When Blackfish came out in 2013 I was utterly and completely wrecked. In 2007 my family took a vacation to Florida and one of our stops was the 'iconic' SeaWorld. Being there at the age of 17 was interesting: my heart didn't necessarily break seeing these magnificent creatures because I was 17 and I was getting the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures, and when is this going to happen again!? I definitely had thoughts that they surely did not have enough space to swim and knew that only captive orcas have bent dorsal fins but it sort of ended there. I was a sheep who bought what SeaWorld was selling and took their word that these animals were being well cared for.
Well, fast forward to Blackfish. The tears. The heartache. I actually felt sick knowing that I had contributed to the tourist joy that kept practices like that alive (sorry mom, I enjoyed it at the time but HOW COULD WE). Afterwards I became obsessed with orcas and everything there was to learn about them. The things I learned in turn made Blackfish even worse for me!
Tilikum died at the age of 36. 36! This is just over ⅓ of the lifespan of wild orcas. Horrible. According to SeaWorld, though, 36 is the age whales live to in the wild. What did he die from? A severe respiratory infection; something that has never been documented in the wild. Whales in recent years deaths have died from diseases transmitted from mosquitos. You guessed it! This has also only been documented in captivity. In the wild orcas do not spend large amounts of time at the surface which is the direct opposite at SeaWorld; the whales are constantly basking listless at the surface; where the bugs are (also the cause of the collapsed dorsal fin - the lack of support from the moving water from swimming).
Other knowledge for ya:
The reason why so many baby orcas die after birth in captivity is because their mothers are much too young and were not taught how to be a proper mother like they would have in the wild and tend to shun the newborns.
Since the whales kept at SeaWorld were captured from all different areas of the Earth they literally could not speak to each other. So, in addition to being confined to an extremely small, overcrowded space, these whales were not even able to communicate. I would go crazy, too.
No person has ever reported obtaining an injury from a killer whale in the wild. And yet SeaWorld (and Tilikum's former 'home' Sealand) are unwilling to admit that the circumstances surrounding the incidents in which he killed individuals were the cause of the behavior.
If any of these facts spark your interest I recommend these three books:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish - John Hargrove
This books speaks about his time as a trainer with SeaWorld, why he stayed and ultimately left and is filled with various facts about orcas and more details into the depths of SeaWorld.
Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity - David Kirby
Contains scientific information and reports from well educated individuals and scientists/marine biologists. Often gets jargony but for the most part reads like a novel.
The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna - Michael Parfit + Suzanne Chisholm
Chronicles the life of Luna. A young whale who got separated from his pod and found solace in an inlet in the middle of a village. He eventually becomes a 'menace' to daily life for the inhabitants and tells of their efforts to get him back out to sea.
He's finally free.
Leia
Well, fast forward to Blackfish. The tears. The heartache. I actually felt sick knowing that I had contributed to the tourist joy that kept practices like that alive (sorry mom, I enjoyed it at the time but HOW COULD WE). Afterwards I became obsessed with orcas and everything there was to learn about them. The things I learned in turn made Blackfish even worse for me!
Tilikum died at the age of 36. 36! This is just over ⅓ of the lifespan of wild orcas. Horrible. According to SeaWorld, though, 36 is the age whales live to in the wild. What did he die from? A severe respiratory infection; something that has never been documented in the wild. Whales in recent years deaths have died from diseases transmitted from mosquitos. You guessed it! This has also only been documented in captivity. In the wild orcas do not spend large amounts of time at the surface which is the direct opposite at SeaWorld; the whales are constantly basking listless at the surface; where the bugs are (also the cause of the collapsed dorsal fin - the lack of support from the moving water from swimming).
Other knowledge for ya:
The reason why so many baby orcas die after birth in captivity is because their mothers are much too young and were not taught how to be a proper mother like they would have in the wild and tend to shun the newborns.
Since the whales kept at SeaWorld were captured from all different areas of the Earth they literally could not speak to each other. So, in addition to being confined to an extremely small, overcrowded space, these whales were not even able to communicate. I would go crazy, too.
No person has ever reported obtaining an injury from a killer whale in the wild. And yet SeaWorld (and Tilikum's former 'home' Sealand) are unwilling to admit that the circumstances surrounding the incidents in which he killed individuals were the cause of the behavior.
If any of these facts spark your interest I recommend these three books:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish - John Hargrove
This books speaks about his time as a trainer with SeaWorld, why he stayed and ultimately left and is filled with various facts about orcas and more details into the depths of SeaWorld.
Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity - David Kirby
Contains scientific information and reports from well educated individuals and scientists/marine biologists. Often gets jargony but for the most part reads like a novel.
The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna - Michael Parfit + Suzanne Chisholm
Chronicles the life of Luna. A young whale who got separated from his pod and found solace in an inlet in the middle of a village. He eventually becomes a 'menace' to daily life for the inhabitants and tells of their efforts to get him back out to sea.
He's finally free.
Leia
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