They call them what? On Wednesday, an orca – popularly and inappropriately known as a “killer whales” – killed its trainer during a show at Orlando’s Sea World. The world is shocked and outraged. The Shamu Stadium of the Orlando theme park was filled and thousands witness the gruesome death of the trainer, Dawn Brancheau.
Ms. Brancheau’s death is horrible, and I do not intend on cheapening the loss to her family and friends. But, every day, hundreds of “trainers” around the world get into tanks with massive, dangerous animals for entertainment. Her death is horrible, but not unexpected.
Killer whales are not even whales, but dolphins. They are the largest dolphins and earned their name because they’ve been known to kill large whales. Orcas are apex predators that have no known natural predators. Only man hunts orca.
How does living in captivity affect an orca? We can’t ask them, but we can ask ourselves. The orcas do give us some signs. The majority of males will experience dorsal fin collapse, a problem rarely seen in the wild. Orcas are generally docile among others, but in captivity they often demonstrate aggressive behavior. While there has never been a reported attack on humans in the wild, there have been dozens in captivity over the last 4 decades.
Orcas are found in all of the world’s oceans. Many types are transient, travelling thousands of miles. Even the resident breeds will travel all over, like throughout the Puget Sound in Washington. At Sea World, and other marine theme parks, the orcas live in captivity. While a million-gallon, 35 foot tank might sound big, compare it with the Pacific Ocean, or even just the Santa Monica Bay.
They are highly social animals that we trap into tanks, isolating them from their peers. They typically stay with their mothers their entire lives and living and traveling in multi-generational families. At Sea World, they swim in a tank alone or with one or two other orcas. And Sea World has the best reputation for treating marine mammals well. While orcas typically live for 50 years, and as long as 80 years, in the wild, the average life span in captivity is 25. Most killer whales don’t even sexually mature until 15-20 years.
They don’t hunt, we feed them. They don’t socialize, we make them perform. They swim in circles, not freely. They are 15,000 pound animals and we think that we can control and dominate them for entertainment.
I want to make clear that I’m not anti-zoo/anti-aquarium. But I don’t think we should confine massive animals in small places and purposefully change their behavior for entertainment. That’s not what good zoos or aquariums do.
It was horrible when Chris Farley died. He was a brilliantly talented comedian and actor. But it wasn’t a surprise. He was morbidly obese with a heart condition and a coke habit. When a 12,000 pound animal named a “killer whale” takes a human life, it is only doing what should be expected.
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This is the trailer for The Cove. This movie will make you rethink every marine mammal in captivity, from Sea World to dolphin encounters.