It was sometime in the late '70's when i jumped an easy barrier. Despite some staff eying me and my motivations- I was a teenager who looked younger than I was, and they let me sit in the empty stands. Below, about ten rows away were two killer whales floating nearly motionless in tiny water pens. It seemed to me that they were relaxing in the sun, aware that I was watching them- if for no other reason that they would notice anything that was not of their norm. Impressive in size but in the way they sat they did not suggest the power that these animals can generate. I didn't fully realize the significance of this at the time but the true difference between this group of mammals is that I could come and go.
Obviously my point will be that Killer Whales-Orcas should not be kept in these sea parks/ aquariums Decades later this is some of what I have learned about Orcinus Orca. They live longer in the wild. The males stay with their mothers until they die (Female Orcas tend to live longer), leaving for brief periods to mate. Taking Orcas away from their family units especially at a young age is very harmful creating psychological scars that can manifest in captivity. Guess how?
There has been no documented killings of people killed by Orcas in the wild, although for a 15,000 pound hunter this would be the easiest thing to do. Someday we will understand why this does not happen even as some Orcas enjoying playing with their prey. I would think that in the open sea, it would be very funny (from an Orca's point of view) to bat a human- we of flopping lappendages around like a beach ball. Consider -not even once??
Orcas have killed in captivity- although often sea parks have classified these as "drownings". The removal of testicles and body parts, broken spines and necks, lacerations occur after the drownings -apparently and are unrelated to the cause of death. So the sea park management claims. When Orcas collectors were caught separating babies from their mothers by using bombs in the ocean, the US soon put a ban on capturing wild Orcas for US sea parks. Although the ban does not extend to dolphins (see The Cove, trailer ), where mass annual killings occur after the "best" specimens are selected out for sea parks, these parks would have to find new ways to populate their Orca income streams. How? Get the big studs they already have to breed in the parks. The second way is to gather Orca sperm from a 12,000 mammal and inseminate. How would you like to have this job- excite a whale, bring whale to fruition, collect fruition fluids. Do not fall into the water with whale. Fun, right? Worth $15 an hour?
The whale that has fathered the most babies in the Sea World Industry is Tilikum, who has also killed three people (again, the sea parks describe these deaths as drownings but the most recent (Sea World, 2010) was later recognized as a killing. Considering the physical and mental states of the whales in captivity, their human trainers are constantly placed in potentially dangerous situations.
In the wild, Orcas raise their babies as a village with the females bonding together to share protection and nurturing. There are different tribes of Orcas but in sea parks individuals are often placed together in an unnatural mix. The sea parks are usually in warm climates, unlike the natural colder waters that Orcas prefer. Orcas spend most of their time under water but in the sea parks- because of lack of room and the demands of the shows, are frequently near the surface. Their dorsal fins become limp which is not the case in the wild. Orcas travel up to a hundred miles a day but in a Sea World park they are bored and contained, trapped in a too limited concrete space, lacking stimulation, losing their sanity. For such intelligent animals, what possible motivation would they have to do the stupid things these parks demand of them to do? And the rare times an Orca in captivity is angry, the results to humans are not pleasant.
Detailed articles from Outside Magazine http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Killer-Whales.html
David Kirby's book, which despite the marketing title is well written. This site has updated articles and a link to his book http://deathatseaworld.com/
Certainly there was a time when our compassion and understanding for Orcas was helped by observing them in captivity but that time has passed. Just as voyeurs who once watched mating for science, now it is only for entertainment, out of ignorance and perversion. I can only imagine myself being placed in a nice shell of a house without furniture, books, television, friends, with a temperature setting of 30 degrees higher than my preference- never being allowed to leave and being made to perform . I guarantee you- I'm a gonna take a good chomp out of your peeps someday.
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