A Look at The Negative Impact of Keeping Killer Whales in Confinement

To what extent does captivity have a detrimental effect on killer whales?

This refers to explicitly listing specific aspects of orca life, identifying the contrast of these whales in and out of captivity, and therefore to understand and interpret what extent these aspects have on their mental state. This also refers to the concept that possibly all captive orcas suffer from a psychosis while furthermore questioning whether captivity of these mammals should be banned as a result of its effects.

Killer whales (Orcinus Orca – also known as Blackfish) are considered to be one of the world’s ultimate predators, with a level of intelligence unlike any other oceanic animal. They are known to be highly social and emotional beings while also maintaining their fierce reputation of one of the top predators in the food chain. Killer whales have been captured from the wild and used for public entertainment since 1961.The practicing of this activity has proven to be lethal to both whale and human; the first killer whale to ever be captured - Wanda, died just 42 hours after her capture from Newport Harbour. Following this, there have been countless incidents over the years where captive orcas have expressed aggression, 4 of these resulting in human fatalities. These fatalities were not accidents; each one was a brutal attack, however the issue surrounding these incidents is whether these killer whales were acting out due to their supposed aggressive nature or that they only attacked because of their damaged mental state that captivity has inflicted upon them.

To begin identifying whether captivity has a detrimental effect on killer whales, one must firstly recognize the repercussions of captivity; its severity and how significantly captive orcas indicate this detrimental effect. This is when orcas express their aggression, frustration and even depression through attacks.

Ever since the first killer whale was caught (Wanda - November 18th 1961) there have been just under 100 orcas who have lived in captivity, 45 of them still alive and currently living in sea parks across the world. Every single captive orca, including Wanda, has shown some display of aggression; varying from being an aggressive lunge towards a trainer or escalating to something as severe as a fatality. Since 1961 there have been over 40 individual severe orca attacks; 4 of these being fatalities. Some captive whales such as Keto and Tilikum have been registered as being particularly aggressive and potentially highly dangerous creatures due to their actions in the past as both having killed their trainers. (Jett, 2011)

On 24th December 2009, a bull captive bred orca the aforementioned Keto killed his trainer Alexis Martinez (on the left in the picture) at Tenerife’s Loro Parque. On February 24th 2010, a mere 2 months after Martinez’s death, a bull orca named Tilikum (Icelandic captured), killed his trainer Dawn Brancheau (on the right in the picture) at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. This however was not Tilikum’s first incident; back in February 20th 1991 Keltie Byrne was attacked and killed by Tilikum (alongside two other female whales), and on July 7th 1999, Daniel P. Dukes was found dead on Tilikum’s back after evading security the previous night and entering Tilikum’s tank at Seaworld. These are the only fatal incidents that have occurred and been documented in captivity however there have been a multitude of other highly severe attacks where trainers have been injured concerning not only Keto and Tilikum but other whales such as Kasatka, the original Shamu, Lupa, Cuddles, Kianu, Orky II, Hugo, Lolita, Nepo, Skana, Hyak II, Orkid, Kandu V, Nootka V and IV, Haida II, Splash, Kyuquot, Taku, Tekoa, Freya and Skyla. (Orcapod, 2013)

There have been countless other incidents concerning whale aggression towards their trainers such as lunging etc. however they have not been officially publicly documented in detail and only appear on each whale’s profile, but note that every single captive whale has shown aggression throughout their years in captivity. Following this, in comparison to captive whales, there has been only one attack with a wild orca; September 9, 1972 surfer Hans Kretschmer was bitten by a wild orca at Point Sur, suffering from wounds requiring over 100 stitches. (Lehman, 2012) Despite this, it is the only recorded wild orca attack in global history, the attack itself was considered as being a case of mistaken prey identity as orca pods had been spotted hunting around the location where the incident occurred. In fact there have been many circumstances where wild orca have interacted with humans in an incredibly friendly and docile manner; there are even tours that allow you to go diving with wild orca in locations such as Norway and New Zealand, this is allowed to occur due to the relaxed temperament of these animals. Every orca has the potential to attack and show aggression, wild or captive, however why is it the number of incidents that occur in captivity are off the scale and negligible in wild orca? This is a painstakingly obvious example of the mental stability difference between captive and wild orca as this is the outcome of the detrimental effect captivity has on these mammals.

The factor that detrimentally affects the orcas possibly the most is the tank sizes.

This could be said as being captivity’s most publicly known flaw as it not only occurs within captivity of orcas but within captivity of any animal worldwide. Any zoo or aquariums weakness is that they will never be able to accomplish the feat of providing their animals with ultimate freedom however it takes the form of a joke in reference to orca captivity.

Orca tank dimensions could be comparable to those of a large public swimming pool; the two pools that the orcas primarily live in at Seaworld San Diego are fifteen feet deep, one hundred and fifty feet long and eighty feet wide and only two out of the five pools at San Diego’s Seaworld are deeper than the males are long (Orcapod, 2016). The shallow pools force the orcas to spend a lot of unnecessary time at the surface causing dehydration, sun burn and they are even more prone to getting mosquito bites which carry infectious diseases, all of which weaken the orcas physical state. Small tanks also cause a number of other complications such as enforcing whale on whale aggression, not enabling the orcas to get their required amount of exercise per day and even causing depression amongst the whales.

However the Federal Animal Welfare Act mandates that an orca’s tank must meet the requirements of having a minimum of 48ft in each direction but despite this law there are still aquariums maintaining orcas in illegally sized tanks. The most widely known case of this is Lolita the killer whale’s tank in Miami Seaquarium, her tank being a mere 35ft wide. Lolita has been in captivity since August 8th 1970 where she was captured at the age of four and has lived in that same tank for the past 46 years, (Gorski, 2003)one point sharing the 35ft wide tank with Hugo, a male killer whale that died in an act of suicide by ramming his head against the tank repeatedly, following acts of self-destruction caused by depression, no doubted from living in a tank that is illegal by government standards.

Tank sizes are rightfully a crucial point that contributes to demonstrating the brutal reality that captivity is and this is demonstrated furthermore by reviewing Tilikum’s history, the bull orca who has been the cause of three human fatalities. Tilikum’s own tank after he was first captured in 1983 was a poor one hundred by fifty foot pool, just thirty five foot deep where he was held against his will and forced to live with two other female dominant orcas. (Cowperthwaite, 2013). One could make the argument that it was this that triggered Tilikum’s psychosis; having to live in such an isolated and enclosed habitat at such a young age, leading up to the deaths of the three victims to his attacks.

Captivity’s detrimental effect can also be confirmed through the many physical effects that occur only within captive orcas. A few examples of this are as follows.

Dorsal collapse is the highest occurring illness throughout captive orcas, affecting 100% of males. Male dorsal fins are proportionally larger and more vertically positioned than females; some bull orcas boast dorsal fins that stand up to 6ft tall off their backs unlike females which are proportionally smaller (this is why only males suffer from dorsal collapse). In the wild an orca’s dorsal fin (the tall triangular fin in the centre of an orca’s back) is kept erect by the constant water pressure as an orca swims (Vang, 2013), which can be up to 100 miles in a single day. In the wild, dorsal collapse occurs in less than 1% of orcas and is a sign of illness or malnutrition. However in contrast, 100% of every captive male orca suffers from dorsal collapse, even some females too. This is due to the lack of nutrition they get from the fish they are fed but primarily due to their tank sizes. The lack of space in their tanks prohibits them from getting the necessary exercise therefore the necessary nutrients to support their bodily functions efficiently, effectively causing dorsal collapse. The fact that every single captive bull orca suffers from this physical defect provides evidentiary support of the direct physiological detrimental effect captivity inflicts upon these whales. (Cowperthwaite, 2013)

Another physical effect of captivity is shown in the comparison of captive orca lifespans vs wild orca lifespans. In the wild orcas have similar lifespans to us humans; males can live up to 70 years while females can live up to an incredible 100 years old; the oldest recorded orca was 103 years old. In contrast to this the lifespans are not only shortened in captivity but are reduced inordinately. The average age of death for a captive orca is only 13 years old (they have barely become sexually mature by this age) and the oldest age a captive whale has ever reached is 49. These statistics are not only brutally harrowing however they provide clear perspective on how negative an impact captivity has on an orca’s life.

Physical effects however are unfortunately not the extent of captivity. After considering the mental damage the whales maintain due to the cruel ordeals from captivity when observing the history of captive orca attacks one must not only understand that not only these attacks are important expressions of a lack of mental stability but a demonstration of these mammals’ predicament and observing their self-destructive behaviour presents this.

This ideology of captive whales all being involved in a self-destructive pattern due to their captivity was firstly verified back in 1961 when Wanda the first captive killer whales was caught. Immediately after being placed into her tank at Marineland of the Pacific, she had been ramming her head against the tank walls, repeatedly until her death on her second day of captivity. She was just 7 years old at her time of death, and to be in this emotional state is a clear repercussion of the hardships she was inflicted upon at such a young age that is a result of captivity. This was an obvious example of self-destructive behaviour and many believe that Wanda’s death was an act of suicide (Messenger, 2014). Depression and suicidal thoughts are not at all anthropomorphic behaviour and are both emotions that orcas are capable of feeling due to their high level of intelligence and sociality.

Another example of when an orca’s limitations were exhibited was on March 4th 1980 at Miami Seaquarium, where the orca Hugo died after repeatedly smashing his head into the walls of his concrete tank that was originally so small it now houses manatees. (left photograph of tank) (Garrett). Hugo was a mere ten years old at the time and there has been continuous debate surrounding Hugo’s death depicting on whether or not this was a case of suicide/, however after thoroughly studying an orca’s neuroanatomical extent, one can confidently make an opinion stating this was a highly likely act of suicide especially considering there have been no recorded events where orcas have acted in a similar self-destructive behaviour to the way Hugo did. Hugo certainly had the ability to recognise his predicament then to follow this with an act of suicide following several violent acts of self-destructive behaviour. It was entirely his choice to behave in this way and to state anything less than the fact that he had lost the will to live would be denying the evidence given.

The previously discussed physical symptoms and mental instabilities as well as the not so common illnesses such as eroded or broken teeth, weakened immune systems, stomach ailments, skin conditions, and premature blindness are all key evidentiary support in proving the concept that captivity has a detrimental effect on orcas, as each of these illnesses listed are primarily caused from stress, or lack of exercise or malnutrition; all of which occur in captivity.

This leads on to discussing the variables that are the structure of captive life and whether these variables have a detrimental effect on the orcas.

One of these primary variables is also one of the most significant elements in an orcas’ life; their sociality. Orcas have such a high degree of social awareness, (only humans are more complex and adaptable).In the wild, orcas live in pods; a matriarchal society wherein orcas stay with for their entire lives. The calves never leave their mothers and as stated previously, there is no interbreeding between different pods. Pods on average are about 80-90 strong, the largest coming closer to having 100 members (Cordey, 2015). It is due to this advanced ability of sociality that when pods are ripped apart (for example when a pod member is captured) this affects the entire lives of the pod members on an incomprehensible level, potentially being one of many factors that leads up to captive orcas suffering from a psychosis which can possibly lead up to attacks. Orca sociality is so crucial that they are defined by who they know, who thei r family is and who their friends are and their individual relationships with these animals. This social intelligence may be considered as humans giving the whales anthropomorphic and supposedly unrealistic characteristics however orca intelligence has been verified ever since orca neuroanatomy was made possible through Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI scan). Marine biologists studied an MRI scan of an orca brain (which are approximately 5000g) and discovered that it was incredibly similar to that of a human brain (Lori Marino, 2007). For instance the orca brain possesses an exceptional degree of development in the cerebral cortex, specifically in the insular cortex, temporal operculum and the cortical limbic lobe; these areas of the brain concern memory, generating emotions and social responses as well as visual processing (Marino, 2004). Orca sonar skills are exceptionally advanced and depending on what pod they’re from, orcas have actually been recorded to make consistent individual vocals within their separate pods. These diverse vocals have actually been identified as a form of different dialects, possibly even languages that are spoken between orca pods, (possibly being one of the factors why they do not interbreed between pods) while being yet another demonstration on their high degree of socialisation. This information on the neuroanatomy of orcas demonstrate how easily susceptible these mammals are to the stresses of captivity as their highly evolved brain unfortunately allows them to be influenced to a detrimental extent and therefore manipulated into performing tricks and stunts for our entertainment.

The misuse of the breeding program also clearly demonstrates the apparent unmoral motives that companies such as Seaworld maintain as well as their lack of regard for this exceptional species.

One of the primary reasons why Tilikum remains at Seaworld is because he is a key part of the breeding program, meaning he has been the most successful breeding male orca in captivity. Tilikum has sired a total of twenty calves, some including still-borns and miscarriages, and is a grandfather to five orcas, having a totally of twenty one compatible mates. However several of Tilikum’s calves were produced through in vitro fertilisation and artificial insemination, for example when the trainers wanted Tilikum to mate with one of the females despite not being compatible mates, Kasatka being one of these for example. (Cowperthwaite, 2013). However, following this, many of Tilikum’s children have had mutant calves of their own, and incest is a reoccurring thing in captivity, something that is non-existent in the wild. Possibly another factor which can have a devastating effect on an orca’s social structure is when calves and mothers are separated. This is a common thing in captivity, usually they’re separated for either convenience; the mother and the calf don’t work together efficiently during shows or they are separated due to money. Orcas can cost up to millions; Tilikum being worth approximately five million (his virility makes him worth so much) and many parks globally trade in their whales to other parks if needed. However the social effect that this has on mother and calf is unforgiveable. Kasatka and Takara are a perfect example of this, Kasatka was the mother, Takara the calf. They were separated when Takara was taking up too much of Kasatka’s attention during shows and Takara was moved to Seaworld Orlando in Florida. Following Takara’s absence Kasatka was recorded making long distance vocals; in attempt to look for her daughter. In the wild, calf and mother stay together for the rest of their lives until their deaths, making this separation being one of the most difficult and unnatural processes for these emotional beings. After this separation, Kasatka acted out various times showing aggression to trainers, orchestrating a near fatal incident in 2009 with trainer Ken Peters, following three attacks to the trainer several weeks beforehand. This incident consisted of Kasatka grabbing Peters by the leg and dragging him down underwater to 2 atmospheres of pressure for several minutes at a time. (Cowperthwaite, 2013) Peters survived this attack primarily to having scuba diving training in the past and was able to adapt to the pressure and breath intakes, however he was seconds away from death. Kasatka had never demonstrated any behaviour like this before her separation from Takara, providing the simplest response that it was this separation that drove Kasatka to act out like this, also making a contributing factor to the concept that captivity has a detrimental effect on killer whales.

After 55 years of orcas in captivity, whale on whale aggression is an expected behaviour. It is something that affects every orca regardless of gender, age or sheer size, due to the matriarchal social system. This system naturally demands a matriarch who is the leader of the pod. The matriarch may not necessarily be the oldest or the biggest however she will be the most socially dominant. This means that there is a natural pecking order, as there is in every group of animals (humans included), however establishing this hierarchy can more often than not be demonstrated through aggressive behaviour between orcas. Whale on whale aggression obviously occurs in the wild but at an incomparable and at a greatly reduced degree. If there is tension between two or more members of the pod, it is unlikely to be serious and even so there are miles of ocean for the victim to swim away from the situation. Pods in the wild also grow with one another; therefore a secure and stable matriarchal system is established and is able to slowly adjust whenever a new calf is born if it may interrupt the current system. However in captivity there is a completely different situation. The reason why it is at such a high level in captivity is primarily because the orcas descend from different pods and come from different oceans. As previously mentioned, wild pods do not associate with one another, and for good reason as each individual pod are so diverse and unique and almost maintain what one could call individual cultures with different languages, therefore it makes it near to impossible for captive orcas to communicate effectively resulting in dominative aggression attacks. So when orcas come within range of each other showing aggression it can usually be potentially high risk for both animals. Being contained in their pools makes sure neither one can escape from the situation, and lacerations (often called “rakes”) are part of everyday life in captivity for an orca. (Jett, 2011) In the past whale on whale aggression has resulted in fatalities of an orca, for example, in August 1989, following multiple aggressive attacks leading up to the crisis, one orca named Kandu V violently attempted to express dominance over another female named Corky, in which she charged from a back pool into the public show pool towards Corky where she fractured her jaw, severing an artery after which Kandu V bled to death (left photograph). (Cowperthwaite, 2013). There have been other episodes demonstrating serious whale on whale aggression where whales have been injured however this case was the only fatality, but despite this case being singular, it clearly shows a flaw in their social structure, as there have been no recorded whale on whale attack in the wild resulting in a fatality.

Once again Tilikum is a perfect case to discuss concerning this. Since his capture and being forced to live in a very small enclosure from such a young age, Tilikum was forced to spend his early years in captivity with two incredibly dominant female orcas, much larger than him and much more aggressive. They would continually rake Tilikum to inforce their dominance over him, raking meaning tooth on skin scratching, covering him all over in scratches from which he would sometimes bleed. (Cowperthwaite, 2013) It was during this time that Tilikum’s first victim, Keltie Byrne, was killed. Any psychiatrist would inform you this would qualify as having to endure a stressful and traumatic childhood, especially considering this would not occur in the wild. The argument could be made that it was also due to this that Tilikum has repeatedly lashed out at his captors, and that this was purely him expressing frustration from what was a traumatic past.

Relating back to the social structure of these whales, hunting is a huge element in not only an orcas life but also every other living being on the planet. By putting these natural born predators in captivity it takes them out of the food chain causing even more unnecessary stress and disorientation on their lives.

In the wild, orcas have a wide selection of prey; they have been documented to eat penguins, fur seals, Chinook salmon, herring, leatherback sea turtles, as well as grey whale calves, rays and even some species of shark (Cordey, 2015). In the wild an average adult killer whale consumes roughly three hundred and seventy five pounds of food per day; approximately one to four percent of its body weight (Anderson, 2006). In captivity however the contrast is evident. Captive orcas are forced to survive on a diet that consists solely of dead thawed fish. Parks such as SeaWorld freeze their fish due to prolong their expiration, however by freezing, storing and thawing the fish it reduces the fish’s natural nutritional value, as well as their level of water content. Because of this, trainers resort to stuffing the fish with vitamins and supplements and sometimes even antibiotics in attempt to maintain the whales’ health (Seaworld). In fact Tilikum was currently on antibiotics and antifungal drugs with an elevated white blood cell count during the time period within he attacked Dawn Brancheau (Jett, 2011).

Not only are captive orcas almost driven to the point of starvation, they are controlled principally through food deprivation. If an orca does not respond or act in what is considered to be a desirable way, trainers punish this behaviour by withholding food from them. In some cases, if a group of orcas are performing together and one of the orcas does not act as commanded to, this may result in the entire group punished with food deprivation. A primary example of their control through the use of food being withheld from them is when the orcas aren’t given their full daily food allowance before a show; it is halved so that the whales are as co-operative and compliant as possible with the trainers during the shows due to their hunger (Ventre, 2012). If analysing this one could consider this to be a form of blackmail or bribery, making one also wonder why do corporations such as Seaworld maintain these animals at their parks when they have to resort to withholding food from their animals to keep up appearances.

Leading on from this, the lack of hunting is what many consider another aspect of captivity that has a detrimental effect on orcas. Hunting is a vital element in the structure of an orca’s life yet despite this it is absent in captivity worldwide. These animals are top of the food-chain predators that are held captive and are involuntarily forced to perform tricks for food, and demanded to adapt to survive in response to their captors’ brutal requirements. Hunting is also a crucial social activity for wild orcas; it allows the pods to develop communication, trust and ability to work together, while also being a maturing process for the calves and younger orcas. This insults their refined evolution as well as their intelligence and is certainly another factor that has a detrimental effect on them and as this activity is absent in captivity it is therefore another absence in an orca’s social structure. Food deprivation was examined as being one of the short-term causes for the attack of Tilikum on Dawn Brancheau in 2010, recently discussed in the documentary “Blackfish”. During a “Dine with Shamu” show, Dawn had asked Tilikum for a behaviour however despite Tilikum performing this behaviour perfectly he was not rewarded due to the low fish rations per animal and Dawn carried on with the show without giving him any food. This understandably frustrated the animal and it was a mere few minutes later following this, that Tilikum grabbed Dawn and pulled her into the pool. But this animal is not vindictive or crazed; it is an animal with a traumatic past including a history of brutal mistreatment and has only lived up to its killer name, in the hands of captivity.

After vigilant analysis of each component of life within captivity that could potentially cause a detrimental effect on an orca, one can draw the conclusion that each aspect, be it tank sizes, pod separation, lack of hunting etc. all resolve in causing a detrimental effect both physically and mentally on an Orcinus Orca. These regal creatures are constantly being underestimated due to society’s lack of knowledge on their capability and instead are being mocked and corrupted through the use of captivity, a corporation which makes billions on the exploitation of animals. One can also draw from this conclusion that any attacks administered by these incredible creatures are not to be dismissed as mere random, aggressive and violent acts, in the circumstances of an attack it is an unjust assumption to assume that these orcas are acting out due to their supposedly aggressive nature; this is a foolish misinterpretation of what is a natural responding instinct to a brutal lifestyle that opposes their entire natural way of being. After observing this information it is impossible to compare the actions of a wild killer whale to the actions of a captive killer whale; they have completely different mind sets the latter; caged within an enforced, depraving and completely artificial environment. One is able to verify this after identifying each individual variable that occurs within captivity, evaluating this information and now understanding that captivity is a malevolent and malicious activity when applied to these complex mammals.

Despite Seaworld recently releasing an official statement concluding they will be stopping the orca breeding program, the exploitation of the whales will continue to do so until the final generation are gone, this minimal progress having taken over fifty years of unsuccessful orca captivity and four human fatalities to have effect.