Trapped

Close your eyes and imagine being taken away from your family and friends at two years old. Imagine being transported thousands of miles away from your home and living with strangers for the rest of your life. Overtime you become stressed out and go insane. This was the situation Tilikum the killer whale was in. Dolphins in captivity have a similar life story of how they got to captivity, too.

Tilikum was taken away from his pod when he was only two years old. He was brought to Sealand Of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada. There were two female killer whales living with him that would bully Tilikum. During the night, when the park was closed, the orcas would be kept in a module until the park reopened. In the morning, one could see scratches and blood on Tilikum due to the rakes done by the female whales. During the day, Tilikum would have to perform every hour (SeaWorld of Hurt, 2014), and if he did not obey the trainers, then food was not given to any of the killer whales. This most likely ended up leading to aggression and mental disorders. After a performance at Sealand, one of the trainers, Keltie Byrne slipped into the pool with the orcas. Immediately, Tilikum dragged Keltie to the bottom of the pool. Tilikum’s action instigated the female orcas to join in and they all tossed Keltie around until she was dead. This was the first death of a trainer staged by Tilikum and two more would come.

When Sealand closed, Tilikum was put up for sale, and SeaWorld hastily reached for him. SeaWorld did not care about his reputation; all they wanted was to have a male orca so that they could use his sperm to reproduce inbred orcas. Today more than half of the killer whales at SeaWorld have Tilikum’s genes.

Not only was Tilikum kept in a small tank at Sealand, but also at SeaWorld. Orcas swim up to ‘a hundred miles’ a day in the wild, (SeaWorld of Hurt, 2014), while in captivity in order to reach that, it would mean swimming one thousand nine hundred laps in one day. In a small tank, that is swimming in circles all day. Not only do the orcas swim in circles all day, but also have to perform the same routine each day. This daily repetitive activity becomes stressful for the orcas.

After the death of Keltie in 1991, Tilikum struck again in 1999 and then again in 2010 when he killed Dawn Brancheau. Although, SeaWorld called it “trainer error”, there may be some truth here, but it should not be believed as the main reason for the tragic accident. Rather, it should be believed that all orcas in captivity are capable of killing a trainer and more precautions should be taken. The orcas in captivity, not only swim in circles all day, but also are fed dead fish and gelatin to keep them hydrated. However, gelatin is not part of their natural diet, (PETA, 2014) which can be concluded why orcas either regurgitate or throw up their food. In the wild, the fish that the orcas go after contain freshwater in order to keep them healthy and hydrated. In captivity the orcas are also given “psychoactive drugs,” (Bardroff, 2014). This definitely leads to uncommon behaviors such as chewing on the metal bar gates, vomiting, suicide attempts, and aggression toward other orcas.

Not only are the orcas suffering in captivity, so are the dolphins at SeaWorld. The dolphins at SeaWorld have likely come from drives and were transported away from their families. Keeping dolphins in captivity started with Ric O’Barry. Ric O’Barry kept a dolphin and called her Flipper. Flipper was kept in a small pool and had to perform tricks for people. Upon the death of Flipper, Ric realized keeping dolphins in captivity was a bad idea, but unfortunately for the dolphins it was too late. The drive captures and displays the dolphins. Now every marine park is trying to recreate the Flipper experience.

Every year, from September to March, in Taiji, Japan, there is an annual dolphin drive and slaughter. Dolphins are driven into a small cove that is sectioned off and covered so photographers cannot see what is going on. Fortunately for the dolphins, a number of activists were able to capture on cameras the action of the local fishermen. The movie “The Cove” and what goes on in the cove has been released through social media. Though these fishermen continue to slaughter the dolphins and pick the younger ones for sale to perform in marine parks, people in Japan know what is going on and are protesting.

Supporting places like SeaWorld and marine parks that have dolphins and killer whales in captivity, means supporting the Whale and Dolphin slave trade. Still today, dolphins are illegally transported to other countries in Asia, but not in the United States. Dolphins kept in captivity in the United States come from breeding programs. That does not mean however that life in captivity for such dolphins is free of worry and should continue.

Recently, it was reported in the news that dolphins at SeaWorld and the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, are suffering from diseases like dolphin pox. This is caused by bad health and stress. The dolphins at SeaWorld are touched by thousands of humans each day and just like the orcas, are fed dead fish and gelatin. This could contribute to some bad health issues the dolphins are having. In addition to dolphin pox, some dolphins bang themselves into the tanks and there is no council at the parks to help these dolphins. Besides slamming into walls, a dolphin at a Japanese Marine Park tried to kill itself. During a show, the dolphin was hesitantly looking over the tank wall. Eventually, the dolphin jumped over the tank and flopped around on the ground. The trainers were shocked at first, and then rushed over to help the dolphin while the audience still watched and caught the footage on film. Another dolphin at SeaWorld jumped out of the dolphin pool when it was done feeding. The SeaWorld trainer did nothing to help this dolphin. A bystander caught on video a dolphin flopping around on the concrete and one can see blood coming from the dolphin. A number one reason why these dolphins could have done this could have been a suicide attempt; tired of being fed dead fish or tired of swimming in circles everyday and performing for food.

Looking toward the future, we can hope that marine parks will release their animals back into the oceans. Though this does not look like the case for SeaWorld in San Diego, where they are creating a bigger pool for their orcas. We can predict that this will then lead to bigger pools in Orlando and San Antonio SeaWorld parks. Hopefully other parks will realize keeping orcas and dolphins in captivity is the wrong way to go. There are many people already boycotting marine parks and educating others; in the future even more awareness will rise and more people will be educated. A captive orca or dolphin swimming in circles will not be a magnet for people and hence a moneymaker for corporations owning marine parks.

Reference

"1 Million to free tilikum." Behind the smile. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.freetillynow.org/behindthesmile.htm>.

"10 Signs Whales and Dolphins Do NOT Belong in Tanks." One Green Planet. N.p., 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-whales-and-dolphins-do-not-belong-in-tanks/>.

"30 Years and Three Deaths: Tilikum's Tragic Story - SeaWorld of Hurt." SeaWorld of Hurt. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/30-years-three-deaths-tilikums-tragic-story/>.

"8 Reasons Orcas Don't Belong at SeaWorld - SeaWorld of Hurt." SeaWorld of Hurt. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/8-reasons-orcas-dont-belong-seaworld/>.

"Orcas on Psychoactive Drugs: Is it the Worst Thing SeaWorld Has Done?." One Green Planet. N.p., 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. <http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/seaworlds-orcas-on-psychoactive-drugs/>.