Three facilities in the U.S. currently maintain orcas for public display: four Sea World parks (California, Ohio, Florida and Texas), Marineworld Africa USA in Vallejo, California; and Miami Seaquarium in Florida. From 1964 to 1989, 138 orcas were captured for aquariums worldwide. As of 1993, only 35 of these animals remain alive.
Marine parks insist that the tricks featured during show performances are all extensions of natural behaviors. In reality, these animals do not naturally catapult humans into the air, or allow humans to ride them, walk on them, or climb on them.
Although attempts are made to incorporate a few facts about the species during scheduled show performances, it is the visual images of leaping, breaching, and splashing which visitors remember. Some facilities even allow children from the audience to be "hugged" and "kissed", or to sit upon the orca's back for souvenir photographs. The message conveyed in these performances is that these animals are gentle; the fact that they are large, unpredictable predators is lost. Furthermore, the audience learns nothing about the real animals behind these entertaining cartoonish "characters," and nothing about what their lives are like, either in captivity or in the wild.
While marine parks and aquariums have been largely responsible for the interest and popularity of orcas, public attitudes are increasingly questioning confinement. The visitors' interest may inevitably lead to innocent, but possibly embarrassing, questions about the animals they see. Why is the killer whale's dorsal fin practically lying flat on its back? The drooping fin syndrome is not normal in wild orcas; in mature males the dorsal fin may stand nearly six feet high. While the fin may begin to lean or curl, only two males have been observed in the wild with a completely flattened dorsal fin. No explanation has been discovered for the drooping fin in captive orcas.
The phrase most often cited to justify the captive maintenance of orcas is the success of captive breeding. Captive breeding programs for this or other species cannot be accurately assessed unless facilities are required to report stillbirths and infant mortalities. Of the 22 known orca pregnancies at U.S. facilities, 7 offspring have survived to date. (August, 1993) These figures seriously call into question the orca's ability to reproduce in confinement after nearly 30 years of captive maintenance.
Each individual orca in the waters of British Columbia and Washington state has been photo-identified and alpha-numerically named by distinctive markings as unique as human fingerprints. Considered to be the best studied marine mammals in the world, virtually all living orcas in the Pacific Northwest have complete family histories compiled by researchers. Their social organization has been classified by communities, pods, and sub-pods. The maternal group, or sub-pod, is the basic social unit consisting of a mother, her adult son, her adult daughters, and offspring of her daughters. In this remarkable social structure, calves never leave their mothers, and a pod's adult males are not the breeding bulls, but older sons. No orca has yet been seen to transfer permanently from one pod to another. From the study of acoustical recordings, it is known that each pod retains a pod-specific dialect of vocalizations used in communication. Even after decades in captivity, orcas continue to produce the sounds of their natal pod. Some researchers believe the orca may be the most socially bonded species on earth.
It is clear that confinement alters behavior so radically that captives cannot
depict a true sense of the species they represent. The level of aggression in
captive orcas -- presenting life-threatening risks to other animals and their
trainers/handlers -- has never been observed in wild populations. Captives have
died from many causes, but none as spectacular and tragic as those from
self-inflicted trauma, from internal injuries resulting from aggression of
incompatible animals, and from shattered skulls from collisions with pool walls
caused by panic
responses. Aggression levels often escalate when animals are
transferred from one facility to another and have to adjust to new social
groups. Trainers at numerous facilities have been injured, some severely, and
one fatally. Although safety measures have been implemented for trainers who
work in the water with orcas, there is no escape for the animal if a
threatening situation arises.
Amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act passed in 1988 now require public display facilities to incorporate education and conservation into their programs. Zoos and aquariums often defeat the purpose of conservation by featuring exotic or popular animals who draw crowds and publicity, while undermining the concept of protecting the species itself or its natural habitat. While the captive industry continues to justify public display based on the false premise of raising public awareness of the species they maintain, more can be learned and in far greater detail through whale watching, books, and documentary films than from patronizing public display facilities.
Another disturbing aspect of the captive industry is that of obtaining orcas from Iceland, a nation which continues commercial whaling. And the practices involved in capture, acclimation, and transport are questionable at best. How is the public expected to believe there is a genuine commitment to conservation with such a hidden agenda?
Given the great size as well as the physiological and social complexity of these magnificent animals, their captivity poses deeply disturbing questions. The ethical mandate to act responsibly for the animals` welfare outweighs every justification attempted by the captive industry. Jean-Michel Cousteau has said, "Aquariums, particularly marine mammal circus acts, are bound to disappear as the public is educated and revolts against it."
Habitat: Worldwide, but usually the colder waters of British Columbia, Alaska, North Atlantic & Antarctica.
Range: May travel up to 100 miles each day; however 35-50 is typical.
Diet: Fish (salmon, cod, herring & others), squid; predatory: seals, sea lions, occasionally other cetaceans.
Communication: Each retains a unique pod-specific vocalization; clicks, body language and sonar.
Gestation: 17 months.
Longevity: Males average 29.2 years (50-60 years maximum). Females average 50.2 years (80-90 years maximum).