Lori Marino Dolphins

Theme Parks such as SeaWorld confine dolphins and orcas, who are capable of swimming up to more than one hundred miles a day, in tank that are 50 feet deep and 350 feet in length. To put it in perspective, that’s equivalent to the size of a standard bathtub. SeaWorld portrays itself as a loving, fun, and family based establishment; however, certain activities can harm the killer whales emotionally and physically.

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.

Another reason whales should not be held captive is that they can be dangerous in captivity.

In an article by Paul Koene he talks about there being three categories that inspector’s base animal welfare off of these categories include health, body, and functioning of the animal including their feelings, natural history, and their ability to use their natural instinct (Koene). Based off of these categories the welfare of the killer whales at SeaWorld is terrible. A lot of the time SeaWorld gets reports that the whales are floating lifeless in the water, they are not really provided the opportunity to use their natural instincts, and are extremely restricted on what they can and cannot do. Based off of this information the only humane way to keep a killer whale is let it live in the wild like they are built

Orcas in captivity suffer from more than just physical imperfections. Dosed with drugs to help the killer whales deal with stress, they suffer terribly in marine parks. Animals and humans share the same immune system. Just as stress reduces our immune system, it does the same to the killer whale. Therefore, stress has been an indirect cause of death in captive killer whales. Killer whales in captivity experiencing stress tend to beat their head against the walls of their tanks until it bleeds. At least three captive whales have killed themselves with this repetitive motion brought on by stress. Have you ever heard of this happening in the wild? Not only does it not happen, an Orca in the wild would never bring bodily harm upon itself. Denial of their right to live in their true habitat where they belong causes the killer whales much stress, frustration, anxiety, and sadly aggression. In the wild Orcas, do not attack humans as they have in marine parks. As Barry (2010, Para, 12) explained, "Isolation among marine animals is highly stressful, which leads to abnormal behavior." Marine parks such as Sea World have what they call petting pods, where the children can pet and feed the Orcas. Orcas are given tranquilizers to help them deal with the stress and anxiety of human contact. People might not be so eager to pet these wild mammals if they knew everything the Orca had to go through just so they

Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural

Killer whales are highly social creatures; because of their highly social nature, it would be morally incorrect to assume they would be well off in captivity, apart from their

In addition to this nature, they are capable of advanced communication skills that allow them to teach new tactics they have learned to their fellow dolphins. I am also the same as a Bottlenose Dolphin when it comes to efficient communication skills.. My style of learning requires me to go through an exhaustive process of trial and error until I have efficiently learned what I have desired to learn. With the knowledge that I have gained, I have been able to ascend to higher levels of academic studies with the ability to use my acquired thinking and comprehension skills which help to aid me in everyday life. However, I am not one to hoard any information that I have managed to learn. I will share any knowledge that I know with my fellow peers around me so that I may aid them throughout life just like a Bottlenose

“Can you imagine being in a small concrete enclosure for your life when you’re used to swimming 100 miles a day?” This is how captive dolphins live everyday, their natural habitat is swimming miles and miles in the ocean. When they get captured their lives change for the worse. In the past decade Seaworld and captive animals has been a controversial subject. Many people believe the keeping orca whales captive is damaging to the animal and affects them in a negative way. Others believe Seaworld is used to rescue animals and save them. The treatment of animals in captivity is cruel and should be stopped. Keeping animals captive is an appalling punishment.

Dolphins live in packs also known as pods. All dolphins don't live in the same pod forever they might move from pod to pod. That's why there are smart because they ned brain capacity to move from pod to pod and not break chemistry. Most pods don't care for the leader beside the bottlenose dolphins. regardless most species pods do not have any membership. a lot of pods are separated from male to female. Male pods can live with the same members ranging from 10 to 25 years. Male pods cooperate during mating season so each dolphin gets a specific female. Most male pods compete and team up to defend themselves. There are three different types of pods, nursery, juveniles, and males. Nursey pods are full of females and their calfs. Juvenile pods

Dolphins have been around a lot longer than humans. They originated about 50 million years ago. The most common dolphin, being the bottlenose dolphin, has been around for 15 million years. Surprisingly, dolphins originated from members of the cetaceans group. Cetaceans used to be land mammals but evolved into being aquatic mammals. In From Land to Water it stated, “The transition from land to water is documented by a series of intermediate fossils from India and Pakistan.” This research helps prove how they used to be land mammals but evolved to live in the ocean. Dolphins are one out of many aquatic mammals who need oxygen, but they need water in order to live. Believe it or not, dolphins are somewhat related to hippos, camels, deer, cattle, and giraffes. In From Land to Water, “ Many features that are

The Vancouver Aquarium houses dolphins and belugas, animals that undoubtedly experience various elements of life. Belugas and dolphins are able to communicate, can experience pain, are conscious, can make connections and develop relationships. We can assume that the animals were forced to live in a small surrounding and in isolation, which in turn could affect their emotional, physical, and psychological state. They are removed from their natural habitat, separated from the rest of their species, exploited, and deprived of their freedom. Being in captivity, the belugas and dolphins are not allowed to breed naturally and thus have limited sexual activity (Vancouver Aquarium). We can also assume that the well being of an animal or a living thing should not be compromised for the sake of frivolous endeavours such as entertainment and generating financial gains.

Central Idea: Dolphins are unique creatures that possess numerous abilities such as, their intelligence, communication skills, and behavioral patterns.

One of the amazing things about dolphins that she mentions in her essay “Dolphins and Men...Equals?” is their sense of humor. She explains that dolphins have been seen to maneuver behind an unsuspecting pelican and snatch its tail feathers, usually leaving the bird minus a few. Other times dolphins have been noticed to grab unsuspecting fish by the tail, pulling them backward a few feet as well as playing with slow turtles by rolling them over and over (Blackstock). When I was looking for information about dolphins and their sense of humor I found an interesting joke about them that I would like to share with you. It comes from Lori’s Mishmash Humor Page and it says: “Did you know that dolphins are so intelligent that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand at the very edge of the pool and throw them fish?”(Lori) This of course may not be true but the fact is that the great intelligence of dolphins makes them realize that after they finish a task as they are told they are given fish. They also realize that if they are not given fish for what they do, they may choose not to do it until they are fed.

Bottlenose dolphins find fish by using echolocation. This is when a dolphin sends out a beam of short sonar pulses from its melon, or forehead. The beam reflects off of fish or other objects and echoes back to the lower jaw. The echoes are then sent to the ear bones where they are characterized. Using echolocation, dolphins are able to locate prey that is buried up to one and a half feet under the sand (Cahill 140-141).