During the show, Sea World repeatedly lauded itself on its wonderful care of its animals, but even 10 year old me could see signs of unhealthy Orcas. I wanted to believe what the performers were telling me, that the animals were healthy and happy, but I just couldn't. It broke my heart.
The most noticeable is the collapsed dorsal fin. All captive adult male Orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. Sea World claims this is natural, and while there are many theories as to why this happens, the truth is it is actually very rare in the wild. This excellent scientific paper goes into greater detail about "Flaccid" Fin Syndrome.
I have provided a list of links at the bottom of this page that can supplement additional information with more sanguinary images and descriptions of abuses in captivity and health issues of such animals, if you are so interested.
Blackfish
The controversy of Orcas in captivity has had a resurgence in the media recently with the tragic story of Tilikum, a captive Orca who is the main subject of the documentary Blackfish. Among other many other reactions and protests, response to the film prompted many high-profile bands and musicians to cancel their 2014 concerts at Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa, raising awareness of the controversy to a fever pitch in the media.THANK YOU to Heart, Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson, Martina McBride, .38 Special, Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, The Beach Boys, Trace Adkins and Trisha Yearwood for your efforts. Your actions and outspoken activism has had a huge impact on the awareness of the plight of captive animals around the world.
Sea World has tried to address and dispute Blackfish's information, with minimal results. Just last week Sea World was voted one of the top 4 Most Hated Companies in America, right up there with Comcast, Monsanto, and WalMart.
Orca Facts
Last month, "Granny", the world's oldest Orca, was spotted again in the wild off the coast of Canada. She is 103 years old. In a little over a week, Granny and her pod traveled over 800 miles. A far cry from the bathtub Tilikum and his captive counterparts around the world are trapped in.
Sea World contends that "no one knows for sure how long killer whales live". What great, pointedly vague non-information coming from such a self-professed source of knowledge of all things Orca!
You may notice I only use the word "Orca" when referring to these marine mammals.
The name Killer Whale is a misnomer. First of all, they belong in the oceanic dolphin family. Their scientific name is Orcinus orca. Centuries ago, Spanish sailors observed their effective hunting techniques and dubbed them "Matador de Ballenas" (translated: "Killer of whales"). Somewhere along the way the name got shortened and mixed up, hence the resulting "Killer Whale" label. Wrong-o!
Success Story: Free Willy Keiko Foundation
One inspirational story of rescue and rehabilitation into the wild is Keiko. I chose Keiko's story as he was the subject of the movie Free Willy, which had such an impact on me.
His story demonstrates the power of the media to influence positive change. He was born in 1978 in the wild near Iceland, caught by a fisherman at a very young age, bought and sold as a captive performing animal, ending up in abhorrent conditions at a marine park in Mexico.
The movie was released in 1993, and by 1996 he was moved to a rehab facility in Oregon where his health improved dramatically and was taught to hunt for live food. Over the next couple of years, Keiko gained nearly 2,000 lbs (1 ton) of weight, his skin lesions healed, and he could feed himself.
In 1998, 20 years after his traumatic capture as a baby, Keiko was re-introduced to his native Icelandic waters, where he lived freely until his death (by natural causes, acute pneumonia) in 2003.
Blackfish Movie
The Fate of Captive Orcas in 2014
Eight Facts You Need to Know about Killer Whales
Sea World of Hurt
The Keiko Project
Orcas in Captivity Wiki
*~*~*~*~*~*
No comments:
Post a Comment