Picture this. You are a young kid again, taking your first vacation to Florida. It is the day you’re going to Sea World, a place you’ve dreamed about since you saw the first commercial on TV. Something just sparked your interest about all of the sea life there. As you walk in the entrance, you are filled with complete and utter joy. So much joy, you can barely hold your mother’s hand. You marvel at the sea lions and dolphins but what you really want to see is the Killer Whales.
This specific creature is what sparked your interest in the first place and you’re finally sitting in your seat, awaiting the right of passage not many get to experience. The trainer comes on the speaker and you just feel jubilation wash over you as the show is about to start. Amid the magic in the air and adrenaline rushing through you, you don’t question whether or not these whales should be held captive. All you’re worried about is the fact that this creature is finally in front of you.
While this has always been a problem for some people, it has resurfaced as a problem with the release of the movie “Blackfish” which highlights the dark side of orcas being held captive at Seaworld Parks and Attractions. Also, the numerous attacks should raise questions considering the fact that trainers have lost their lives because of them. The contrast between their behavior in captivity versus in the wild should be brought to the attention of lawmakers more than it is currently. The topic calls for certain policies that should be put into place restricting amusement parks from having orcas in captivity and reintroduced into the wild.
More action is needed in order to ensure that these orcas are where they belong. In the wild, orcas are active and social creatures. They enjoy foraging and travelling as well as resting and socializing. They are often active at the surface and typically engage in breaching, which is when the jump out of the water and slapping when they come back down, spyhopping, which refers to when they stick their heads out of the water to observe, and tail-slapping. They have a very complex social system, similar to humans and primates, also often living with their mothers for most of their lives.
Only one permanent separation has ever been recorded considering that almost all only leave their mothers for a few hours at a time to forage or mate. Orcas are also very vocal animals. They depend on their underwater sound for many things such as orientation, feeding and communication. They use clicks, whistles and pulsed calls. The clicks in particular are used for navigation and discriminating their prey but are most commonly used during social interaction. Orcas are also highly intelligent mammals. They have the second heaviest brains among marine mammals.
They also often imitate each other and teach their skills to their young. According to people who have had encounters with orcas, they are very curious and playful as well as having a great ability to solve problems. While they are very playful and active in the wild, they are different in captivity. When orcas are kept in small spaces, they develop violent or psychotic behavior and breeding captive whales can allow for passing on of these dangerous traits. A particular whale in SeaWorld, Tilikum, had his sperm used to impregnate other females at Seaworld.
One of his offspring displayed violent tendencies and ended up attacking a trainer in Texas. Scientists also say that whales held in captivity only live an average of 25 years while their average lifespan is 50 to 80 years. Since 1961, 141 orcas have been captured and 125 of them are now dead. Once captured the survival range is between 1 day to 28 years however the median lifespan is approximately 4 years.
According to Jennifer Palmer, “Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, it became a felony to take marine mammals from U. S. aters and for any U. S. citizens to take these species form their environment and prohibited any importation of marine mammals as well. However, they said that a small and regulated amount of marine life could be taken for public display, scientific research or conservation. ” Many marine animals which were taken were taken without a permit to authorize their importation. Theme parks such as SeaWorld take advantage of small exceptions such as this one. More recently, California legislator Richard Bloom introduced Assembly Bill 2041.
Under this particular bill, it would be banned for Seaworld to breed new Orca whales and shows that involve them. This is a great step and could potentially change the lives of orcas in captivity however, the bill was unfortunately pushed back a year. In conclusion, orcas in the wild live a far happier and more playful life. They are able to do breach and spyhop which they do not typically have the room to do in captivity. In captivity, they become violent and their lifespans are greatly affected. Also, a bill is currently in the works to ban the breeding and showing of orca whales.