Killer Whale in Captivity: Pros, Cons, and the Path Forward

The Majesty of Orcas: Understanding Their Behavior and Communication

A significant problem that demands a solution is orcas in captivity. Orcas or "killer whales" are brilliant animals known to be the most powerful predators, with fantastic hunting skills and the ability to work as a team. Each pod of orcas has a different way of communication. They use echolocation to communicate and hunt. When a pod of orcas spots a seal, they work together to make waves and drown it. Although they hunt everything from fish to great white sharks to all types of whales, they are not known to kill a human in the wild.

They are brilliant and will never confuse you for a seal or any other type of prey. If taught right by their mothers, they can even un-strangle themselves from shore.

While no deaths have occurred due to orca attacks in the wild, the case is different in captivity. Four deaths were considered "incidents," and 3 of those deaths were caused by the same orca, "Tilikum." Those "incidents" were caused by the stress of being stuck in a tank 24/7 for years. In captivity, they live up to 30 years, while in the wild, they live from 50-90 years. Around 160 orcas have died in captivity. The male orcas' dorsal fin tends to bend because they cannot swim in a straight line like they would in the open ocean. They will also likely have denture problems because they tend to chew on bars and walls out of frustration.

Challenges of Captive Whales and the Push for Ocean Sanctuaries

Female orcas are falsely impregnated at age 8, while in the wild, the average age is 15. They separated the calves from their mothers to be transported to other facilities, while in the wild, they would stay together forever. This often makes mother orcas depressed. They rebreed and rebreed orcas repeatedly, not allowing for an average period after giving birth. Tilikum fathered about 21 orcas.

Pro-captivity supporters say that shows mimic playing and that they are not bored but have fun, but shows only last for a few hours. What about all the other free time? They go insane. Other people say that we should not release orcas back into the wild because since most of them were born and raised in captivity, they will not know how to hunt and, therefore, would not survive; they would not be accepted into any pod. I see a point in that.

The most effective solution to this problem would be building ocean sanctuaries. An ocean sanctuary is a marine protected area where the government limits human activities. Some successful sanctuaries are Monterey Bay, California, which used to be so over-fished it led some species to extinction; Lamlash Bay, Arran, Scotland, is a protected area from over-fishing and dredging; Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii, founded by Barack Obama to protect over 1.5 square km from fishing and deep-sea mining, home to over 7000 species. I have an idea for an ocean sanctuary that would be the largest protected area on earth to provide refuge for whales, penguins, and seals and also to help with crucial scientific research and keep out fishing industries.

References

1. Ford, J.K.B. (2009). Killer whale: Orcinus orca. In: Perrin, W.F., Würsig, B., and Thewissen, J.G.M., eds. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, pp. 650-657.
2. Olesiuk, P.F., Bigg, M.A., and Ellis, G.M. (1990). Life history and population dynamics of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 12: 209-243.
3. Kirby, D. (2012). Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. St. Martin's Press.
4. Visser, I.N., et al. (2017). Orca (Orcinus orca) captivity and vulnerability to mosquito-transmitted viruses. Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology, 10(1), pp. 9-16.

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