Whale Facts About Whales

Every year, marine parks attract millions of people around the world to witness killer whales swimming and socializing with other orcas and trainers, a site that is hard to achieve in the wild. The most common argument is that captivity allows the general public to observe orcas in a close proximity in a much more convenient way. PBS published an article, “Pro-Captivity Views,” arguing that orca captivity is the only option for such a large magnitude of people to observe orcas because it is nearly impossible for thousands of people observe whales in the wild, not to mention the harmful effects that the magnitude of whale watching boats would inflict on orca habitats (McBain). Whale watching is a costly excursion that many people cannot afford;

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.

For several years, Americans have been visiting amusement parks, like SeaWorld and Six Flags, to observe large animals like orcas, also known as killer whales. These whales are quite difficult to view in the wild, but can now be seen for a simple fee. Orcas are known to be one of the smartest mammals. They are friendly, and this has caused people to take advantage of them. For the past sixty years, people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make a profit from their exhibitions. Often, without considering the orcas' quality of life. While kept in captivity, killer whales are forced to do many tricks they normally wouldn’t do in the wild. Over the years, there have been numerous controversies regarding killer whales

Recent evidence suggests that whales may not have always inhabited the oceans. Bones of an ancient ancestor of modern day whales, the Basilosaurus, were discovered in Pakistan that suggest whales evolved from a wolf-like creature. This genus of an early whale lived 34-40 million years ago in the late Eocene. These fossils show many different features in common with both modern day whales and modern day land mammals. Since the discovery of these bones, many other evidences show that whales are a likely descendant of the Basilosaurus through many different ways, such as embryologic comparison and DNA testing. Whales aren’t the only suspected descendants

they get these diseases like kidney disease. Also, the majority of people of think whales should

Marine parks around the world introduce the public to an animal that they would never encounter on their own. Seeing the majestic whales perform and listening to what the trainers share about the killer whale educates large groups of people about killer whales and creates excitement about the wild animal. However, some of the information being shared may not be accurate. Marine parks exist to make a profit. It would be in their best interest to tell the public bits of information that would keep them interested in the illusion created by the performance….that the killer whales are happy,

Orcas are complex social creatures deserving freedom and respect, not captivity in theme parks under the guise of public education and entertainment. Aquarium staffs say captive whales are priceless educational tools. However, people can educate their children by bringing them to the wild instead of bringing the wild to them at the expense of the Orcas health and well-being. "The price of a family admission ticket is what continues to drive this cruel spectacle," according to Michael O' Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Humane Society of Canada (Whales in Captivity, 2010, Para. 3). Orcas suffer in many ways in

For years the killer whale, also known as Orcinus orca, has been drawing the attention of the public through the entertainment industry. These marine mammals have been bringing in billions of dollars to amusement parks such as Sea World, but at what cost? An idea that these killer whales can live happily and content while in captivity may be going through the minds of the public, but this cannot be further away from the truth. To have such complex creatures in captivity is not morally correct and there are many points against it, such as their level of emotional competence, violence between the killer whales, violence of killer of whales towards trainers, shorter lifespans, physical harm, and their level of intelligence. After taking a look at how these creatures function and the conditions they are put in while in captivity, there is no question about whether or not these mammals should be kept in captivity; an experience such as this affects these marine mammals just about the same as it would affect a human because of their high highly developed emotions and complexity. Since these industries do not have a natural authority over these creatures no matter the cause, the best thing they could do for these killer whales is to stop capturing them and return those who are capable back to the wild.

There are numerous harmful effects of keeping whales in captivity. For instance, there is often a decrease in survival rates, the orcas begin to convey rough behavior, and there have been an increasing amount of human injuries and deaths within the past few years. However, some individuals believe that companies such as SeaWorld are doing the public a favor by educating families about wild whales. Also, some believe that the quality of life is better in captivity than in the ocean. However, while keeping killer whales in captivity might appear as a harmless entertainment act to the public, there are numerous cases of evidence that further support

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.

To begin with, if I was currently an advocate for the environment and animals I would first focus on the Orcas, or killer whales, at theme parks, specifically Sea World. First of all, Sea World is inhumane. Five of the Orcas currently at sea world were “whale-napped” from the oceans they called home. For example, Tilikum, one of the most know whales in the Sea World franchise, is now thirty-two years old. He was captured at the age of two by, which means he has been in captivity for thirty years. And, before anyone says Tilikum was injured so they “rescued” him I want to say that it is fact that Tilikum was not injured. He was taken from his family and confined to a tiny tank just so people could make a hefty profit. Also, if the Orcas are

What can have 48-52 teeth or no teeth at all? It is the gorgeous creature we call the whale? From Belugas, to Humpbacks, to Killer Whales, there is much to learn about these lovely gentle giants. Did you know that Beluga whales are the smallest species of whale? Belugas can reach weights of 3,000 pounds, adults are reported to be 14 feet long.

Have you ever gone and seen orcas( killer whales) at a park like sea world. Do you really know how they feel. Sure you might be happy, but are they? At sea world they have not been taken orcas from wild, but instead they have been over breeding the ones they have already have. That is a lot of over breeding and in which can hurt the orcas. Orcas should not be kept in captivity because they have shorter life spans, it gives them health problems, and when forced to live in captivity they become killing machines.

Did you know that roughly three million whales were slaughtered in the twentieth century alone? Or that there are only around four hundred North Atlantic right whales alive today because they never fully recovered from being hunted? These whales are known as “right” whales because they are large and slow, with thick blubber that yields lots of oil plus they remain afloat after they've been killed, this simplifies the whole hunting process for everyone . Furthermore, the hunters got more money for less work. I believe that whaling is a vile and pointless thing to do to such beautiful creatures and that the International Whaling Commission should look further into the use of whales for research.