’s in captivities is not a problem, yet they do not realize that, orcas are also human beings. There are several reasons, why keeping these thirty-feet long creatures, in captivities is a problem. One of them, which are the tank, which is too small, compared to ocean where they can swim freely. One the other side, in captivities, the space is limited. Comparatively, to how they swim out in the wild “orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day- a phenomenal amount, in comparison to the exercise they receive in captivity”(Cronin). While being in captivity, orca has to keep swimming in circles or floats. Out “In the wild, killer whales typically travel in pods of between five and 30”(Melissa). In captivities there are only few whales, so it makes them more aggressive toward one another. This sometimes can be lead to danger by killing each other for fighting to gain power of the tank.

The population decline in monk seals is due to several different factors with the biggest reason due to the low pup and juvenile survival rates (Curtice et al, 2011). At the Kure Atoll on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 32 pups were observed in 1964 and 30 pups were observed in 1965. Of these pups born, all but one died or disappeared within 60 days after birth. This was also seen in the 1970’s at Green Island and Kure Atoll, where a mean population of 17 and 14 seals, respectively, was counted on these beaches, with a birth total of 10 showing a population decline of 70% (Gilmartin et al, 2011). The juvenile survival rate is still seen today with one in five monk seals surviving to the reproductive age, with one year old seals having the highest mortality rates (Norris et al, 2011).

They are not able to swim all around the world and be able to do what they do best which is to live wild and free. They are stuck in a small space with thousands of people watching them every day. Most Orcas are taking from their mothers at an early age. Although Orcas are known to stay with their mothers until about two years of age, they are taking too early so they don’t receive all the nutrition that they need to help them develop fully. If a young one is taking away from its mother to early it is more likely to die. Orcas usually reproduce once every three years. Although it is known that it is possible for them to have twins, they are more likely to just have one at time. They usually only have one at a time because they are too big. After the calf is born the mother then trains the Orca how survive. She teaches them how to find food and how to protect themselves from other animals that may be harmful to

Captive orcinus orcas live in a relatively small space compared to their natural habitat. An orca would have to swim back and forth in it’s tank many times each day to equal the amount of miles it would swim in the ocean daily. “Captivity is, in essence, poor habitat for orcas, causing early death”(Captivity). Due to all the problems with killer whales being held in captivity, the whales experience a much shorter lifespan in captivity compared to their lifespan in the wild. Also all whales that have been held in captivity cannot be released back into their natural habitat because they may not be able to find their pod and they will not have the skills needed to survive.

Killer whales are confined to tanks that are far too small for them. This can trigger unwanted and dangerous behaviors out of the whales (Humane Society). Would you want to live your life in a bathtub or a small pool? In 1987, trainer Jonathan Smith was performing with one of the orcas in a full audience. One of the orcas took a hold of his foot and dragged him to the very bottom of the tank. The whale brought him back to the surface and let go, but another orca then slammed into him and dragged him back under water. Smith eventually escaped with a lacerated liver, ruptured kidney, and cuts all around his torso. He thinks what may have triggered these behaviors is that fact that he was wearing a uniform that looked similar to a seal.

How can it be “beneficial” when it contradicts what’s really in favor for these animals? Killer whales, or commonly referred to as orcas are known to live in social and protected family environment, who are highly intelligent with minds of their own, but are put in confined pens for viewing purposes

This supports the idea that Orcas are constantly harmed. Another article further supports this with a list of most of the captive Orcas, that passed away, and their lifespans. The data shows that most of the whales held in captivity do not even

Since the beginning, Orca captivity and displacement has been a highly controversial issue. With some in support of educational value behind venues of captivity such as Sea World, and others opposed to the neglectful treatment and confinement of these behemoth mammals. Killer whales, more commonly known as orcas or blackfish in popular culture, are known to inhabit all oceans on the earth from tropical regions to both arctic and Antarctic areas. In nature, the Killer whale has been designated as the world’s largest apex predator, lacking any predatory threats from above. Accompanying their vaunting presence in the natural food chain, these complex species have been scientifically designated as mammals that

Killer whale is known as the Orca or their scientific name, Orcunus Orca. Killer whale is the largest of the dolphin family and also the strongest and powerful predators. The Orca has the name killer whale because they can take down any large creature such as seals, sea lion or even white shark. The killer whale’s current population range is about 50,000 and they are the most distributed marine mammals. Their territory extends from the Artic to the Antarctic but they mostly can be found in the cold-water upwelling areas such as the Pacific Northwest, the Southern Ocean that has high latitude. Not only they can be found in the cold ocean, many data has also shown that they have been seen in the warmer area such as Florida or Hawaii. They are predators, so they eat marine animals such as seals, sea lions, fish, sea turtles, birds or even the great white shark. The difference between the female and the male killer whale is the male Orca is 32 feet long; weight 22,000 pounds with 6 feet tall dorsal fin while the female Orca is 28 feet long; weight 16,500 pounds with a little curve dorsal fin on the back. Their color is black on the upper body and white color on the lower body with gray saddle on their back or behind their dorsal fin. They have two white spot on the side of their face called eyespot. Even though the eyespots look like the eyes, the Orca’s eyes and ears are actually located below the eyespots. They depend on their sound and vocal to communicating, navigating,

There are several factors contributing to the global decline in the Beluga whale populations including chemical and noise pollution, commercial fishing, increased predation, fossil fuel industry and habitat destruction and alteration leading to increased mortality due to stranding and disease. Human activities are known to disrupt aquatic habitats, but it reaches much further than that. Because the Beluga whale is at the top of the marine food chain, the well being of this species can be a key indicator of overall marine environment health. Reduction in beluga health and numbers has a vast effect on the Inuit populations that rely on them as a food

Figure 1. The decline in endangered species of sharks over the past decades as a result of unsustainable fishery and bad management.