A crowd watched in horror as veteran SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was grabbed by a killer whale and pulled under water during a live performance on Wednesday, February 24, 2010. The 12,000-pound Orca named Tillikum, seemed to be interested in Dawn’s ponytail swinging back and forth. Dawn was growing her hair long in preparation for a hair cut that would benefit cancer patients. It seems that Tillikum just wanted to play and grabbed the ponytail, dragging Dawn under the water and eventually killing the trainer who loved him. The event occurred shortly after the “Dine with Shamu” show at Sea World in Florida.
The events of last month opened an old wound. For years, advocates have believed that killer whales belong in the ocean living out their lives with their pods, not in the confines of an entertainment park. This paper will present some basic facts about killer whales including a comparison of their lives in the open waters of the ocean versus their lives in an amusement park swimming pool. It will also provide a summary of some of the tragic accidents between killer whales in captivity and their swimming partners. Finally, it will explain the importance of marine life to amusement parks. After much research into this topic, this writer believes that killer whales do not belong in captivity. Those that are free should remain in the vast ocean that is their natural home. Those currently in captivity should be moved to sanctuaries along the coast.
Information about Killer Whales
According to several sources including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2010), The Humane Society of the United States (2009), National Geographic (2010), and Sea World (2010), Killer Whales, also known as Orcas, are members of the dolphin family. They can weigh up to 22,000 pounds and grow as long as 32 feet. For reasons yet unknown, Orcas have a high mortality rate. About 43 percent of newborn calves die within the first six months. However, for those that do survive, they can live a very long time. Males live about 30 years and females live about 50 years, although both can live 20 to 40 years longer. Killer whales are not an endangered species; however, some localized whale populations are at risk, primarily due to the polluted waters in which they swim.
Killer whales are found primarily in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. They can also be seen along the western coast of the United States from Washington and Oregon to northern California. Occasionally they are found as far south as Baja California and along the eastern coast of the United States. They live in family units called pods which number between five and 30 whales, although as many as 50 have been recorded in a single pod. These social hierarchies are usually led by females. They have strong bonds, and each pod has its own language. They use echolocation to communicate, which means their sounds “travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back, revealing their location, size, and shape” (National Geographic, 2009). Echolocation also helps them to hunt for food.
Orcas feed on fish, squid, birds and marine mammals. They often work together to catch their meal by forcing a large school of fish into one area and taking turns feeding. Sometimes they slide out of the water intentionally beaching themselves to scare seals or penguins into the water where other Orcas are waiting to feed. They have excellent vision and hearing. Killer whales have no natural predators; they are at the top of the food chain in the ocean waters.
In a typical day, Orcas will swim 50 to 100 miles. They can be very playful, leaping into the air and making a great splash as they crash into the ocean waters. They may also repeatedly splash the water surface with their pectoral fins or simply slap the surface with their tails. They are beautiful mammals and fun to watch, which may be why people are so attracted to them.
Killer Whales in Captivity
The first killer whales were caught in the early 1960s, and most did not survive for very long. In 1972 the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMA) was passed making it illegal to hunt or harass marine mammals in the U.S. (NOAA, 2010). The Act does allow for the mammals to be taken for “research, education, and public display.” Capturing killer whales is a violent event. They are herded into shallow waters where “capture operators either encircle them with nets or use specially designed lassos on bow-riding individuals, before dragging them on board [the boats]” (Human Society of the United States, 2009).
Once captured and placed in the enormous swimming pools at Sea World and other entertainment parks, Orcas have a difficult time adjusting to life in confinement. They are limited to swimming in circles around a 3.2 million gallon chlorinated tank. The environment is stark and barren, bounded by concrete. The only sounds they hear are the tank pumps. Their navigating sensors are useless and since dinner comes in a bucket in the form of dead fish, their hunting instincts are futile (Crisp, 2006, p. A.15). Orcas are used to hunting live fish and other mammals for their food.
The environment in which captive Orcas live is so different from their natural environment, that it must make them crazy. Jim Borrowman, who has worked with these mammals for 30 years, uses the term “neurotic” to describe their behavior (Landau, 2010). He says that putting “them in a pool where they swim around in circles continually, and [are] kept away from their families, takes a toll on their brains.” They are separated from their families, they cannot hunt for food, and they are not able to swim the 50 to 100 miles a day for exercise that their enormous bodies must crave. Who wouldn’t go crazy under those circumstances?
Finally, Orcas in captivity don’t live as long as their free counterparts. “Of the 194 killer whales in captivity since 1964, almost 2/3 didn’t make it passed [author’s word] 10 years in captivity” (Jacobs, 2010). Fewer than 30 Orcas survived more than 20 years in captivity. The average life span is only four to six years (Reilly, 2010). As compared to their natural life spans in the ocean of 30 to 50 years, this is but a fraction. This is actually quite amazing because in captivity, Orcas are cared for and treated by veterinarian specialists in a regular basis, so they should be in the best of health.
The Importance of Killer Whales to Marine Life Parks
Killer whales in captivity are important for learning about the species through dedicated research programs. Sea World lists several benefits to studying them in a controlled environment (2010). They state, “The advantages of studying killer whales in controlled areas include the possibility of continuous observations without being impeded by weather, darkness, or location.” Scientists are able to study killer whale biology that they otherwise could not study in the wild. Trainers and veterinarians conduct regular physical exams on the mammals by taking full body measurements, blood and urine samples that provide valuable information for the study of killer whale biology. In captivity, killer whale pregnancies and the relationship between mother and child after birth can be studied up close in a way that would be impossible in the ocean.
Thad Lacinak, a former Sea World head trainer, notes that individuals can learn much more about killer whales in captivity than they ever could “through a pair of binoculars” (Skoloff, 2010). Lacinak explains that people learn through entertainment and have a much greater appreciation for the mammals after watching a live show. Associated Press writer, B. Skoloff, reported that in a “1995 Roper Poll, 87% of those interviewed agreed that visiting zoological facilities was their only opportunity to see wild animals like killer whales” and that “92% of those questioned agreed that zoological parks are a vital educational resource” (2010). One major benefit to the captivity of killer whales and subsequent entertainment by them is an increase in public awareness and appreciation for wildlife.
Gary Wilson is a professor at Moorpark College in California, the only place in the country where students can learn how to become a trainer of marine mammals. He says that, “in order to learn about these animals and to actually ensure their survival in the wild, we need to have them in captivity so we can study them and people can learn to appreciate them” (Skoloff, 2010). Wilson believes that if not for mammals in captivity, “there would be fewer people in the world that even cared about them at all.” So maybe there are some benefits to having killer whales and other marine life in captivity. But do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Victims of Killer Whales in Captivity
The Center for Whale Research (2010) lists 47 incidents involving killer whales in captivity and humans since 1968. The majority of the people survived, some with slight injuries, others with severe injuries. Three trainers have been killed. The Center for Whale Research quotes veterinarian Jay Sweeney as saying, “Aggressive manifestations toward trainers have included bumping, biting, grabbing, dunking, and holding trainers on the bottom of pools preventing their escape.” In 1972, Annette Eckis Godsey “had to have 200 stitches from the waist down when a killer whale attacked her at the aquarium where she worked” (Landau, 2010). In 1991, the same Orca that killed Dawn Brancheau drowned another trainer, 20 year old Keltie Byrne, in front of an audience at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia (Garcia, 2010). In 1999, the body of a 27 year old male was found draped over Tillikum’s back, the same Orca responsible for Brancheau’s and Byrne’s deaths. In December of 2009, 29 year old Alexis Mertinez, a trainer at Loro Parque in Tenerife, died after his chest was severely compressed (Reilly, 2010). It is interesting to note that killer whales in their natural environment out in the ocean have never been known to attack a human being.
What To Do About Shamu
Currently, there are about 42 Orcas in captivity. The question is whether to release them all back to the wild or to keep them in captivity while restricting further capture of killer whales. But is it possible to release a killer whale back into the ocean? Will it survive after being in captivity, and for how long?
It is possible to release a captive killer whale back into the ocean. In 2002, Keiko, who had been in captivity for 19 years, was freed into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean (Rose, 2010). Keiko spent two years in a pen in the ocean waters off Iceland, near where he was caught, learning to regain his independence. Once free, researchers tracked him with a satellite tag as he made his way to Norway. He joined with another pod of whales but did not stay with them, preferring instead to find the company of the humans he had interacted with for so long. In her article, Rose (2010) reports that “Keiko had shown he could adjust again to his natural habitat, but he wasn't ready to be independent. He wanted human companionship and he had it, coming and going as he pleased but always returning to the project team, who took up residence in a house in the fjord. He died more than a year later, probably from pneumonia.” Keiko’s release back into the wild was only partially successful.
The lessons learned from the release of Keiko should serve as the beginnings of a blueprint for the release of other captive killer whales. Just as researchers had to learn how to capture them and enable them to live in captivity, researchers will need to learn how to release them back into the ocean waters in which they belong.
Conclusion
The research shows that 194 killer whales have been in captivity since the early 1960s. It also shows that there have been 47 incidents that endangered the trainers and other people working with them, and that four human deaths have resulted. Most killer whales do not live very long in captivity and only about one-third live beyond ten years. While the research and educational benefits of killer whales in captivity may be invaluable from a human perspective, it seems to this writer that the risks to both humans and to Orcas are far too great to continue to capture killer whales.
There are about 42 Orcas in captivity currently. If sent back to the open ocean waters, they would probably not survive, so they need to stay in captivity of some type. This writer believes that sanctuaries should be created off the coast where Orcas can swim, feed, mate, and live out their lives in a natural environment. These sanctuaries need to be enormous, perhaps 500 miles or more in length, to simulate the vast ocean. Veterinarians can perform regular check-ups to ensure they remain in the best of health. In the sanctuaries, they can be bred to continue the research and education that Orcas provide mankind. Additional research can be done in the open waters to learn more about these mammals, albeit from a much greater distance. We do not need to continue capturing killer whales and confining them to the small tanks with concrete sides, loud aquarium tank noises, dead fish for food, and only a handful of same-species companions.
For the record, I have always enjoyed the Shamu shows at SeaWorld. I honestly never really thought about the ethics of keeping such a beautiful animal in the confines of an enormous pool to entertain guests and make lots of money for the park. The death of Dawn Brancheau, while not the first of which I have ever heard, sparked an interest in the debate. After reviewing the facts about killer whales and comparing and contrasting their lives in the ocean versus those in the enormous pools at amusement parks, I believe that laws should be enacted to prevent any further capture for any reason. I believe that killer whale sanctuaries should be created and that every killer whale in captivity should be transported to these sanctuaries as soon as practically possible. While not entirely free, the sanctuaries will provide a resemblance of the natural environment and life that killer whales need to live life to its fullest.
References
Center for Whale Research. (2010). Orca facts. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from www.whaleresearch.com
Crisp, J. (2006). “Killer whale lives in small world.” Daily Breeze. Torrance, CA. December 13, 2006, p. A.15.
Garcia, J. (2010). “Tilikum known as dangerous whale at SeaWorld Orlando: SeaWorld trainers were barred from swimming with orca.” McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Washington, February 25, 2010.
Human Society of the United States. (2009). Do marine mammals belong in captivity in the 21st century? Retrieved March 8, 2010, from http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/what_are_the_issues/marine_mammals_in_captivity/do_marine_mammals_belong_in_captivity_in_the_21st_century.html
Jacobs, S. (2010) Life expectancy of orcas in captivity. Center for Whale Research. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from http://www.orcahome.de/lifeexpectancy.htm
Landau, E. (2010). Biologists: Killer whales 'neurotic' in captivity. CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/25/whales.seaworld.death/index.html
National Geographic. (2010). Killer whale (orca). Retrieved February 25, 2010 from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/killer-whale/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (2010). Marine mammal protection act of 1972. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/mmpa/
Reilly, M. (2010). When a killer kills. Discovery News. February 24, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from http://news.discovery.com/earth/when-a-killer-kills.html
Rose, N.A. (2010). How to free a killer whale. CNN Opinion. Retrieved March 21, 2010 from http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/27/rose.whale.keiko/index.html
Sea World. (2010). The importance of marine life parks. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/killerwhale/conservationkw.htm
Skoloff, B. (2010). Captive killer whales: Are potential benefits worth the risk? Associated Press, March 1, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from http://www.ap.org
