Why White Killer Whales

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.

By examining, they are too big, they don't get the right care/the whales hurt each other,

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.

They prefer tropical to temperate waters that are deeper than 3,300 feet (1000m) and occur in the U.S. in Hawaii, along the entire West Coast, and from the Mid-Atlantic coastal states south. The species can also be found in all tropical and temperate oceans worldwide.[4] The young false killer whale in Vancouver Aquarium “Chester” was rescued by the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Rescue Team with help from local residents and Fisheries and Ocean Canada (DFO) after standing as a month-old calf on Chesterman Beach in Tofino in July 2014.

Occasionally the whales will fight with each other due to stress, but since they are in such a small enclosure they have nowhere to go to get away from each other like they would in the wild. Many orcas that are held in captivity have problems with their teeth and they have to have their teeth drilled. “All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish”(8 Reasons). Some killer whales also develop infections and the whales are not healthy because they are not fed a healthy diet like they would eat in the ocean.

Killer Whales look so happy when visited at places like sea world, but the question is, are they really happy? Killer whales have been kept in captivity since 1961, and 55% of those whales have been kept in United States captivity (Pg. 3). So is it truly possible for something so large to be kept in a small environment, restricted in their movements, and limited in their ability to do what nature intends, while still being happy? My answer to this question is no. I do not believe that Killer Whales are happy living in captivity on the basis that they are not allowed to swim freely.

Occasionally, the whales will fight with each other due to stress, but since they are in such a small enclosure they have nowhere to go to get away from each other like they would in the wild. Many orcas that are held in captivity have problems with their teeth and they have to have their teeth drilled. “All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish”(8 Reasons). Some killer whales also develop infections and the whales are not healthy because they are not fed a healthy diet like they would eat in the ocean.

After watching the documentary Blackfish, reading several articles on whales in captivity and researching Killer Whale (Also Known as Orcas), I am now well informed on the subject of killer whales in captivity.

Killer whales are apex predators, lacking natural predators of their own, and inhabit all of the worlds oceans and most of our seas. They vary broadly in behavior, diet, and communication patterns. There are three main sympatric ecotypes of killer whales present in the Pacific Northwest, known as “resident”, “transient” and “offshore” killer whales. Of these, the resident whales of the Salish sea have been by far the most heavily studied. Their prey is salmon, chinook salmon in particular, and they hunt cooperatively. The resident pods are divided into “northern residents” and “southern residents”, the latter being comprized of three pods (J, K, and L). These three pods are well researched, as their markings and distinct calls make identification extraordinarily accessible to human scientists. Orca are distinct among mammals for the long post-reprodutive life of female orca, who provides extensive parental care even after menopause. Numerous studies have shown a clear correlation between the mother’s survival and the offsprings fitness. This paper will explore the matrilinal social structures of Puget Sound’s orcas to assess the evolutionary advantages to close mother-son relations. In particular, it will examine the difference in behavior of female and male offspring upon reaching sexual maturity, and relate this to similarities or differences in parental care output from male and

Since the beginning, Orca captivity and displacement has been a highly controversial issue. With some in support of educational value behind venues of captivity such as Sea World, and others opposed to the neglectful treatment and confinement of these behemoth mammals. Killer whales, more commonly known as orcas or blackfish in popular culture, are known to inhabit all oceans on the earth from tropical regions to both arctic and Antarctic areas. In nature, the Killer whale has been designated as the world’s largest apex predator, lacking any predatory threats from above. Accompanying their vaunting presence in the natural food chain, these complex species have been scientifically designated as mammals that

Almost all of the black whales, present the same kind of genes of Tilikum (they can get aggressive)

Orcinus Orca, or more commonly known as the Killer Whale, is found in waters worldwide ranging from the Antarctic to tropical regions. Killer Whales are considered to be apex predators of the ocean and have no natural predators. Killer Whales have been observed consuming a large diversity of different marine animals such as fish and squid (Coscarella et al., 2015) and also prey on Subantarctic Fur Seals, which is what they are more commonly known to feed on (Pistorius et al., 2012). Pitman and Durban (2010) also made observations of Killer Whales hunting penguins in the Antarctic. Trying to understand how this top predator regulates the food web involves knowing the relationships among species and also their population size and diet (Coscarella et al., 2015). Killer Whales use different hunting techniques while trying to catch their food and are also very social creatures and tend to hunt in pods. Some Killer Whales have been observed simply chasing their prey until they tire or using a more advanced hunting tactic such as diving to deep depths to get their food, also another unusual activity observed are Killer Whales playing with their food.

Killer whale is known as the Orca or their scientific name, Orcunus Orca. Killer whale is the largest of the dolphin family and also the strongest and powerful predators. The Orca has the name killer whale because they can take down any large creature such as seals, sea lion or even white shark. The killer whale’s current population range is about 50,000 and they are the most distributed marine mammals. Their territory extends from the Artic to the Antarctic but they mostly can be found in the cold-water upwelling areas such as the Pacific Northwest, the Southern Ocean that has high latitude. Not only they can be found in the cold ocean, many data has also shown that they have been seen in the warmer area such as Florida or Hawaii. They are predators, so they eat marine animals such as seals, sea lions, fish, sea turtles, birds or even the great white shark. The difference between the female and the male killer whale is the male Orca is 32 feet long; weight 22,000 pounds with 6 feet tall dorsal fin while the female Orca is 28 feet long; weight 16,500 pounds with a little curve dorsal fin on the back. Their color is black on the upper body and white color on the lower body with gray saddle on their back or behind their dorsal fin. They have two white spot on the side of their face called eyespot. Even though the eyespots look like the eyes, the Orca’s eyes and ears are actually located below the eyespots. They depend on their sound and vocal to communicating, navigating,

The Orcinus Orca, also known as the killer whale, is one of the world’s most dominant predators. Because of their sharp senses like their keen hearing and sight, they are one of the most astute marine animals. Orcas are largest of the dolphin family and can be found in all oceans of the world; most commonly found in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, and often spotted off the west coast of the United States and Canada. Being at the top of the food chain, killer whales only have one predator. Other than hunters, pollution and chemical contamination can be very harmful to the whales causing them to get diseases. Pollution and chemical contamination also cause the orcas to have reproductive difficulties.

A killer whale is a toothed whale belonging to the ocean’s dolphin family. The killer whale can also be referred to as the orca whale or an orca. The killer whale belongs with the ocean 's family of dolphins, it 's the largest member of the dolphin family. The whale weighs approximately up to eight thousand eight hundred pounds and it can grow up to twenty eight feet in length. In this essay I will be presenting the many factors that are included in a killer whale such as, stereotypes, intelligence, foraging and feeding, living in groups, different types, appearance, and their life cycle.