Keeping Orca Whales in Captivity Should Be Banned Essay

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

In November of 1983 Tilikum was taken away from his family at approximately two years of age. Once he was in America he didn't go straight to Seaworld, he actually started at a small marine park in Florida called Sealand. While he was there the trainer used the female orcas to teach Tilikum all the tricks, but if he did not perform it the correct way there would be a punishment. This meant that neither of the orcas would get a reward which was food.the females became mad at tilikum and would rake him, meaning they would scrape their teeth across the length of his body. The conditions at the very small marine park were awful for such large animals, the tank that all three of them were put into was only 100-foot-by-50-foot pool that was just 35 feet deep. Now you would think after being trapped in such a small space would make you go a little crazy, and in Tilikum’s case it did. While he was at Sealand he was the cause of a trainer's death, he had drowned her, this was the first humane killed. Eventually Sealand shutdown, and “on January 3, 1992 SeaWorld applied for an emergency permit authorizing immediate importation of Tilikum for medical reasons.”- PBS, Frontline. Once he was at Seaworld he was put straight to work learning all the routines, but his living conditions didn’t get much better the other whales at Seaworld raked him too. The trainers soon put Tilikum into his own

The documentary, Blackfish, proves that there was and still is quite a bit of controversy over whether it is ethical to keep Orcas in captivity. Some people believe that it is acceptable since the Orcas are being treated and fed well. Other people, however, believe that this is not ethical because being kept in a tank for twenty years leads to aggression and therefore is too dangerous for humans. The documentary proves that there are many incidents, in the past, where a whale has harmed their trainer. One example of this, that made people more aware of the danger, was the death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010 (Cowperthwaite & Oteyza, 2013). The incidence has led to many different debates over the years and Sea World has had to try to refute the claims that were made about them. The claims were regarding their treatment of the whales and other issues. However, Sea World was not

In 2010, Tillikum killed Dawn Brancheau, as described in a recent news article: “The SeaWorld trainer, he crushed, dismembered, and partially swallowed" (Brower). Tillikum grabbed the trainer and dragged her into the water. After seeing these incidents occur, people have urged SeaWorld to ban these activities. Permitting such activities will create more problems that can cause the injury and death of more people like Dawn, who love and cared for the animals.

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

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.

In captivity, they have very little space and cannot behave naturally. Instead, Captive whales have been trained to learn tricks and entertain the public for food as a reward (“Whales and Dolphins in Captivity”). I chose the research question, because I want to learn more about captive Orca Whales and I believe that all living things should be able to live freely in their natural habitat and not have to worry about being stripped from their families and their homes. I already knew that Killer Whales were at risk and that the

Birth defects and offspring deaths are common for a captive-born or wild orca captured from the wild because, of the terrible conditions they are raised in. An orca can swim up to 100 miles a day, but are kept in a tank that’s 12 feet deep and 48 in diameter, they would need to swim 1400+ times back and forth in the pool. Dorsal Fin is very common as for 100% of males and a majority of females, it’s caused when the pool is so shallow the fin in above the surface causing gravity to apply force upon the orcas fin, this only happen to 1% of the wild population of orcas.

Though often seen as fierce killing machines, Orca whales, more commonly known as killer whales, are much different. In some ways, these mysterious creatures are much like humans. Many people are fascinated by these whales when they see them perform in marine parks such as SeaWorld. What most people don’t realize is that the life of these whales is not as great as it may seem. There is much evidence that proves captive life will never be adequate. There is no doubt that life in captivity is no match for life in the wild.

Do you hear the cries? The moaning calls to families far away. Do you see the scars from battles lost? Performance after performance in front of a noisy and frightening crowd. Fear,anger, and a hint of madness all inside one magnificent creature,What am I talking about? Orcas in captivity. My love for orcas all started with one whale, his name was Keiko. He was the star of the movie “Free Willy”. My absolute favorite childhood movie. Ever since then I have been keeping track of the local pods in puget sound. I keep tabs on when a new orca is spotted, when one goes missing and when they move to different spots for certain seasons.

Only 13 wild caught orcas survive in captivity. That’s 13 out of 130, the numbers don’t lie, killer whales and orcas should not be held captive. It is just not right, in the article, “Whale Captivity,” states, “Of more than 130 wild-caught orcas held for public display, only 13 survive in Oceanaria around the world… There have been approximately 200 orcas held in captivity, wild caught and captive-born given the number of males and females,

She was forty when SeaWorld killed her. Dawn Brancheau took blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso before drowning. The SeaWorld trainer died doing what she loved, which was interacting with orcas. The killer whale, Tilikum, attacked her.

They are removed from their natural habitats and deprived of the ability to take advantage of their intelligence as well as freely engage in behaviors that come natural to them such as choosing when and what to hunt, their social groupings, when to mate etc. which consequentially leads to both physical and psychological damage. These showcases of whales desensitize both children and adults to animal mistreatment and inhumanity (Born Free USA). The exploitation of Orcinus Whales is an act motivated solely by greed and carelessness. These animals are being held captive and taken advantage of so that humans can be entertained for a short time and so that organizations can continue to feed off of their publicity and make millions of dollars a year off of their pain and suffering.

The effects on killer whales in captivity are quite disturbing. In the wild, male killer whales live an average of 40 years, while females live an average age of 60! In captivity orcas barely make it out of their teens. The stress induced on these whales results primarily because of their small living space. In the ocean, they will travel an average of 100 miles a day. They are confined to a pool containing 0.0001 percent of water that they would normally traverse in a single day in nature. They often act aggressively towards one another because their tanks are so

For years, Americans have overlooked the damage that SeaWorld is causing on these wild animals. It a place that everyone dreams of experiencing a visitation of the wildlife sea creatures and the giant sea mammals. So what has people so fed up about SeaWorld; one of their main reason is orcas captivity. SeaWorld is known for their amazing orcas show, these show have the audience wowing, but no one has taken a step back and thought about how the orcas are affected during their captivity. All orcas in captivity have bad lives, they are all emotionally destroyed and psychologically traumatized, SeaWorld should be banned from keeping these animals in captivity. By focusing on losing viewers to the orca’s show, SeaWorld bypasses the