The Killer Whale Essay

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in the documentary, Blackfish (2013), argues that captivity triggers aggression in killer whales. Cowperthwaite supports her argument by demonstrating shocking footage and emotional interviews to present a convincing case against keeping these animals in captivity and for human entertainment. The author’s purpose is to show the problems that are caused by captivity in order to aware the audience that keeping killer whales in captivity affects their behavior mentally and physically. The author writes in resentful tone to Sea World, the people who visited Sea World, and those who were present during the killer whale incident. Gabriela Cowperthwaite argues that keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld affects their mentality due to how they are being treated. She makes this argument by applying pathos, ethos, and logos.

The largest member of the dolphin family is the killer whale, the killer whale is often referred to as an orca. Killer whales are important to biology because they are essential to the oceanic ecosystem. They keep the food chain intake balanced by regulating certain marine mammals, and that helps other animals to not become overpopulated. Killer whales are also important because they help the economy due to whale watching. Killer whales help science by helping scientist understand echolocation which helps them learn more about marine species and how to protect ocean animals from other noises. Killer whales have been kept captive for over 51 years. Killer whales being held captive generate a large profit for companies, while the killer whales live in a shallow concrete tank compared to their free-ranging lives in the wild. Trainers dying, whales dying, and numerous injuries documented on both trainers and whales provide why whales should not be kept in captivity.

If you have ever been to Seaworld you would have had to go see the Killer whales in fact its one of the top attractions there. Through the eyes of a child, these gentle giants seem to be happy, healthy, and enjoying a playful game with their trainers. The question is are they really happy, do they get treated the right way, and why have there been deaths and injuries. Many people wonder about these things and after the movie Blackfish came out more and more people began to question how well Seaworld treats their animals. “The truth is that Sea World keeps its animals for entertainment and money and helps no one but themselves.”- Animal Legal Defense Fund

“All whales in captivity have a bad life. They’re all emotionally destroyed. They’re all psychologically traumatized. So they’re ticking time bombs.” This is a statement by Lori Marino from the documentary, Blackfish. Many statements like this one are common and believed to be true due to the proof that the documentary provides. There are many incidents that prove Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, are harmed in captivity and that their trainers are often harmed because of this, too. Orcas should not be kept in captivity since it is harmful to both Orcas and humans.

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 story of Jonah is perhaps one of the most famous in scriptures. Even non-Christians typically know the story of “Jonah and the Whale”. However, there is much more to this story than can be taken at face value. Reading this story within the context of the Old Testament reveals characteristics of each setting that add more to the story. It is understandable why an Israelite would have avoided Nineveh; Nineveh was such an undesirable place to the devout follower of God that even the possibly dangerous and uncontrollable sea was more desirable.

For many years, we’ve been going to such places like, SeaWorld, and Six Flags, to see vast animals, like Orcas, also known as the killer whale, which we wouldn’t normally see out in the wild. Orcas have been around for millions of years; it’s known to be one of the smartest mammals, closest to humans. Since of their friendliness, people have taken advantage of them. For the past sixty years people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make profit out of it, but never thought about their lives. What if you were kept in a cage for years, and was pushed to do such activities, you wouldn’t do in your normal life. While being in captivities, killer whales are forced to do plentiful tricks, which they normally wouldn’t do

The research shows that killer whales are not healthy in captivity. But we can stop this and seaworld has taken some steps to help solve the problem that orcas aren’t healthy in captivity. This problem affects the orcas big time, and the trainers that take care of them. Killer whales in the wild are having a great time, but remember in some countries there are no laws stopping them from catching or killing orcas. Maybe we should call them killer humans, instead of calling orcas killer whales because they’re really the problem. Research highly suggest that they expand their tanks or just plain out stop pulling killer whales out of the ocean. Some laws have been passed in the US to stop people from killing orcas or pulling them out of the ocean.

Unexpected Leadership The movie Whale Rider questions customs, culture, and leadership. The story revolves around Koro, the chief of the Maori people. He searches for a suitable new leader who has characteristics necessary to uphold a culture. Someone strong.

Caro's focus on the pre-adolescent female protagonist in Whale Rider creates a parallel between the personal development of the individual and that of the ancient Maori culture in modern society. The Whangara people are portrayed as “a community frozen in time, waiting to be saved” (Hokowhitu 58) as they believe that their existence is reliant purely on a brave prophet, Paikea, who rode on the back of a whale to escape death. Whangara chiefs trust that each first born male has the potential to be Paikea’s direct descendant. Paikea knew from the moment of her birth that she was resented, stating “there was no gladness when I was born. My twin brother died and took my mother with him. Everyone was waiting for the first born boy to lead us, but he died and I didn’t”.

“Nature did not put whales on this earth to splash kid while stuck in a pen” (Velez-Mitchell, n.d) this magnificent quote shows us that all around the world millions of aquariums use whales as an entertainment object, and people only see the stereotype that the show wants to transmit, but whales are really much more than that. On most aquariums whales are just allowed to act under the trainer’s orders, so that way killer whales are seen as “cute” by the public. Behind all this cute behavior there always a reason, like for example the whales broken teeth are because of the million times they fight with each other with sexual or game intensions, try to chew the glass is also something that whales in captivity do and that’s not normal on free whales, sometimes whales are seen as aggressive but that’s not their fault, mostly they are trying to play because of boredom or a lot of repressed energy that they don’t use.

All 3 pieces I picked and then I picked the one that I thought was the most meaningful. I picked the art piece that showed me the best message and has the best creativity. I thought that out of the 3 pieces I picked that the “A Whale of a School” was the most meaningful because it was creative and had an amazing meaning to it. It is located at Highland Elementary. There were two other pieces that I thought were interesting but I didn’t pick. There names where “ Naperville Own” and “Best Friends”, the artists had great ideas that I thought were great but not as good as “ A Whale of a School”. The website I went to find this information is called “Naperville's Century Walk” and it listed how the piece was created, also the description of the piece. This is how I got my reasons and evidence.

Killer whales work together to force the fish from deep water up to near the surface where they are easier to catch. Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups, which are the most stable of any animal group. Another commonly cited example of a benefit group living for various species of whales or dolphins is babysitting or allomothering.

When I was younger I always wanted to be a trainer at SeaWorld and work with Shamu, but of course I didn’t know how controversial captivity was. As I got older I started researching the issue and came to the realization that Orcas, also known as Killer Whales should not live in captivity. In captivity Orcas are in danger as well as the trainers who work with them. Orcas are the largest of the Dolphin family and are found in all oceans. They range from 23 to 32 feet in length, and can weigh up to 6 tons. They are one of the world’s most powerful predators, and have even been known to prey on whales (Whales.org). These magnificent mammals are born free and should remain in the oceans. It’s easy to understand that people love Killer Whales

In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, she discussed the harmful events that have occurred when keeping killer whales contained for show and entertainment purposes. Cowperthwaite argued the fact that the killer whales become aggressive when held captive in an area too small for them. She also argued that the aggression in whale is also triggered when separated from their family. Cowperthwaite shows both those two aggression triggers occur when the whales are held captive in SeaWorld. Throughout the documentary there were many horrifying stories about the attacks told by people who had seen the tragedies first-hand.