Freedom for Orcas Places such as SeaWorld have been open for years intriguing the population with its spectacular shows. Millions of people visit these marine mammal parks each year looking to have an up close experience. People have the chance to swim with dolphins or go on one of the multiple roller coasters. SeaWorld mesmerizes the public with its numerous marine shows, but the show that makes SeaWorld stand out from the rest is the Shamu Show. Orcas are the main attraction for this show. They fascinate the audience, but these graceful creatures were not made for human purposes. Orcas need to be in their own habitat and not be held in captivity. Orcas or Orcinus Orca are one of the many social creatures on the earth. They have special
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With aggression becoming one of the reoccurring factors, experts believe an orca can develop violent or psychotic behavior when in captivity (Chen and Marshall). Orcas have become emotionally destroyed and are ticking time bombs that eventually explode. There have been over seventy occasions when an orca acted out on a trainer. A few incidents of when an orca acted out were when Orky crushed John Sillick while he was riding another killer whale or when Orkid pulled Tamari into the whale tank. Ken Peters was one of the lucky trainers at SeaWorld. Kasatka dragged him to the bottom of the pool. After continually being let go of and grabbed onto again by Kasatka, Ken Peters eventually convinced the whale to let go of him (Cowperthwaite). “Orcas have not gone crazy, but are frustrated and have no outlet,” as one of the former SeaWorld told Cowperthwaite in her documentary Blackfish …show more content…
Large companies such as Mattel and Southwest Airlines dropped contracts with SeaWorld (Roony). The opposing side claims that having orcas in captivity helps humans learn more about the creatures. The problem with that argument is that humans are not learning about the natural habits of an orca. A veteran marine-mammal researcher said, “If SeaWorld didn’t exist, would our understanding of wild killer whales be significantly reduced? I think the answer to that is no, it would not (Raja).” Captive research has become less important as the study of orcas in the wild is becoming less difficult. Items such as satellite tagging and biopsy darts have made collecting data much easier. A killer whale feces has even given scientists large amounts of information about orcas without having to disturb them (Raja). Another argument that is made constantly is that SeaWorld extends the lifespans of its animals. Multiple SeaWorld employees claim that because they have the correct veterinary tools, orcas will live longer (Cowperthwaite). This is not true because the oldest orca to live in captivity is thirty-five and is dying (Berlinger). Tilikum is dying from a bacterial infection in his lungs. Tilikum is also the only orca that has made it to age thirty-five. In comparison to orcas in the wild this age gap does not go
With aggression becoming one of the reoccurring factors, experts believe an orca can develop violent or psychotic behavior when in captivity (Chen and Marshall). Orcas have become emotionally destroyed and are ticking time bombs that eventually explode. There have been over seventy occasions when an orca acted out on a trainer. A few incidents of when an orca acted out were when Orky crushed John Sillick while he was riding another killer whale or when Orkid pulled Tamari into the whale tank. Ken Peters was one of the lucky trainers at SeaWorld. Kasatka dragged him to the bottom of the pool. After continually being let go of and grabbed onto again by Kasatka, Ken Peters eventually convinced the whale to let go of him (Cowperthwaite). “Orcas have not gone crazy, but are frustrated and have no outlet,” as one of the former SeaWorld told Cowperthwaite in her documentary Blackfish …show more content…
Large companies such as Mattel and Southwest Airlines dropped contracts with SeaWorld (Roony). The opposing side claims that having orcas in captivity helps humans learn more about the creatures. The problem with that argument is that humans are not learning about the natural habits of an orca. A veteran marine-mammal researcher said, “If SeaWorld didn’t exist, would our understanding of wild killer whales be significantly reduced? I think the answer to that is no, it would not (Raja).” Captive research has become less important as the study of orcas in the wild is becoming less difficult. Items such as satellite tagging and biopsy darts have made collecting data much easier. A killer whale feces has even given scientists large amounts of information about orcas without having to disturb them (Raja). Another argument that is made constantly is that SeaWorld extends the lifespans of its animals. Multiple SeaWorld employees claim that because they have the correct veterinary tools, orcas will live longer (Cowperthwaite). This is not true because the oldest orca to live in captivity is thirty-five and is dying (Berlinger). Tilikum is dying from a bacterial infection in his lungs. Tilikum is also the only orca that has made it to age thirty-five. In comparison to orcas in the wild this age gap does not go