Seaworld Research Paper

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.

SeaWorld opened in 1964 along the Mission Bay in San Diego, stretching a total of 21 acres. When they first started, their park only had 45 employees, a few dolphins, sea lions, and two saltwater aquariums. Today, several parks are spread out throughout the southern United States in California, Florida, and Texas. SeaWorld provides various shows every day with special perks for high paying guests, such as swimming with dolphins and other sea dwellers. A majority of their shows include orcas, otherwise known as killer whales. Recently, these majestic beasts have been living up to those names, attacking, mauling, and fatally injuring the parks own trainers. Blackfish, a documentary released in 2013, gets up close and personal with these stories of attack, to bring us countless reasons why orcas, and other marine life, should be left to live in their natural habitats, instead of in the concrete cells they rot in now. Orca pods are part of a matriarchal society, the females are more dominant and this can cause disputes between the alphas. When orcas are confined to a small space, these fights can get out of hand, disallowing the least dominant one to run, resulting in injury and death to the whales. Over the past 35 years there have been four deaths and countless injuries, and each time SeaWorld has placed the blame upon the trainers, explaining they hadn 't completed basic safety procedures. Orcas should not be kept in captivity for many reasons. Firstly, they are

As a young child there has been so many commercials about how SeaWorld is such an amazing place for marine life animals, yet what we do not know is that most of these animals have been held in captivity against their will. Just think about it, these animals’ are made to perform day in and day out for a huge crowd, yet we do not stop and think about what it would be like if we ourselves were held in captivity. Although awareness needs to be brought to this issue, it can make this situation a touchy subject. However, awareness does need to be brought to attention of people who support these amusement parks. The life of orca whales held in captivity are dangerous and have suffered a great amount of distress.

The wellbeing of orcas kept at SeaWorld has raised a few eyebrows over the years. Individuals soon began to question if keeping these mammals away from their natural habitat was ethical. Many people think the orcas living in the amusement park have become accustom to these harmless living styles. The animal activist that stand behind Blackfish assume the orca living conditions place a danger on them, as well as society. Blackfish and SeaWorld argue about the effects captivity has on the physical and mental health of the whales as well as the safety of humans who interact with them.

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.

What has attracted millions of families and spectators over the years, SeaWorld has recently brought reproach and disgrace. A few years ago, SeaWorld’s unacceptable treatment of their whales and sea animals was revealed and has greatly impaired their visitor attendance. This was exposed in the article, “Has America’s disgust at SeaWorld already peaked?” written by Jordan Weissmann. This particular article caught my attention because personally, I have made many visits to SeaWorld and to hear that the beautiful whales that I have witnessed were treated poorly, upset me deeply. I would have never guessed that such a well known park known for its incredible sea life would ever dare to harm their animals. And as mentioned before, because of this

Killer whales have been a staple for entertainment for decades and it has been attracting guests to various amusement parks throughout the world but theres a hidden world about these animals that not many people know about. Just like with any great business there are things that companies do not want you to know about their products, and things of that nature. Some would say it’s just good business to keep the negative aspects of their businesses out of the consumers eye, but I’d like to shed a little bit of light on one business in particular, SeaWorld. SeaWorld is known for their marine mammal shows like Orcas, Dolphins, and SeaLions. To the viewers eye the animals look well taken care of and happy and healthy. Unfortunately, that is just good business and if they were to reveal the truth behind the way they care for their biggest money makers, the Orcas, SeaWorld would no longer be known for their great entertainment shows. We understand why people love dolphins and why many want to see them close up, but putting whales and dolphins in tanks for our entertainment is wrong.

In the Documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriel Cowperthwaite, the hidden secrets of SeaWorld are revealed, exposing a company that is filled with lies, danger, and recklessness. The treatment of the animals and trainers that SeaWorld has put in effect is not only unfair, but also cruel. Throughout most people’s childhood, they would recall SeaWorld as a magical and amazing place that they have either heard about or seen for themselves. The message being sent across through this documentary is that SeaWorld is not as wonderful of a place as everyone thinks it is, in reality it is a brutal and harsh community, where death strikes often and anyone could be the next victim.

They have often been spoon-fed incorrect information about Killer Whales. They simply regurgitation false information so long they believe it. For example, they have been convinced that all male Killer whales have a collapsed dorsal fin, but In fact less than 1% of male Orcas in the wild have this mutation. The collapsed dorsal fin is caused because they have a lack of swimming space and a diet of thawed dead fish.

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.

In the wild, it is unheard of to see orcas with collapsed dorsal fins but when people go to parks like SeaWorld every single orca has a collapsed fin. This is primarily due to their confined living environments limiting them to swim in small circles and the shallow tanks force them to spend more time at the water’s surface. If the whales are constantly above water, gravity will eventually cause their fins to collapse as they mature because there is no support of water to keep them up.

SeaWorld has been safely caring for killer whales for nearly 50 years. We are a global leader in the care, behavior and enrichment of this species and are accredited by the world’s foremost professional zoological organizations. Including our whales overseas, we provide for the health and well-being of the largest killer whale population in a zoological organization worldwide: 30 animals. These killer whales are healthy and well adapted to their surroundings, a fact that is evident to us through our constant care, interaction and observation 24 hours per day. We apply a broad range of best practices in behavioral training, environmental enrichment, preventive health, veterinary medicine and facilities design and management.

“Around 195 Orcas have died in captivity, in addition to 30 miscarried or still-born whale calves. SeaWorld is a major role in Orca endangerment, holding 23 Orcas across their five parks in the United States: Florida, California, Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania”(“The Fate of Captive Orcas.” WDC). SeaWorld’s distinctive entertainment is detrimental to the health of Orcas; bringing stress, frustration, and aggression. Most guests of SeaWorld do not realize the animal abuse that exists in this chain of “marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Entertainment”

No other marine animal in the ocean has come to be as feared, or perhaps as well known to man, as the class of cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes) called, sharks; primarily, the species of shark known as, the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The overall body systems and behaviors of this fish are how it has become so well adapted to its oceanic environment, that it is today considered amongst the top predators of this planet. Alongside this incredible fish, is a more recent specimen to the oceanic scene and a completely different class of animals, mammalians. The marine mammals (cetaceans) in question are better known by their common name, dolphins; specifically, the bottle nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncates), which are regarded as highly intelligent animals and are fairly well along in the evolutionary chain; considering their short history. By looking at the behavioral patterns and morphologies of these cetaceans, one can see how such a mixed group of animals such as, the mammalians class have been able to adapt so well to oceanic environments, and even come to thrive, in comparison to the cartilaginous fish that has ruled the waters for millions of years longer.

Without the coral, marine animals would die, snowballing into more marine life dying. They provide food and protection to marine animals. Coral reefs not only produce food for other fish, but they also provide shelter. The reefs hold a colossal amount of the world’s biodiversity. About 9 million different species live on the coral reefs; these animals would diminish if the coral were to go extinct. Brian Skoloff says, “If reefs vanished, experts say, hunger, poverty and political stability could ensue,” meaning these effects could result if the reefs were to vanish (Skoloff, 1). Not only do marine animals rely on the reefs, but humans do as well. Thousands of people indirectly rely on coral reefs. Humans rely on fish weather it is for food