The welfare issues of killer whales in captivity

The first killer whale captured was in 1961. She was a female named Wanda, and lived for only two days at Marineland of the Pacific, in California¹. To date there are approximately 59 orcas in captivity², however the exact figure is not known due to the lack of information on the orcas held in Russia and China. Over the course of almost 60 years, 169 orcas have sadly lost their lives in captivity¹. In the early years of the industry, the orcas in captivity had a short life span (on average 5 years), due to a lack of husbandry understanding. The most common cause of death in captivity thus far has been pneumonia¹, making up a third of deaths. The captivity industry has been heavily opposed, particularly after the release of Blackfish (2013). Many ethical reasons for the opposition of captivity include the confinement in small tanks, their broken up family units (both in the wild and in captivity) and their reduced life spans³. The welfare of captive orcas is also under question, the main issues being discussed below.

Stereotypies

Abnormal repetitive behaviours, also known as stereotypies, are often regarded as an indicator of poor welfare⁴. Stereotypies are poorly understand in cetaceans, however circular swimming is often regarded as a stereotypical behaviour⁵, in the same way as pacing in terrestrial animals. Other stereotypies observed in captive orcas include: vomiting, head bobbing, comatose-like states, self-mutilation, and tongue playing⁶. Many of the orcas have also been observed as repetitively beaching themselves on the slide-out outside of performance times, which I have personally observed Skyla doing at Loro Parque in 2012. One of the more concerning abnormal behaviours, which can affect their physical health is biting on the bars, gates, or tank walls. The Loro Parque orcas, when they first arrived, were constantly stripping the paint off the tank walls and ingesting it. This behaviour leads onto the next welfare issue that captive orcas face.

Dental health

Although primarily a health issue this could also be considered a welfare issue. As the orcas bite on the concrete walls of their tanks, they wear down their teeth. Very few orcas in captivity have a full set of healthy teeth. As the teeth are worn down, the pup cavities become exposed. The trainers then have to intervene by either drilling their teeth or flushing the teeth to prevent infections⁷. These procedures must be very stressful for the orcas.  

Sun burn

This is an unusual welfare issue that the orcas encounter. As the captive orcas spend most of their life at the surface, they are more exposed to the sun’s UV rays than their wild counterparts. As a result, trainers must apply black zinc oxide as a sunscreen to the orcas, which is not necessary in the wild. Many of the SeaWorld orcas are in states that receive a lot of sun, and the stadiums lack appropriate shade to protect the orcas.

Disease/infections

Diseases and infections are of course a natural part of life. Orcas in the wild will also face these issues too. However, captivity has exposed some orcas to conditions that they may not face in the wild. Two male orcas have died in captivity as a result of disease transmission by mosquitoes. Kanduke* contracted St.Louis encephalitis virus in SeaWorld Orlando and Taku* died of West Nile Virus at SeaWorld San Antonio⁸. Kasatka* was also euthanized by vets after suffering from a type of bacterial pneumonia, which caused many unpleasant lesions on her skin⁹.

Injuries

Along with poor health caused by disease and infections, captive orcas also experience injuries as a result of their confinement. Splash*, was a male orca at SeaWorld San Diego, who received a jaw injury after having a seizure and smashing his lower jaw on a metal gate. He didn’t die as a result of this injury, however he had to have all of his bottom teeth removed and could never close it properly again¹⁰. Nakai also received a horrific injury to his lower jaw in 2012. Nakai had a massive open wound that went down to the bone. SeaWorld tried to pretend the injury was caused by Nakai catching himself on a gate, however it is possible it was the result of an altercation between a tank mate, as potential bite marks can be observed in photographs¹¹. Fortunately Nakai recovered from this.

Social stress

Linking with Nakai’s injury, which was caused by an altercation, social stress is a prominent issue in captivity. The orcas are placed into unnatural groups. You get orcas from different ocean’s kept together, who naturally feed on different diets, and then experience family separations as orcas are transferred between parks. The orcas of Loro Parque were a key example of an unnatural grouping as Keto (aged 10), Tekoa (aged 5), Kohana (aged 3) and Skyla (aged 2) were transported there. The group did not have an adult female present to keep them in line, which goes against an orcas natural matriarchal society¹². As a result, the group is very dysfunctional. Social stress can lead to orcas bullying each other, and the bullied orca is unable to escape as they would in the wild. Many captive orcas can be seen with deep rake marks.

Solitary confinement
Sadly, there are currently three orcas in captivity that live without another orca companion - Lolita at Miami Seaqurium, Kshamenk at Mundo Marino and Kiska at Marineland Canada. Kiska is the most isolated of all, as she doesn't have any form of tank mate. Lolita and Kshamenk do in fact live with dolphin companions. Lolita has shockingly spent the last 40 years alone, whereas Kshamenk has been without a partner for 20 years and Kiska for almost 9 years. For a social species, this isolation must be incredibly lonely. It is a wonder how these individuals have lasted as long as they have, particularly Lolita. 

Welfare improvements

Although I don’t have the answers to easing all of the above listed welfare problems, I have done some thinking on potential welfare improvements. For example, for the orcas that live alone (Lolita, Kiska and Kshamenk), I think feeding them live fish would be a good enrichment. I initially thought about it being used for all orcas, but was unsure as to whether live fish for multiple orcas may cause aggression problems if they fought over the food, and that’s why I thought it would be best suited for solitary orcas. Alternatively, live fish could still be fed to orcas in groups, but the orcas are sectioned off from each other (as can be done at Marineland France).

I also read an article by Law and Kitchener 2016¹³ (Law was my lecturer at Glasgow University), and they had suggested several environmental enrichment options for captive orcas. Law had visited SeaWorld Orlando, and created these ideas, however when I visited Orlando in 2018, I never saw any of his suggestions in place. He said this could be due to the higher up people, rather than the trainers, not willing to invest in the complex enrichment for the orcas. However, if the higher ups could be convinced, these enrichment devices could hopefully be applied to improve the welfare of the orcas.

In terms of performing, I do not believe that making orcas perform entirely reduces their welfare. As many orcas are inactive at the surface the majority of their day, shows are a good change of pace. However some alterations could be to remove the most unnatural tricks (like using the slideout) and the stadium music could be changed. The music is often loud and blaring for the auditions, and so the music could be changed to be more naturalistic, calmer, ocean sounds so as not to disturb the orcas.

For the orcas that live alone, I am uncertain as how this should be addressed. The most obvious answer would be to move them to parks that have other orcas. However, having spent so long alone, entering a new social group could be incredibly stressful. The orcas that live with others aren't necessarily happier, because social hierarchies can cause conflict, and having the addition of new members can disturb the structure. For Lolita and Kshamenk who have managed this long, maybe keeping things as they are is the best solution, however Kiska's complete isolation really needs to be changed.

Regardless of your views on captivity, we still may have orcas for another 30 years, whilst this current generation dies out. Therefore it is important, that their welfare needs are met as best as possible, so that they can live out the remainder of their lives without further stress and illness.

References

1/ https://inherentlywild.co.uk/deceased-orcas/

2/ https://inherentlywild.co.uk/captive-orcas/

3/ https://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/8-reasons-orcas-dont-belong-seaworld/

4/ Broom DM 1991 Animal welfare: concepts and measurement. Journal of Animal Science 69: 4167-4175

5/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fabienne_Delfour/publication/316855744_Applying_welfare_science_to_bottlenose_dolphins_Tursiops_truncatus/links/59143d500f7e9b70f49aac5d/Applying-welfare-science-to-bottlenose-dolphins-Tursiops-truncatus.pdf

6/ https://cetaceaninspiration.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/stereotypical-behavior-in-captive-whales-and-dolphins/

7/ https://www.seaworldofhurt.com/study-tooth-damage-captive-orcas/

8/ http://www.oers.ca/journal/volume5/issue2/caseReport_vol5iss2.pdf

9/ https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/seaworld-kasatka-chin-lesions

10/ http://www.orcaaware.org/splash.html

11/ https://www.peta.org/blog/orca-badly-hurt-seaworld-clash/

12/ https://wildwhales.org/speciesid/whales/killer-whale/

13/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144829/1/144829.pdf

My view on orcas in captivity - updated

So I’ve decided to once again reflect on my view on the keeping of orcas in captivity. And once again, I don’t feel overly black and white on the matter. I don’t feel that I have a strong opinion either way. Over half my life I have been following the captive orca industry, and I feel a connection to these individuals that I have come to know. When I watched Blackfish for the first time back in 2013, I sat there feeling very uncomfortable, because everything they highlighted I already knew about, and I still hadn’t been swayed to an anti-captivity opinion (which obviously the movie wanted to make you feel). As the public opposition to the captive industry grew, I’ve almost felt as if I have had to hide the fact that I still want to see captive orcas. I’ve been labelled a hypocrite for studying animal welfare yet not being anti-captivity. It is actually an ambition of mine to do a world tour of every park around the world that has orcas, and I want to do this to honour my 11 year old self who gained this unique interest. I hope to do this over a few months in perhaps 2023, once I have saved enough money.

But my point is, just because I want to see orcas in captivity, does not mean I am pro-captivity. The welfare issues that orcas suffer from mean that captive enclosures are not suitable for them. I disagree with the artificial social groupings, and inability for the orcas to escape each other, which can lead to heightened aggression. I’ve seen the rake marks on orcas, even on 4 day old Athena (back in 2004), which may not be so prevalent in wild populations. Fortunately the Western parks seem to have stopped transferring their orcas around (the last orca being transferred between parks was Shouka in August 2012 to SeaWorld San Diego)[1], and separating mothers and calves, which may have been a result of The Blackfish Effect. It’s also very depressing when visiting the parks and to see many of them floating at the surface so lifelessly (which I remember very well Keet being like this). It’s as if they are completely disengaged from each other and their surroundings. I’m very pleased that SeaWorld announced this would be their last generations of orcas in 2016 [2], and it seems to be the case for the other Western parks too (except for Loro Parque who gained baby Ula in September 2018).

However, I am not entirely sold on the sea pen proposal anymore. After doing some reading, I actually found it very interesting that sea pens may not be the best option after all. Ocean noise is actually a serious problem for wild cetaceans (and has caused many cetaceans to strand and die)[3], and therefore being in a sea pen they may be exposed to such uncontrollable noises. There is also the risk of people cutting the sea pens and releasing the orcas into the wild (many of which, the captive-born ones, probably won’t be able to survive for too long). It is also possible that plastic and other debris may get inside the sea pen. The maintenance of sea pens is actually seemingly very complex, with different challenges to captive enclosures. The financial cost of transferring every captive orca into a sea pen would also be incredibly high. The cost to rehabilitate Keiko in Iceland, was supposedly $20 million [34]. Granted, this was a rehabilitation effort, whereas the aim of the relocating captive orcas into sea pens isn’t to release them, this does still show that it would be far from inexpensive. Cost aside, I also don’t even think the parks will surrender their orcas to this project – activists have been campaigning for Lolita to be moved from the Miami Seaquarium for decades, and have yet to have any success, therefore I can’t see the parks will give up their orcas for this cause.

Therefore, I think the most realistic option is to just let this remaining generation of orcas live out the rest of their lives in captivity. And whilst they must remain in captivity, they will be under the care of trainers who genuinely do love the orcas and want what’s best for them. Trainers are not bad people at all. I’m still indecisive on whether orcas should perform or not. As said above, I have seen orcas be very inactive in-between shows, therefore I don’t think that shows are entirely bad, as they do offer a change of pace for the orcas. However some of the unnatural tricks could definitely be phased out, such as making orcas “break-spin” on the slide outs.

As I’ve said in my 2015 post, I am very concerned about the growing orca industry in the East. I do not support orcas being taken from the wild. I am also concerned about the welfare issues that the orcas may face in these countries (as I have seen first-hand poor welfare conditions for bears in China). This is going to be a difficult matter to tackle. Fortunately there was mass public outcry at the captures of the orcas and belugas being held in the “Whale Jail” in Russia in 2018/2019, which led to their release [5]. Therefore, hopefully it is less likely that any further wild captures will go ahead, as the world is now watching. But as the captive orca industry in the East is in its early stages, it may take a while for them to reach the point that we are at now in the West.

I’m sure within my lifetime I will see the end of the captive orca industry in its entirety, which is the best outcome for the orcas welfare. However, whilst I still have the chance, I do want to take advantage of the possibility of seeing the captive orcas I have come to know, before it becomes a thing of the past…

References

[1] https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/seaworld-san-diego-whale-arrival-lindbergh-field-vallejo-shouka/1931996/

[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/17/us/seaworld-last-generation-of-orcas/index.html

[3] https://awionline.org/content/ocean-noise

[4] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-20m-lessons-of-freeing-keiko-the-whale/

[5] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/06/russia-moves-orcas-and-belugas-from-whale-jail/

A brief history of UK dolphinariums

The holding of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity dates back to the 1800s. The first cetaceans held in captivity were a pair of belugas, captured in Canada in 1861, and held in PT Barnum’s American Museum in New York [1]. In total he took nine belugas into captivity, but due to being unable to keep them alive for too long, he eventually stopped taking belugas by 1865 [1]. The industry gained momentum in the 1960s, due to the movie and TV show Flipper [2]. Since then, cetaceans have been held in captivity on every continent (except for Antarctica).

The UK’s first captive cetaceans were harbour porpoises held at the Brighton Aquarium as early as 1874 [3]. A female beluga whale also survived for only four days at the Westminster Aquarium in 1877 [4]. The following year, another beluga replaced the one at Westminster Aquarium, and an additional two were sent to Manchester and Blackpool, supposedly supplied by PT Burnam [5].

As with the global industry, the UK dolphinarium industry took off from the 1960s. The first purpose built dolphinarium was at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire in 1963 [6]. Over a 30 year period, more than 30 dolphinariums and travelling shows existed in the UK, housing approximately 300 dolphins [7]. Some of the facilities were only seasonal shows, whereas the majority were permanent fixtures. Of the species kept, the most popular were bottlenose dolphins, but the UK also held 8 orcas, and belugas and pilot whales temporarily. For a full list of the facilities where the dolphins were held, see below.

The conditions that the UK’s captive cetaceans were kept in were extremely inadequate, due to a lack of regulation. Many were held in swimming pools meant for people or in indoor facilities with no natural light. It wasn’t until 1984 that the Zoo Licensing Act came into place, which enforced some husbandry standards. However, after a review of UK dolphinariums it was deemed that many facilities were not keeping dolphins in appropriate conditions. A report titled ‘A Review of Dolphinaria’ by Klinowska and Brown concluded that their recommendations for holding cetaceans in captivity, such as increasing the pool size, should be implemented no later than 1993 [6].

For many years, the keeping of cetaceans in captivity was fiercely opposed, which in 1991 sparked the project Into The Blue. Supported by the Born Free Foundation and World Society of Protection of Animals, the group campaigned to close the remaining dolphinariums in the UK and also release a select few dolphins. The chosen candidates were Rocky from Marineland Morecambe, and Missie and Silver from Brighton Aquarium. They were transferred to a rehabilitation pen in the Caribbean in early 1991, and then released from the West Caicos Island in September 1991 [6].

After the phasing out of dolphinariums, the final dolphins housed in the UK at Flamingo Land were sent to a facility in Europe in 1993 [6]. There has never been any cetaceans in captivity in the UK since then.

Currently, under UK law it is still legal to house cetaceans in captivity. However, the requirements to house them have been set to such a high standard, that no facility has been willing to implement them, and therefore, will not hold cetaceans.

List of UK dolphinariums

* = seasonal show / ** = held orcas

60s

+ Blackpool Dolphinarium (Blackpool, England) - 1969*

70s

+ Gwrych Castle (Abergele, Wales) - 1970*

+ Durley Chine (Bournemouth, England) – 1970*

+ Weymouth Dolphinarium (Weymouth, England) - 1971*

+ Battersea Park Dolphinarium (London, England) - 1971 - 1973

+ London Dolphinarium (London, England) - 1971 – 1973

+ Southsea Dolphinarium (Portsmouth, England) - 1973*

+ Cleethorpes Marineland & Zoo (Cleethorpes, England) - 1966 - 1974** (Calypso)

+ Porthcawl Dolphinarium (Porthcawl, Wales) - 1971 - 1974

+ Dudley Zoo (Dudley, England) - 1971 - 1974** (Cuddles)

+ South Elmsall Animal Training School And Dolphinarium (South Elmsall, England) - 1972 - 1974

+ Rhyl Dolphinarium (Rhyl, Wales) - 1972 - 1974

+ Brean Down Dolphinarium (Brean Down, England) - 1974*

+ Southend Dolphinarium (Southend-on-Sea, England) - 1970 - 1975

+ Skegness Dolphinarium (Skegness, England) - 1972 - 1975

+ Coventry Zoo Dolphinarium (Coventry, England) - 1972 - 1975

+ Ocean Park (Sunderland, England) - 1973 - 1975

+ Royalty Folies (London, England) - 1974*

+ Sandown Dolphinarium (Isle Of Wight, England) - 1974 - 1975

+ West Midlands Safari Park Dolphinarium (Kidderminster, England) - 1975*

+ Queen’s Motel Dolphinarium (Margate, England) - 1969 - 1977

80s

+ Woburn Safari Park Dolphinarium (Woburn, England) - 1973 - 1983

+ Scarborough Marineland and Zoo (Scarborough, England) - 1969 - 1984

+ Blair Drummond Safari Park Dolphinarium (Stirling, Scotland) - 1974 - 1984

+ Clacton Pier Dolphinarium (Clacton-on-Sea, England) - 1971 - 1985** (Unnamed, Suzi Wong/Hoi Wai, Neptune, Nemo)

+ Knowsley Safari Park Dolphinarium (Knowsley, England) - 1972 - 1985

+ Whipsnade Zoo (Whipsnade, England) - 1972 - 1988

90s

+ Marineland (Morecambe, England) - 1964 - 1990

+ Brighton Aquarium and Dolphinarium (Brighton, England) - 1968 - 1990

+ Windsor Safari Park (Windsor, England) - 1970 - 1992** (Ramu 3/Winston, Suzi Wong/Hoi Wai, Winnie, Nemo)

+ Flamingo Land (Kirby, England) - 1963 - 1993** (Cuddles)

References

[1] https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/april-2018/barnums-whales-the-showman-and-the-forging-of-modern-animal-captivity

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphinarium

[3] https://teamcetaceans.tumblr.com/post/116113755968/brighton-aquarium-uk-and-cetaceans-the

[4] https://seahistory.org/sea-history-for-kids/beluga-whale/

[5] https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/royal-aquarium-westminster.222241/

[6] http://ukdolphinaria.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-uk-dolphinaria-archieve.html

[7] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35832175

Loro Parque trip report - April 2019

Shortly after the announcement of the birth of baby Ula in September 2018, I convinced my mum to book us a trip to Tenerife for April 2019. I was excited to go and see what could possibly be the last baby orca born in captivity, as the industry is facing many changes and appears to be dying out. The last time we went was April 2012, so a whole 7 years previously. The last time we went was after the deaths of Alexis Martinez and Dawn Brancheau, but before Blackfish has been released. So the last time was before the anti-captivity movement had really picked up momentum.

After a few days in Tenerife, we finally went to Loro Parque on the 5^th April. Whenever I go to an orca marine park, my first stop is always to race over to the orcas. My mother and I headed straight over to Orca Ocean, but when we were arrived, there were tall gates where nothing was visible inside the stadium. This was new since our previous visit. We then went to the dolphin show, and I used to previously go right to the top of the steps of the dolphin stadium and stand at the back and look over the ledge to be able to see the orcas. This now also had barriers up to prevent anyone from seeing the orcas. This isn’t too dissimilar to when I went to SeaWorld and Miami Seaquarium last year. Marine parks are seemingly making it near impossible to view orcas outside of show times now. My guess is that this has occurred in response to the Blackfish movement, and the marine parks are trying to prevent activists and anti-captivity people from taking footage of the orcas.  

Unable to watch the orcas during the dolphin show like I used to, I sat and watched the dolphin show instead. However, I did not feel entertained at all. I felt like I was watching a circus show. I did not feel as if the dolphins were being respected at all. And it was on that day I vowed I would never watch a dolphin show again (not including orcas). Now it may seem strange to people to read that I would be willing to boycott a dolphin show, but not an orca show, and I have done some thinking over this. As I do not know these dolphins individually, I realised I have more of an objective opinion regarding their situation. I don’t like what I see. But as I know each of the orcas by name, and I can recognize them, I have more of an emotional attachment towards them, and so I feel excited about seeing these individuals that I have come to know. This may not sound logical to an outsider, but its just how it is for me.

After the dolphin show, the orca show was on next so we went on through, and I finally got to see Baby Ula! At that time, she was in the back medical pool alone, however her mum Morgan got transferred in with her, whilst the other 5 orcas performed in the show. Prior to coming, I had read a lot of reports online that anti-captivity people were saying that baby Ula was sick/dying. I have to say, these reports seemed very inaccurate to me. I saw a healthy baby who was very active, interacting with her mother and jumping out the water. Physically and behaviourally, I did not see any signs of a sick baby. I also witnessed trainers performing target practice with Ula already, such as getting her to follow their hands and her be reinforced with rub downs.

Whilst in Tenerife me and mum visited Loro Parque a total of two times. And we attended every single orca show, just so I could have as much viewing time of baby Ula and the other orcas. As mentioned, baby Ula was very active and probably the most active of all the orcas. Outside of show times, most of the other orcas seemed very lethargic. Morgan was probably the second most active, as she would jump out the water at times, which Ula would copy. And then after that, I saw Adan sliding out to try and grab a ball on the other side of the pool. But other than that, the orcas didn’t do a whole lot before and after shows. Again, aside from Morgan and Ula, I also feel as if I saw very little social interaction between the orcas. They just seemed to swim in their own circular patterns, not taking much notice of each other. Before one of the shows, Adan was seen floating motionless by one of the gates. My guess was that he was interested in what Ula and Morgan were doing in the pool behind, and given the chance he would probably be interacting with them if he could. But I guess the lack of social interaction is attributed to the fact that this is an artificial family unit, and not one that a wild family would be made up of. A counter argument that trainers may say is that I was only viewing the orcas for a very small portion of the day, and they, who get to spend most of their day with the orcas, have witnessed regular social interactions between the orcas. But unfortunately I saw evidence of negative orca interactions, as I could see the rake marks on Adan, who after Ula is the youngest of the group. Prior to one of the shows, Kohana was also tail slapping around the show pool, which is supposedly a sign of agitation. So yeah, there was evidence of things not being fully great for the orcas. But as for Ula, she appears fine, and hopefully she doesn’t meet a premature end like Vicky..

Orca News

Another orca has been added to the captive population, with Morgan giving birth to her first calf on 22nd September 2018. It is unknown what sex the baby is yet, or who sired the calf, but it is most likely to be Keto, the largest male at Loro Parque. As Morgan was only a calf herself when she was 'rescued', and that none of the other female orcas at Loro Parque were raised with their mothers for a sufficient amount of time, it is possible that the calf may be rejected, as Kohana did to her calves, Adan and Victoria*. However it is still early days, and hopefully Morgan will have her maternal instincts to care for her calf as best she can..

UPDATE - The calf is a little female and has been named Ula!

Trip summary/review of Florida’s two captive orca parks - 1/2/3 May 2018

In early May 2018, I took a trip to Florida for several reasons: I hadn’t been in 16 years, I wanted to swim with wild manatees and go to Rockville Festival. But the primary reason was to visit Florida’s two facilities that currently hold captive killer whales: SeaWorld and Miami Seaquarium. Going to these places has an air of controversy about it. A colleague of mine went to Orlando the week before I, and sheepishly admitted that he went to SeaWorld. I told him I didn’t judge him, but I understood his hesitance in telling me, for fear of being judged harshly.

Now let me clear this up. I have a grey opinion when it comes to orcas in captivity. Despite the colouration of these beautiful creatures, I don’t feel black and white when it comes to this. Yes I attend captive facilities, but that doesn’t mean I support them. That doesn’t mean I support ‘abuse’ as some people will call it. I am thrilled that the Blackfish movement has meant that the captive orca industry is dying out in North America, and it angers me that Russia and China are trying to ignite theirs. I am hopeful of a time where orcas are no longer in captivity. However – whilst they are still there, I do have the desire to go see them. In fact I would like to see all the captive orcas around the world, and the reason for this is because I have been following their life histories for the last 15 years and therefore know a great deal about each individual. I have also had a particular interest in seeing Lolita, because she is such an extraordinary orca. She is famed for living in the world’s smallest orca tank, which activists have been fighting to get her removed from, and she has lived in it without another orca companion for the last 38 years. How is it that she has managed to live for almost 50 years in the world’s smallest tank, yet other captive orcas have met premature ends? (such as SeaWorld’s last calf, Kyara, who lived for only 3 months). This was something I hope would get answered on my trip to Florida. 

SeaWorld Orlando was the first park I visited on my trip. I arrived around 1pm and went straight over to the Shamu Stadium. A private Dine With Shamu was going on, and I was able to go inside the stadium once it had finished. Swimming in the main show pool, the first orca recognisable to me was Katina. She is easily identifiable with her dorsal fin flopped over to her left at a 90 degree angle. And then I noticed, at the base of her dorsal fin, the wound that I had recently seen photos of. About a month ago, Katina sustained a V-like chunk missing from her dorsal, which I suspect may have been caused by tank mate Kayla. The entire time I was at SeaWorld I saw the orcas paired into two groups, the groups consisting of Katina, and her two children, Nalani and Makaio; the other group being Kayla, Trua and Malia. Before the 5pm show, I spoke to a trainer and he said that they found it better to keep the orcas in those groups of three, and my suspicion is that, as Kayla is the second oldest female of the group, she and Katina probably had had a conflict, and so SeaWorld decided to keep the females separated and had kept them grouped like that since.  

My chances to see the orcas were restricted to primarily only 45 mins before, during and slightly after show times. The orcas were no longer kept in the Dine With Shamu pool, which has the underwater viewing area, as four Pilot Whales now inhabit there. On the first day, when I had returned to the stadium 30 minutes before the 5pm show, I saw that they had rotated the groups around, so that it was now Kayla, Trua and Malia in the show pool. I went over to the far right side of the pool, where the trainers were, which was when I spoke to one of them. Trua was at the glass, watching us. The trainer said he liked people watching. He then swam away when the trainer left. Malia was very interesting to watch, as she would take a fish in her mouth and try to bait the birds with it. Kayla was mostly lapping around the pool, until the orcas had their attention on the trainer stood on the right stage staircase. It was then show time, and all orcas were featured accept Katina. But after the show, Katina, Nalani and Makaio were held in the show pool, whilst the other group went into the back pools.

I returned to SeaWorld the following day, arriving in the morning. I headed over to Shamu Stadium to get in early for the 11.30am Ocean Discovery show. Again, Katina, Nalani and Makaio were in the show pool, not doing a great deal just swimming around. I watched the show, and it was just those three featured in it. There wasn’t a great deal of orca action really, it was mainly talking and videos on the screen – it was described as an educational show. After the show I went for my Dine With Shamu encounter, which I think should now be called Dine With Pilot Whales, as the orcas aren’t in the DWS pool anymore! After the food, we were guided back to Shamu Stadium for the ‘private viewing’. The orcas in the pool were still Katina, Nalani and Makaio. The session went a little bit into each individual orca, but not too much, as the main focus was Nalani. Makaio was having a training session, being taught to slide across the entire back stage slide out with a target, whilst Katina was having a trainer session to the side. Nalani was the one being used to twirl, shake her pecs and tail to the crowd. The private session was quite brief and then we had to leave the Stadium.

I didn’t see the orcas again until coming in early for the 5pm show. The same as yesterday, the orcas had been rotated again and Kayla, Trua and Malia were in the show pool. They were finishing up with a private orca encounter, and were posing for guests at the glass. When the guests left, Malia was baiting her birds again whilst the others lapped around the pool. And then I had to leave, and that was my time with the SeaWorld orcas!

I then took a flight over to Miami, and the following day I made my way over to Miami Seaquarium! I had half-expected to see protestors outside with ‘FREE LOLITA’ signs, and wondered if I would get heckled for buying a ticket, but there wasn’t any of that.
I first headed over to Lolita’s stadium. There wasn’t a show on for over an hour, and the stadium entrances had metal shutters down, so there was no way for anyone to access the stadium unless it’s show time! Before it was show time, we were only admitted into the stadium 15mins before the show, unlike the 45mins beforehand at SeaWorld. When I was allowed in, I braced myself to see the world’s smallest orca tank, but, I wasn’t actually saddened or disgusted by what I saw...

I saw Lolita, on the right side of the pool, and she had her head out of the water. I came to realize that she was actually looking at everyone coming in. She spy hopped a lot, because she’s curious. She’s interested to see what is going on. Guests are able to get relatively close to Lolita. We could stand right at the tanks barrier, and then there she is, spy hopping directly in front of you. You could lean over and touch her she’s that close. And I felt very humbled, because I could see that we made eye contact. I was looking at her and she was looking right back at me.

It was then showtime, and I will give the Miami Seaquarium credit. It was actually quite an informative show, with not a great deal of orca theatrics. The show has obviously evolved because of the Blackfish effect and OSHA ban. The show talks about the wild orca populations and talks about conservation. So I was quite impressed with the Miami Seaquarium in that respect. And whilst I was watching, I noticed that they fed Lolita huge salmon chunks, which I figured must be great for her health. She appears to get a better diet than what the SeaWorld orcas get. And that is when I noticed her TEETH, and they are fantastic! Lolita, a captive orca over the age of 50, has ALL of her teeth, which I was absolutely stunned by! I am so used to seeing the SeaWorld orcas with their teeth so worn down, and I was very surprised and happy to see that Lolita’s teeth look in great condition!  After the show, guests were allowed no more than 5 minutes to view Lolita, before being kicked out, and the shutters closed on the stadium. I went along to the evening show, which was basically all the same again, to view Lolita one last time, as I can’t imagine I will ever see her again.

So I came along to the Miami Seaquarium expecting to feel saddened or disgusted by the world’s smallest orca tank, but I had different feelings. From the 70 minute viewing time I had in total, I have assessed that Lolita is actually okay. Free Lolita activists will probably argue against my assessment and have their judgements on Lolita’s condition without ever actually seeing her. But I have my reasons for believing that she is okay, so hear me out.

Assessing Lolita by body condition alone, she is in great shape. As I have already said, all of her teeth intact, and she appears to get fed the best diet that I have seen any other captive orca receive – huge salmon chunks, rather than little fish. Her lack of orca companion actually makes it so that she is physically well. At other parks, you will see the orcas to be all raked up, caused by conflicts with each other. But as Lolita doesn’t have another orca to share her tank with, or fight with, she is actually in good condition. And from a behavioural perspective, I thought it was actually quite interesting to see that when the guests came in, Lolita was very interested in checking everyone out. She had a curiosity to what was going on which I took to be as positive sign of her mental wellbeing. I have witnessed orcas who will lie at the surface of their pool, virtually lifeless, because they are that bored and disengaged. So I was pleased that I didn’t see Lolita doing that, however there is a chance that that is how she is when the public can’t see her.

But overall, I think that Lolita is okay. She has managed to survive in the world’s smallest orca tank for almost 50 years, so there must be something that the Miami Seaquarium are doing right in terms of looking after her physical health. Now it is actually the SeaWorld orcas that I feel sorry for. They are the ones who are in way, way worse condition than Lolita. And I don’t mean just the SeaWorld Orlando orcas, but the San Diego and San Antonio ones too. Physically, the SeaWorld orcas are far worse off. They’re all banged up, scratched up and injured either from fighting with each other or injuring themselves in the tanks (like Nakai’s chin injury in 2013). The SeaWorld orcas are put into social groupings with orcas from different parts of the world, and with different dialects, and therefore they clash. The SeaWorld orcas have practically non-existent teeth, one of the reasons being they chew on the walls in boredom. And a lot of the time, they drop off like flies because of various diseases. Poor Kasatka of SeaWorld San Diego had to be euthanized last year after a long battle with a bacterial infection that was grossly eating at her skin. The SeaWorld orcas are not in a good way at all. So much emphasis gets put on ‘poor Lolita’, but it’s actually all the other captive orcas I feel sorry for. I think they are the unlucky ones. Lolita is a real trooper for living as long as she has, which must be aided by excellent health care she receives at Miami Seaquarium. Just because she is in the world’s smallest tank, and doesn’t have another orca companion, doesn’t mean she is suffering horribly…

So the message to be taken from this trip is to not just blindly follow what others say. Go out, do the investigating for yourself and form your own opinions. Because you might just surprise yourself with what you come to find..

Tribute to Tilikum

On 6^th January 2017, another orca life was lost in captivity – that life being Tilikum. Tilikum rose to infamy after he killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Branchaeu on 24^th January 2010. Makers of the film Blackfish (2013) used him as the subject to expose the controversy of keeping killer whales in captivity. Despite Tilikum being involved in three human deaths, SeaWorld regarded him a valuable orca due to his high reproductive success. Tilikum fathered 21 of SeaWorld’s calves, creating a highly imbred captive orca gene pool, due to the lack of genetic diversity formed from over-using Tilikum's genes.
Although he was a highly ‘prized’ whale, he did not live an A-Lister life. During his time at his first captive home at SeaLand of the Pacific, Tilikum was bullied by tank-mates Haida 2* and Nootka 4*, and forced to share the same space as them. Then at his second park, he was also treated with aggression by dominant females. As a result, Tilikum spent the majority of his time in isolation, living a lonely life with only small amounts of stimulation by the trainers.
Even though Tilikum took away 3 lives, no one can really blame him, because it was most likely the confinement of his environment that lead him to behave in this way. Tilikum only spent 3 short years of his life in the wild before he was taken into the imprisonment of captivity. Had Tilikum never been captured, he would have lived a life with his mother and other family members, probably surpassed the age of 36, and never harmed a human in his life.

In another life Tilikum. May you rest in peace. At least the loneliness has stopped now.

my views

my views.

My stance on Killer Whales in captivity is a complicated one. I am very much in support of the Empty the Tanks movement, for I in no way believe that there are any conditions that can replicate a wild environment for a Killer Whale to truly thrive in. However I am torn on the subject of attending marine parks that hold captive cetaceans. The captive killer whales became apart of my life since the age of 11, and so they have been apart of me for over half of my life. I feel a connection towards them, because I have been following the status of each individuals for such a long time now. I have visited a marine park, that has killer whales, every single year since 2003. I have such a love towards these individuals that I wish to see them. But due to the Blackfish movement, its creating a guilt within me that I am supporting the parks by buying a ticket, to satisfy my own selfish needs to see the killer whales I have known for so many years. 

However it is very concering to me that between 2003 - 2015, the time frame that I have been actively following the captive orcas, 35 individuals have prematurely died, starting with the 2003 captured Russian Orca and including, Neocia, Hudson, Kalina, Kim 2 , Halyn, Ku, Asuka, Taku and so many others. Many of these killer whales I have even seen in person myself, primarily the Marineland Canada and Marineland France individuals. I have also witnessed the loss of killer whales from Japanese parks, such as Taiji Whaling Museum, Izu-Mito Sea Paradise and Nanki Shirahama Adventure World. Thankfully none of these places have replaced the killer whales which they lost. But unfortunately Russia have been very active in recent years in supplying the captive killer whale population, which is far from ideal.

In the ideal world, I would love if the killer whales could be retired to seapens to live out a life free from the entertainment industry, but unfortuntaley this is unlikely to happen. My hope is that within my life time we will no longer see killer whales in captivity, with the hope of the current population no longer breeding, there being no more captures and the killer whales currently alive will be phased out over the course of their hopefully not prematurely lives. But until that happens, there is still that desire for me to go and see the killer whales I have grown to know. To make my visits more beneficial, I have began to introduce behavioural observations, to make analyses of the killer whales that can hopefully be of aid in the anti-captive killer whale movement. 

This may be seen as hypocritical by many, but hey, I am human, as we have a knack for being like that.

Updates

31st July 2017

-A listing of significant events in captive orca history has been added.
-The deceased orcas section has been updated to include their dates in captivity.
-More images have been added to the posts
-Updates have been made to the intro post, to aid in navigation of significant posts

21st July 2015
-Edits have been made due to the passing of Freya, who died on 20th June, after suffering from an illness for several months.

28th January 2015
-Kalia's 2014 Calf was given the name Amaya, out of the choices: Amaya, Kissa and Nasia. Updates have been made to Amaya's, Kalia's, Ulises', Orca Birthdays and Orca Family Tree bio's.

1st/3rd January 2015
-Updates made to Russian Captures page
-Kalia's 2014 Calf bio added
-Juliet's bio added
-Edits made to Keet, Kalia, Kshamenk, Takara's bios
-Additions made to Orca Birthdays and Orca Family Tree

13th November 2014
-Updates made to the Russian Captures page

7th Sept 2014

-MLF trip report added

-Kamea, Keijo's and Russian Orca Bio's added

-Additions made to Orca Birthdays and Orca Family Tree

Marineland France - 15th April 2014

So today was Marineland day! When we got there, headed straight to la Orque stadium! Was lucky to catch Wikie et new Bebe at the glass being photographed and filmed. On the glass the trainers stuck a piece of paper that said 'Keijo'. I wondered at the time if that was to be the baby's new name. I couldn't believe how big the baby boy was! I was genuinely thinking it was Moana! But yeah, Wikie and baby were at the glass being super cute with their tongues out :). Baby was pretty adventurous I thought - leaving mama quite a bit!
There was a VIP tour going on, and they got all 6 orcas into the show pool, to all jump together. That was pretty awesome!
We then went to go see the rest of the park. We saw the polar bears - one was ripping apart it's enclosure - it was pulling off the rubber around the glass. Oh deary - poley bear wanting to escape! Then saw the sea lions, dolphins, penguins, aquarium ete.
We got lunch then sat down for the orca show. For the twenty mins before it started I watched Wikie, Moana and Baby in the side pool. Moana and baby were playing around together :). In the other pool it looked as if Val was a horny male with his penis out!
We saw the show which featured them all! Then we watched all the other shows - dolphin show, stellar sea lion show and California sea lion show.
In the last 30 mins before leaving I went to watch the orcas. They weren't doing much before the next show began.
I then went around to my dolphins and got an interaction! I placed the dolphin stuffy on the ground, resting it on the glass, and they went down to its level to look at it :). I played with them for just under 10 mins. They were very cute and open mouthed. I got a wee splash, one of them using its beak to splash me but it still stuck around. Was a great way to end the day :)