SeaWorld is a billion dollar entertainment industry and rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned animals. “Blackfish” a film by Gabriela Cowperthwaite is inspired mainly by the events surrounding Tilikum, a bull orca weighing over 12,000 pounds currently owned by Seaworld. The purpose of the film is to expose the wrongful captivity of Orcas at SeaWorld. In the beginning of the film, trainers share the way they came to the industry. Their love and respect for the beauty of whales inspired…
The Family Labridae is a massive family of fishes (trumped only by gobies). Some of these fishes, commonly known as wrasses, are amongst the perennial favorites in the marine aquarium industry. Chances are that if you remain involved with marine aquaria for any length of time, you will eventually come to own a wrasse. Here are the basics of this diverse and extraordinary family of fishes. Wrasses can be found throughout the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific in both temperate and tropical seas. Many…
Big Whale, Little Pool Did you know that 38 orcas at Seaworld have died prematurely and not one in captivity has reached its maximum life span? Recently, there has been controversy surrounding SeaWorld’s use of killer whales in shows. I believe that SeaWorld should not be allowed to keep these majestic animals for entertainment purpose because it is unnatural for these animals to live in such confined spaces and dangerous for the trainers, the public, and the whales. First and Foremost, using…
Mackenzie Adkins Professor Leslie Similly English 1213 June 18, 2017 Captive Killer Whales There are currently a total of sixty-two orcas held in captivity as of May 2017. Thirty-four of these whales were born in captivity and twenty-eight of them were captured from the wild (Robles). The popular marine park, SeaWorld, is home to the majority of these captive Killer Whales. Even though the park has announced that its days of breeding the Orcas is over, the whales are still mentally and…
A documentary about killer whales may not be that intriguing when one first catches word of it; once the viewer takes a look, they understand why it has become a well know film and has spread like wild fire. Blackfish, a documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, discusses the negatives of keeping killer whales in captivity. It drives home the fact that industries who keep these large creatures captive, should be boycotted by the public. Blackfish uses literary devices to evoke the…
In Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s film, Blackfish (2013), Cowperthwaite captures the psychological torture killer whales, specifically Tilikum and Kasatka, face at Sea World after being brutally separated from their families. The film takes us through the journey of captured killer whales becoming mentally unstable and being used for entertainment purposes. This film displays archival footage and interviews with former trainers who had close experiences with killer whales at Sea World. The attacks at…
Body structure and Symmetry Description The sphydrena barracuda also known as the Great Barracuda is described as a large fish usually around 50-110 lbs. The Great Barracuda has a silver and round body with dark patches. They are also known to have lighter side bands. Their mouth has an interesting feature with very sharp teeth and a large underslung jaw. They also have widely separated dorsal fins. The Great Barracuda has a bilateral symmetry (seaworld.org). Habitat Description The Great…
I have recently watched the documentary, Blackfish. After I watched this I had a totally different view on whales in captivity. Seaworld shows in there commercials that it is a perfect place for the whales when in reality it is not. When I was younger I saw them as pets that could do tricks, but now I see that it is not acceptable for these whales to be contained in spaces that don’t accommodate their size and living needs. This is a serious problem in our world today. Many people see these…
SeaWorld is not only a fun place to see animals do tricks, but the training behind it is not what it seems. Nobody thinks about how much time is spent training the whales or the damage being to them. “Do not cry for me I am free now Fight for me Be our voice. Be our hope,” (Cotillard). Many of the whales should not be held captive in small tanks doing tricks just for entertainment. However, many organizations are created to voice opinions and animal captivity. The People for the Ethical…
Classification – Chondrichthyes is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes: they are jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in series, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The kingdom of a grey nurse shark is Animalia because the grey nurse shark is a multicellular animal. The phylum is Chordata because it is a large animal that includes vertebrates . The class is Chondrichthyes because it has a cartilaginous skeleton. The order…