The Killer Whales Have Been Captured From The Wild And Taken Into Captivity Essay

One major reason why orcas should not be held in captivity is because orcas are a family oriented type species. Orcas are extremely social animals. Orcas are very close to their family. For example, when SeaWorld orca catchers came to capture orcas in the year 1977, John Crowe, one of the orca catcher’s, said, “When we took the baby orcas and left the adults, the adults huddled in a circle and made noises to the baby orcas that were being taken away.” He also stated, “We dropped the net to let the other adult orcas go, but they stayed and huddled around the boat.” When killer whales are in captivity, they are not with their family. They are involuntary forced to live with other orcas from a different family and are

The argument that captivity is detrimental to the health and well-being of orcas is growing in popularity because of the indisputable scientific evidence that presents jarring differences in captive and free orcas. Naomi Rose, author of Killer Controversy, is a mammal scientist who explains the artificial habitat captive orcas survive in: “They are cooperative predators, whose home ranges are hundreds, if not thousands of square kilometers in size and who can and often do swim almost 200 kilometers in a day. When in captivity, they exist inside a comparatively small concrete enclosure, less than one ten-thousandth of normal habitat size” (Rose). Without adequate space to travel and live, captivity deprives orcas of the exercise wild orcas have, arguably leaving them with frustration and boredom. Supporters of orca captivity argue that amusement parks allow visitors to see orcas when otherwise unable to, in contrast, the environment in which orcas are held captive does not merely resemble their natural habitat and ultimately convince them into a life of solitude. David Kirby’s novel Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, discusses the complexity of killer whales’ brains: “Orcas not only have the largest brain of any dolphin, at twelve pounds, it is four times larger than the human brain (a

The idea that orcas are wild and unpredictable in their behaviour is shown through the documentary Blackfish directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite through the visual conventions of celebrity figure and expert opinion to produce this idea. This idea is important because throughout the documentary we are told Orca’s held in captivity become aggressive and lash out because they are unpredictable and we see these examples of their

“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.

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

Everyone loves going to marine parks such as SeaWorld and Marineland. They offer many spectacular shows with dolphins, sea lions and birds. However, the main attractions they offer are orcas, or as they are better known as killer whales. Highly intelligent and with acute senses of sight and hearing, they are apex predators. Recently, the possession of orcas has been a big topic of controversy. Many people believe that the animals are being mistreated in captivity. Their captivity limits their freedom and enjoyment. Many orcas suffer from poor physical and mental effects in captivity. Killer whales will usually travel between 50 and 100 miles per day in the wild, but in captivity all they can do is swim in circles or float for no reason. In the wild, killer whales live in pods of

Documentation proves that Orcas are social creatures. In the wild they form lifelong communities, have their own unique dialect, and the calves stay with their pods forever (Blackfish). The Orca pod is committed to one another; they will stand by each other until their death. Not to mention, they will always help each other out if the need arises. The documentary, Blackfish, proves whales from different communities, subsets, and cultures are captured and forced to live with each other in tiny twenty by thirty feet deep concrete pens. Naturally, they do not get along and become annoyed, because they do not speak the same language or have the same genes, they are without a doubt different (Blackfish).Inside the pens, there is no room for them to move around let alone escape from each other. The result is always injury to the whales and in some cases death (Blackfish). Next, in the wild Orcas are free to eat whenever and whatever they want. However, in captivity, they have a regimented feeding schedule. In fact, food rewards good behavior. Knowing they are intelligent creatures, they are aware of food running low, or lack of food (Blackfish). Naturally, this causes them to refuse to listen to commands or want to continue to perfume. Instead of humans trying to understand them, their only reward, at this point, is punishment. Because of the whale not wanting to comply, they are isolated in small rectangular pools away from the others. Irrefutably, this further causes unneeded stress for the whale. There is no doubt; Orcas need to be in a stress free environment, the

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.

In 2013 CNN made a documentary called “Blackfish” were it shows how the life of orca whales have been in captivity. Orca whales are such an amazing and beautiful creature; however, it is not right that these whales are kidnapped so young. The blackfish documentary has also proved that since the 1970’s, baby orcas have been hunted and made to perform in front of a large social gathering. SeaWorld states that

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

Another reason why orcas shouldn’t be in places like SeaWorld is because the habitat is bad and small for them. One example is that often the orcas get bored when they are in captivity and start to chip of the paint on the side of their enclosure’s walls. This then ruins their teeth, which then means regular dental check-ups. (B) In a way, orcas are similar to humans because they get bored. When whales are in the wild they can swim freely and for as long as they want. This shows that they aren’t as active as in the wild. For example, often there are dominant females and sometimes those dominant females can get violent. They get so violent that they start to hurt other whales. According to article Killer Whales Should Not Be Kept in Captivity,”

When I was seven years old, I sat on the helm of my father’s fifteen foot fishing boat, the cold salty Puget Sound spray stinging my feet as the tall and proud fins of Orca pods K, J, L rose from the depth and split the choppy waves. Orcas have long ensnared the imagination and fear of people throughout the world. Native American tribes have held Orcas in high regard and some tribes have even view them as the protector of mankind. However, the awe and fear of this apex predator has changed over time. With the rise of the animal captivity for human enjoyment, Orcas have now played a different role in the human world. From the beginning of the century, Orcas began to be captured and sold into major sea animal parks for entertainment. Recently,

The Killer Whale, otherwise known as Orca, and scientifically known by its genus Orcinus, has captivated the imagination and hearts of millions of people around the world. Having the largest brain of any mammal its size, the Orcas cognitive abilities are only rivaled by their highly elaborated emotional processing system; gregarious in nature, Orcas are easily considered to be the most socially bonded mammal on the planet. These mythological creatures, however, were not always considered to be the gentle, sentient beings that we know today. In fact, these mythical beasts were once so feared, as recently as 1973, US NAVY diving manuals warned of ferocious attacks on humans; even launching slaughters to protect north Atlantic military bases from potential security risks. It was not until the brief life and death of the first captive Orca named Moby Doll, and the first marine park SeaWorld, that public perception began to change. While in part, captivity has played a significant role in the understanding of the species, research conducted on the wild Orca has provided us with substantial evidence to challenge the quality of life in captivity; forcing the examination of the emotional, psychological and physical effects on the captive Orca.