The Pros And Cons Of Black Fish

Friend, or just a food giver? Imagine you have had your pet since he was little, you brought him home, fed him, trained him, and took care of him, you and your pet have bonded. Now imagine years later your pet turns and bites you and starts attacking you. People who train animals know this routine all too well. They work close and personally with animals like bears and orcas, animals much bigger then dogs and cats we keep as pets. However they still have the same love, trust and respectful relationship we have with our pets. So what does it mean when those big animals turn and hurt their trainers? The controversy whether humans should be dealing with these large predatory animals has been going on for a while. More so since the documentary Black Fish has been released, the film talks about and brings to the attention the deaths of trainers working with orcas, more specifically Tilikum. Tilikum is the largest male orca in captivity, currently being held at the Sea World in Orlando Florida. Tilikum also has the …show more content…
Dog owners know that as much as it is the ‘man’s best friend’ the dog will growl if it is feeling aggressive. Whales and their trainers are the same way Chuck Tompkins describes that trainers are taught and trained to look out for behaviors in the whales and to act accordingly. He says if there is any signs of sexual behaviors, whale and whale social interactions, or tense, odd behaviors the trainers know to stay out of the water and to let the animals be animals (Tompkins, 2). Aggression is not out of the norm for these animals, even in the wild. Rakes are teeth scratches that can be found on whales that are made by any toothed whales. Raking is caused by “rough play, sexually interactions, and social dominance, and this is a completely normal behavior. (Visser,