Essay On Orca Captivity
The cruel act of confining Orcas to bathtub sized pens is not only inhumane, but also a hazard to current and future Orcas by affecting their physical, mental, and social health. Orcas, who are more commonly known as killer whales, can grow up to twenty to thirty feet on average and swim up to 100 miles a day, keeping their body healthy and fit. Aside from their large and strong body structure, Orcas are highly intelligent and social animals that work together in pods when hunting while even being capable of swimming as deep as thirty feet. So why in captivity, are Orcas being kept in pools that range from eighteen to twenty-eight feet deep?
The average lifespan of a killer whale ranges from thirty to fifty years in the wild, but at most …show more content…
Killer whales group up in pods and follow a matriarchal structure. Meaning that the oldest female will lead the pod, which usually is made up of relative Orcas, in whatever they may do which can include hunting and breeding. In captivity, and more specifically Seaworld, killer whales are all just thrown in a pool like fighters in a ring. They are expected to get along because they are forced to perform together, however, that is not the case for Tilikum and his two female pool mates, Haida and Nootka who often attack him leaving painful and deep rake marks on …show more content…
Two of the three deaths that had occurred were of trainers who worked with the killer whales at the time. Orca attacks are not common in the wild, so why are there as much as 151 reported incidents of violent acts/behaviors from killer whales? It’s simple, it’s because being thrown in a bathtub has affected the mental health of these wonderful creatures. In fact, they show typical signs of what we call “stir crazy” by doing repetitive actions like gnawing on metal gates and ruining their teeth along with continuously sliding on and off the platform they perform on. There’s a lot of speculation on whether it was the trainers fault or the killer whales. Seaworld has stated that it was Dawn’s mistake for failing to tie up her hair, but in reality, it’s the fault of Tilikum’s captors, Seaworld. Not only has Seaworld disregarded the adequate living spaces for killer whales, they also failed in taking proper care of these
The average lifespan of a killer whale ranges from thirty to fifty years in the wild, but at most …show more content…
Killer whales group up in pods and follow a matriarchal structure. Meaning that the oldest female will lead the pod, which usually is made up of relative Orcas, in whatever they may do which can include hunting and breeding. In captivity, and more specifically Seaworld, killer whales are all just thrown in a pool like fighters in a ring. They are expected to get along because they are forced to perform together, however, that is not the case for Tilikum and his two female pool mates, Haida and Nootka who often attack him leaving painful and deep rake marks on …show more content…
Two of the three deaths that had occurred were of trainers who worked with the killer whales at the time. Orca attacks are not common in the wild, so why are there as much as 151 reported incidents of violent acts/behaviors from killer whales? It’s simple, it’s because being thrown in a bathtub has affected the mental health of these wonderful creatures. In fact, they show typical signs of what we call “stir crazy” by doing repetitive actions like gnawing on metal gates and ruining their teeth along with continuously sliding on and off the platform they perform on. There’s a lot of speculation on whether it was the trainers fault or the killer whales. Seaworld has stated that it was Dawn’s mistake for failing to tie up her hair, but in reality, it’s the fault of Tilikum’s captors, Seaworld. Not only has Seaworld disregarded the adequate living spaces for killer whales, they also failed in taking proper care of these