This is a blog I wrote in the beginning of 2007, I felt it appropriate to repost it here, given the current circumstances.
“I’m not a member of PETA but… something really should be done about marine mammals in captivity.
The above photo is of Kandu V. She was an orca taken into captivity by animal-loving (yeah right) Sea World. On this day in August 1989, known to be aggressive and not being keen on the new addition to the tank — Corky II — Kandu purposefully rammed Corky, due to stress. Unfortunately for Kandu, she ruptured an artery in her jaw and bled to death 45 minutes later. Sea World California’s official comment was “She did it to herself.”
I’m sure Sea World, and other marine mammal parks, mean well (yeah right) but you have to look at the facts. Orcas weren’t being captured for entertainment until the 60’s, since then, the number of orcas in the wild continue to deplete. The reason for this is that when Killer Whales are captured they are taken out of their family pods. During this process when the captors take the orca(s) they want it has been documented that other pod family members injure and sometimes kill themselves trying to save eachother. The same is true with bottlenosed dolphins, which are cousins to orcas.
On my recent trip to Sea World, the way the animals are kept really started to bother me. It had never bothered me before and I was so excited to go back but when I was there, I saw this mix and match pod of orcas swimming back and forth constantly, unable to dive to the depths that they enjoy in their natural habitat. A mix-match pod of about 12 or more dolphins in a tank that seemed to be considerably smaller than an olympic sized pool. Not only that but several of the dolphins had signs of raking on their heads and backs, which is caused by other aggressively stressed dolphins, dragging their teeth across the skin of their tank mates.
Jacques Cousteau and his son, Jean-Michel Cousteau, stopped aiding in the capture of dolphins after witnessing a dolphin commit suicide by ramming repeatedly into the side of its tank. There have been a number reports of other marine mammals making suicide attempts while in captivity.
Attacks on people are unknown to orcas in their natural habitat. There was one report of a boy getting charged at by an orca while swimming in the ocean but he was never grabbed. When they are in captivity, they show aggression towards their trainers and eachother. There have been deaths and other serious injuries caused to trainers and others by captive whales. Whales and dolphins are trained by food deprivation. If an animal doesn’t perform, they don’t get fed. If they’re too social, they are secluded from the other whales.
Sea World isn’t my biggest concern. I’m more concerned with smaller parks that break government regulations.”
*sigh*
