Orca 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

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

The dorsal fin is triangular, and has been know to grow in excess of 6 feet in length on males, but grow no more than 3 feet on females. (Martin) The pectoral fins of the orca can measure up to one sixth of it’s body length and is in the shape of a paddle. The orca usually have 40-50 conical teeth which measure over 2 inches in length, and has a perfect fit with the opposite set which makes it an excellent hunter. Although the teeth are robust, they do a lot of work through the years because older orcas have been known to have teeth worn down to the gum tissue (Haley.) The tongue of a killer whale has been known to weigh in excess of 2 tons (Martin.) They have been known to be fearless hunter, and a fast predator. Some say the ferocity of the killer whale exceeds that of the great white shark, which makes it one of the most feared in ocean life.

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

On average a killer whale in the ocean lives 60 - 70 years a maximum would be 80 - over 100 years. In captivity a female killer whale live to be about 29 years while a male killer whale lives to be about 17. The year gap between wild and captive orcas is so big because the orcas are too large to live in a 50 ft. deep tank. The most appalling fact to know is that the killer whales are the most prone to diseases in captivity, so they will die sooner than the life expectancy if a disease is caught such as broken teeth. Broken teeth occurs often in captivity. Killer whales are consistently getting treated for dental issues but the effects are unsuccessful. Fractured teeth are caused by biting on the steel gates, the killer whales only bite on the gates for one reason in particular that is wanting to be freed back to the ocean home they belong

SeaWorld orca adds another to kill count. Zoos are bad because they harm the animals, the trainers have doubt and it can lead to bigger problems, and they put a lot of stress on others.

For example, killer whales are supposed live up to an average of 80 years (for both males and females) only live to about 10-20 years old, says SeaWorldofHurt. Also, the sea animals are all stuck in way too small cages which makes them annoyed. This makes the animals dangerous to the workers there, for example, a documentary, Blackfish says that an orca named Tilikum killed 3 workers. SeaWorldofHurt says,”The film exposes Seaworld’s horrific capture of young orcas from the families in the ocean, the misery of their life confinement to tiny tanks, and how this cruelty has led the frustrated orca Tilikum,to kill 3 human beings, although orcas in the wild would have never hurt a human.” This shows that the only reason the orca was attacking was because he wasn’t released into the wild.

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.

Killer Whales that live in SeaWorld are unhealthy to the ones compared in the wild. In the documentary Blackfish they went to SeaWorld to ask about the lifespan of a whale. They workers at SeaWorld responded saying they live from 20-30 years and that in SeaWorld they live more (Cowperthwaite). Killer whales life span is like a humans were males will live from 60 to 70 years and females live from 80 to 100. Killer whales that are kept in captivity are cutting their

Imagine living life in a space as confined as your bathtub; now imagine being a subject to public entertainment and being forced to perform to earn your food. This is what SeaWorld is doing to its orca whales. The captivity of orca whales at SeaWorld is something that the world will never agree on. Some people think that orca whales being held captive will not result in an unhealthy life, while others can certainly say differently. SeaWorld is more concerned about ticket sales and the money lining their pocket than they are about the treating these amazing creatures humanely. They find ways to justify their ill hearted decisions, choosing to look the other way as the orcas are clearly damaged from living in captivity.

Male orcas in the wild live up to 30 years, possibly even 50-60 years maximum. On the other hand, females live up to 46 years and a maximum of 80-90 years. Having the right to live up to all those years is something killer whales have. Since orcas have an amazing integrated auditory and visual regions of the brain is so great for the orcas. This means that their echolocation is phenomenal.

Killer Whales, otherwise known as Orcas, are not designed to be held in captivity. Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in Orca captivity, which also allows us to see a decrease in the quality of life in these animals. Within captivity, Orcas will experience a decline in mental health, limitations to it’s natural instincts as a wild animal, and in extreme cases, their behaviour will lead them to inflict harm or even kill their human companions.

Many people go to SeaWorld or other marine amusement parks to see these animals that they have never seen before for their own pleasure and wonders. Some people don’t know or care how these creatures even got there in the first place. Taking these orcas from the wild is depleting the population in the wild and it is killing them by keeping them in captivity. There is no way to mimic the ocean so that these animals can live comfortably and happy in captivity. Orcas do not thrive in captivity despite claim’s, they often suffer deadly physical, psychological, and social side effects. (My thesis-made up before I did my research)

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.