Orca Whales Should Be Kept In Captivity Essay
Unnatural Habitat of Killer Whale Tanks
Captive orcas face a cruel and miserable life. Proponents for orca captivity claim the life of killer whales at aquatic parks is compassionate and humane. …show more content…
In the ocean, orcas live in highly complex social groups known as pods. Pods are small nuclear families which consist of around 30-50 orcas. Killer whales form exceptionally strong bonds with their pod and stay with them for life (Ventre & Jett, 2011). The capture of just one orca causes significant stress and anxiety to the rest of the pod. Orcas living in captivity in artificial social groupings with other orcas share no communication similarities, which often causes intense frustration and leads to fighting, serious injuries and death (Ventre & Jett, 2011).
In addition, captive orcas sustain self-inflicted injuries such as fractured and broken teeth, the result of chewing on the metal bars and cement walls within their tanks in an attempt to escape imprisonment. Orca aggression has also been associated with violent incidents involving humans, including the death of an experienced SeaWorld trainer during a live show in 2010. However, in the wild, there have been no documented fatal orca attacks on humans (McD, 2013).