How To Capture Orca Whales

A escalating number of casualties, failed pregnancies plus early deaths. This shows when the Orcas are in captivity they have a higher chance of developing serious health conditions. If they were not in captivity they would not have these problems. Plus if these Orcas are being looked after surely they would have less of a chance of having problems. Right? Wrong. This is saddening and vile and without doubt wrong. Has this changed your opinion about Orca’s now? A person like you would not think Orca’s in aquariums was a good idea. Surely SeaWorld should have some common sense because look at the shocking results of the captivity, it results in deaths of babies. This is incredibly upsetting and terrifying to know that these Orca’s will have serious issues to their health. This is

Captivity Kills The documentary Blackfish reveals the horrifying story of the capture and torture of orca whales at the well-known amusement park, SeaWorld. Blackfish revealed the heartless treatment of the orca whales to the public eye. Tilikum, a featured whale in the documentary, was taken from his family at a young age and forced to live in a small concrete pool for most of his life. His experiences revealed a large part of the problem of placing whales in confinement.

“All whales in captivity have a bad life. They’re all emotionally destroyed. They’re all psychologically traumatized. So they’re ticking time bombs.” This is a statement by Lori Marino from the documentary, Blackfish. Many statements like this one are common and believed to be true due to the proof that the documentary provides. There are many incidents that prove Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, are harmed in captivity and that their trainers are often harmed because of this, too. Orcas should not be kept in captivity since it is harmful to both Orcas and humans.

Since 1961, 157 orcas, or killer whales, have been ripped from their homes and shoved into captivity. 127 of these orcas are now dead. With the number of captured orcas plus the number of those born into captivity, The W.D.C. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation) reports that, “At least 162 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or stillborn calves” ( “The Fate”1). Out of the 127 taken into captivity, 44 have died in SeaWorld. There are currently 58 orcas residing in 14 marine parks in eight different countries. 24 of those orcas are held in SeaWorld’s three parks in the United States. Since 2002, 14 have been taken out of the wild and put into these marine parks. (“The Fate”1) It is not fair for these innocent creatures to be physically and mentally manipulated and damaged. Such brutality would not be condoned if it were targeted towards a human, and it should not be condoned when targeted toward an animal. Orca whales should not be held in captivity because they are forced to live in subpar conditions, they are mistreated while in captivity, and they are led to aggressive behavior.

Some people argue that keeping orcas in captivity is not a problem, yet they do not realize some of the limitations and dangers orcas suffer when kept in captivity. One reason is that these unpredictable, thirty-foot long creatures are usually kept in a tank that is too small for them, compared to the ocean where they can swim freely. In captivity, space is limited. According to one expert, “orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day- a phenomenal amount, in comparison to the exercise they receive in captivity” (Cronin). While in captivity, an orca has to keep swimming in circles or float, unable to exercise adequately in a confined space. The small tanks also prevent orcas from living in their natural group sizes, or pods. “In the wild, killer whales typically travel in pods of between five and 30” (Melissa). In captivity, fewer than five whales are kept together, an imbalance that makes the whales more aggressive towards one another. This can lead to dangerous, territorial situations in which captive

can be 22.5 feet, and their tanks are around 150 feet long. Also, the whale can get diseases.

SeaWorld is a profit based zoo not educational or research focused. They will get their whales from anywhere and any way possible.“For Tilikum felt and also inflicted great pain. While in captivity, he was implicated in the deaths of three humans, including his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in 2010.” Tilikum felt pain and gave a lot more pain back. There is way too much stress involved with SeaWorld and its whales from killings to the whales themselves being very

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 whale was put on the market to sell and SeaWorld bought him for it's breeding program. Tilikum the orca was one of the biggest killer whale in captivity. According to SeaWorld, Tilikum sperm was used to build up a collection of orcas, and now, 54% of SeaWorld's orcas have his genes. He is one of the main breeding whales at SeaWorld and they did not want to let him go for that reason. Another logo the Cowperthwaite made was that killer whales were not getting enough room to be free from the other whales. Tilikum was attacked viciously by other female orcas and couldn’t get away from them since he was a very large whale trapped in a cramped pool. In Blackfish John Jett stated, "In the wild, male whales are kept in the perimeter and in captivity they are squeezed in very close proximity." Tilikum had no place to hide or run whatsoever. Pathos in this documentary was used a lot as

Sea World is a prison for animals, the captivity is inhumane and completely against their well being. There have been multiple reports of the orcas becoming aggressive towards their handlers. In some cases, the trainers have been injured or even killed. Orcas are very large animals and should have a large habitat, which are not being provided. Tilikum, a 12,500-pound killer whale, is the largest orca held in captivity today. Since his capture in 1983, Tilikum has killed 3 trainers and has over 100 reports of aggressive behavior.

Orcas are also known as killer whales. Orcas have been around for many of years. They are the largest specie of the dolphin family. Most people recognize Orcas by being called “killer whales” and their color being black and white. Killer whales usually live up to 50 years old in the wild and a lot less in captive areas. Places such as Sea World have kept killer whales in captivity for many years. Although people enjoy the sight of the Orcas, we fail to see the harm it is causing them by keeping them in a secluded area. Are Killer Whales safer in confined spaces? Or should they be kept in their natural habitat? Being held captive limits their freedom and enjoyment of life and doesn’t allow them to be who they really are. Recent studies have shown that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) claims “To confine them in a space that is, at best, a tiny fraction of the size of their ocean home, depriving them of natural stimulation and social bonds, leads to boredom and, at worst, to poor

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.

For instance SeaWorld didn't set up tanks for the protection of the trainers. There are over 100 accounts of killer whale aggression in the SeaWorld's incident log. Most of them have resulted in injuries to the trainers and spectators and there has also been a few casualties. Specifically Tilikum, a whale that has been in captivity since 1983, has killed 2 trainers and 1 civilian. In addition the tanks aren't safe for the whales. One whale, Nakai, got injured on a pointed metal edge in his tank during a run-in with two other whales that share a tank with him. Some attacks may come from the whales being distressed due to the inadequate space of the

Whales in captivity are held in swimming pools that are barely bigger than they are. According to Melissa Sawyer, “In the wild, they can easily travel 50 to 100 miles a day. However, in captivity, a typical tank is only twice their size, forcing the animals to swim in small circles or float aimlessly.” (Sawyer 1). Imagine living your whole life inside a bathtub, that is how whales that are in captivity feel. Due to their small living

SeaWorld claims that their whales are in superb condition, yet these massive creatures are crammed into a pool for the entirety of their life at SeaWorld. These whales are simply not meant to be in such a small space. Orca whales can travel up to one hundred miles a day in comparison to how far they can swim in their tanks. They can also dive to the depth of around two hundred feet, yet because of the conditions of the pools they 're held captive in, the whales spend most of their time at the surface of their small pools (Orcas in Captivity). Since wild killer whales tend to spend most of their time in deep enough water that the harsh sun rays don 't hit them, they don 't have to worry about getting sunburnt.