Orca Pods

Orca whales have been in difficult circumstances ever since the first orca was captured in 1961. The first orca captured lived two days in captivity then died and the reported cause of dead was pneumonia. Many things come to mind when people think an orca is in captivity. Many people tend to believe they are being treated, they will enjoy life more, and they will live longer due to the fact they are receiving food and care. These statements are told to spectators at seaworld, marineland and many other water parks around the globe. The facts disagree with these statements. Orca are very friendly animals, there have been no recorded attacks of orcas hurting any human being in the wild. Most of them will come up to fishers boats and be

Orcas are beautiful animals and very intelligent. They also love freedom, when they are capture and force to perform at places like SeaWorld who mistreated their

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.

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

At SeaWorld, animals have access to 24/7 veterinary care, so they should be healthier than their wild counterparts, but that is not the case. Many factors determine the overall well-being of an animal, so the average lifespan of an animal remains a crucial factor. In orcas, this remains one of the biggest differences between captive and wild whales. The lifespan of an orca drastically reduces in places like SeaWorld, because they live in captivity. Scientists expect wild female orcas to reach 100 years of age, and wild male orcas to live roughly between fifty and sixty years of age. On the other hand, all captive orcas live approximately thirty years (Blackfish). When living in captivity, an orcas lifespan decreases by twenty

Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. In their natural habitat, killer whales have been described as docile and majestic creatures. Killer whales are known to travel in pods that are composed of matrilines. Matrilines are groups of whales connected by maternal descent. Relationships between killer whale calves and their mother are extremely close knit (“Behavior”). Beginning in 1965, SeaWorld – a marine zoo, began capturing whales from the wild to perform in shows for park visitors’ entertainment (“10 Things You Didn’t Know”). In the documentary Blackfish, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite urges and reassures audience members that keeping these large creatures in captivity is a horrible thing that is dangerous for both the whales as well as the humans that interact with them. To accomplish this persuasion, Cowperthwaite employs the use of rhetorical devices ethos, pathos, and logos to solidify her claims.

Studies have been shown that Orcas lead a highly more elaborate life than any other mammal. So already being stripped from it's mother is a traumatizing experience, being tortured by other Orcas, and put in a pool when it swims more than 100 miles each day can lead to this inner aggression that it can't vent out

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

“If you love something, set it free.” This is a quote that has circulated for years, and nowhere else is it more applicable than in SeaWorld’s parks. Trainers and corporate alike claim a deep love for the animals they keep captive, but in recent years, the topic of holding orca whales in captivity has become more controversial than ever before. The CNN documentary “Blackfish” brought the conditions Seaworld provides for its orcas to the public eye in a way that had not been done before, which led to much public outrage. The containment of orca whales for educational and entertainment purposes has, in almost every way, been brought into question. Ranging from the physical and psychological damages they experience, the issues in their family structures, and the dangers that their human trainers experience, orca whales are not fit to be kept in captivity.

Some orcas have even broken their teeth trying to get out of SeaWorld. In SeaWorld Orcas are forced to breed unnaturally and on a regular basis. Employees at SeaWorld train male orcas to float on their backs so their trainer can masturbate them and collect their sperm. Females are artificially inseminated and are forced to breed at a much younger age than they naturally do. In the wild female orcas are ready to reproduce at the age of 14. In SeaWorld, there have been instances where they breed them at the age of 10, and even sometimes at the age of 8. Katina is a killer whale that’s in the SeaWorld located in Orlando Florida. She is used as a breeding machine. Caretakers sometimes even breed her with her own children. Although SeaWorld claims that Orcas live longer if they live in captivity it has been proven that Orcas have a shorter lifespan while they are held in captivity. SeaWorld has claimed females live to 26 years and that males live up to 15 years. While according to national geographic female killer whales can live 50 to 100 years while males can live 30 to 60 years. Killer whales live longer in the wild than they are claimed to live in

In 2013 a documentary called “Blackfish” (a documentary explaining the illnesses of orcas and the weaknesses of seaworld) was released to inform the world why seaworld was not all fun and games. In fact after the release seaworld lost $31.6 million the second-quarter income. Just one of the many things “Blackfish” told us is that capturing the orcas doesn't always go as smoothly

Orca whales should not be in captivity because of health issues they face in captivity. Some people believe orcas should be in captivity because they are safe from hunters. Also data on breeding and reproduction can be collected which is impossible to get in the wild. However, orcas live unhealthy, shorter lives in captivity. According to the article (“Should Orca Whales Be Kept in Captivity”) it states, “Orca whales in the wild have a lifespan equal to that of a human. In

When the infamous orca whale Tilikum attacked and killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, the issue of whales in captivity was pushed into the limelight. Three years later, the film ‘Blackfish’ was released, which focuses on the mistreatment captive whales face and served as a catalyst for protests and boycotts of Seaworld by animal activists. Now, in 2016, Seaworld has announced the orcas they have now will be the last generation at their parks. Seaworld’s CEO has also met with the Humane Society president to come to an agreement; Seaworld would “[end] captive breeding, [phase] out circus-like killer whale shows, and [serve] sustainable seafood and other humanely raised meat” and “pledge $50 million to causes including the abolition of commercial

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.