Whales are some of the ocean’s most fascinating amphibious beings. They possess highly acquired

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.

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.

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

Killer whales, also known as orcas, are the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. In their natural habitat, killer whales have been described as docile and majestic creatures. Killer whales are known to travel in pods that are composed of matrilines. Matrilines are groups of whales connected by maternal descent. Relationships between killer whale calves and their mother are extremely close knit (“Behavior”). Beginning in 1965, SeaWorld – a marine zoo, began capturing whales from the wild to perform in shows for park visitors’ entertainment (“10 Things You Didn’t Know”). In the documentary Blackfish, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite urges and reassures audience members that keeping these large creatures in captivity is a horrible thing that is dangerous for both the whales as well as the humans that interact with them. To accomplish this persuasion, Cowperthwaite employs the use of rhetorical devices ethos, pathos, and logos to solidify her claims.

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.

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

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

Whales in captivity suffer through a great amount of emotional abuse . In captivity, Children can be separated from their mothers, and whales that are taken from the wild are separated from their families ,which can consist of up to 40 members (National Geographic). Whales are very family oriented and each pod of whales has their own dialect when communicating. Whales are social creatures and by depriving them of social activity and their families, they become depressed and

One of their focal points in the film was the decreased lifespan of the orca whales in captivity, as opposed to them living in the wild. They spoke several times of how wild Orca Whales live human life spans in the wild, and only in captivity do they die at ages thirty-to-fifty. While it is true that whales can live up to 100 years old, according to NOAA Fisheries, the average Orca Whale in the wild lives from thirty-to-fifty years old (www.nmfs.noaa.gov). The same ages that the film falsely suggests the whales die “early” at in captivity. While it is true that these majestic creatures may not fulfill their full potential that they would in the wild, exaggerating facts to influence others is morally wrong and unacceptable.

In the documentary, Blackfish, the director, Gabriela Cowperthwaite demonstrates through three times of appeals, ethos (emotional), logos (logical), and pathos (emotional) about the unethical practices and treatment of killer whales while in captivity at SeaWorld. She informs the viewing audience through interviews with experienced SeaWorld trainers, marine experts, seasoned whale hunters, and eye witnesses of the unethical treatment and environment of these majestic, highly intelligent mammals. These facts are presented in well placed order allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions about what goes on behind the scenes at SeaWorld from the capture of Orcas in the wild, to the covering up of evidence of accidents and deaths and placing blame on the experienced trainer themselves, or by inhumane treatment of the animals themselves. Through advertising footage, graphs, and interviews she emphasizes that SeaWorld is focused on the well-being of the staff or animals but merely the reputation of the park along with ticket and merchandising sales.

The SeaWorld trainers follow a very precise script whilst delivering shows to the public and have to be very careful with what they say. Of course, because we are so naïve to what actually goes on behind the scenes, we are brainwashed into thinking it is morally acceptable for these whales to be in captivity. For example, the trainers say that a good age for a whale to live to is around 30 years old; when in fact, a killer whale in the wild can live up to the age of 70 to 80. Does this not show we are damaging population numbers and cutting lifespans of these wonderful whales? Another fact trainers mention is that it is ‘normal’ for male orcas to have a collapsed dorsal fin - this is a common condition, they say. You will be shocked to know

Over 420 whale deaths in recent years, the majority of which were calves, suggests that this population and its ecosystem may be less healthy and robust than previously thought ( Fretwell 2014). When the right whale reproduces they tend to swim to coastal waters where they might get hurt and this increase the mortality rate and the fertilization rate. This means that newborn calves are getting killed in coastal waters, but it is a small percentage. Therefore, when these whales grow, they will move to further in the ocean where the can live until the age of 100

Things such as poor dental health and stomach problems are just a few of the things that shorten the whales life spans. In the wild, orcas are known to have very similar life spans to humans. The females tend to live a little longer than the males at about eighty to ninety years old while the males live to be about sixty to seventy. The lifespan plummets when it comes to whales in captivity, where only two whales have only ever made it to forty. Also, the life expectancy of whales born into captivity are in the teens and that's if they make it past six months or even survive at all and even then the chances for survival or being born alive are at a fifty percent chance. A lot of the drop in birth rate and length of lifespan is due to over

live sixty to one hundred years! Part of the reason of why whale sharks are endangered is

The blue whale is the largest mammal that has ever inhabited Earth, yet not much is known about this fascinating creatures that roam our oceans. This research examines the physical description and habits of the blue whale, the habitat in which they live in, and the primary threats this endangered species face today. Even though hunting was ban in 1966 by the International Whaling Commission, blue whales are still exposed to numerous threats today, all of which are caused by humans. The population is so low that any further killing may lead to the extinction of this species in the future.