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Maritza Cisneros

English 1302

Professor Lyon Rathbun

4 May 2018

Should SeaWorld Release its Orcas from Captivity?

The last time I attended a SeaWorld park was in 2013, right before the release of the

‘Blackfish’ documentary. I was 14 at the time and couldn’t imagine no longer having family trips

to the water park; I couldn’t imagine no longer seeing my beloved Shamu. So, I searched and

searched for evidence that SeaWorld was not keeping Shamu in tank, that their parking lot was

not bigger than his tank, and that he loved performing and using his tail to splash the audience in

the ‘splash zone’ where I always was. I searched, and all I found was that my beloved Shamu

was part of a single orca’s lineage. I found that SeaWorld wasn’t taking care of these orcas, they

were holding them captive. As a result of being held captive, these orcas were forced to

participate in breeding, show training and performance, and scientific research. An even greater

consequence of their captivity is their loss of ability to survive in the wild. However, although

they can no longer survive in the wild, they can survive in a stress-free environment that can be

found in a sanctuary. Knowing that all the orcas and all the “Shamus” are living in what feels

like bathtubs to them; I strongly believe SeaWorld should release its ‘last generation’ of orcas

from tank captivity to sea sanctuary care.

Breeding is the act of controlling the mating and production of offspring animals. As a

way to reduce the captures of wild orcas, SeaWorld breeds the orcas it already has in captivity

producing captive-born orca offspring. SeaWorld’s main motivation for breeding is to keep their
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Shamu show, orca encounter, and many other attractions running. SeaWorld currently has 12

parks operating that call for a whole lot of orcas! However, as harmless as breeding may seem, it

brings out negative consequences for the animals.

Most animals in captivity lose their natural instincts. These instincts are not needed to

survive in captivity which is why predators have no instincts to hunt and orca mothers no

instincts to nurse. Captive orcas that were taken away from their pods and mothers at a young

age did not experience the act of being loved and most definitely did not learn how to love. So,

when orcas are bred, the mothers often reject their offspring. They were never coddled and

taught their responsibilities to nurse and love their offspring in the wild, much less in captivity.

This is what sometimes one causes orca on orca attacks in their tanks at SeaWorld. The mothers,

not being taught their responsibility to care for their offspring in captivity, reject their offspring.

The offspring are then taken away from the only family they know, and transferred to a different

SeaWorld facility in hopes of being accepted by the orcas there.

SeaWorld has experienced a series of incidents between their orcas and trainers. These

incidents include orcas exhibiting behaviors such as: lunging at staff approaching their waters,

pulling trainers into their waters and holding them under, and pushing their trainers about in the

water. However, scientists have found that orcas are social mammals that can easily bond with

humans. So, where are these behaviors coming from?

At the beginning of their SeaWorld journey, some of the orcas were placed in petting

pools. In these petting pools, humans were able to come in contact with the orcas through ways

such as petting their head, rubbing down their entire bodies, and even the inside of their mouths!

The petting pool orcas, who are untrained, constantly sought out physical human contact. They
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even seemed inclined to pull pranks and other similar behaviors all for the sole purpose of

receiving a reaction from a human.

Once these petting pool orcas completed performance training, they were moved out of

the petting pool and moved to the various SeaWorld facilities where they would continue to live

their lives as full-time performers, and no longer have the human interactions they were used to.

After a few years without these interactions and full-time performances, these orcas began to

exhibit aggressive behaviors.

Most of the orca-human incidents SeaWorld saw involved the former petting pool orcas.

The rest (very few), were the doings of the petting pool orcas’ tankmates who had not spent time

in the petting pool. A pair of scientists found two types of reactions that stem from the loss of

human interactions. The first is that the loss of interaction led to increased development of

stereotypical behaviors, which they deemed as the “Frustration Hypothesis.” This hypothesis

shows that the increased exposure to humans in the early stages of life, reduced the wariness

orcas had around humans in the later stages of their lives. Thus, resulting in greater trust, and a

greater sense of betrayal towards the humans who feed them dead fish and only arrive to practice

tricks. The second reaction is that the loss of interaction decreased the development of

stereotypical behaviors, which was deemed as that “Protection Hypothesis” (Phillips, 2). The

scientists recommended that if enriching human interactions, like the ones done at the petting

pools, cannot be guaranteed for the entirety of an orca’s life, then they should not be done at all.

The orcas are fully aware that their days were once filled with human interactions full of pranks

and pets, to only figure out that these days are to be no more which upsets them.

In March of 2016, SeaWorld officially announced that it would stop the breeding of its

orcas and slowly phase out its orca shows (Grimm, 1). After the announcement, research
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scientists and physiologists were split into differing sides of those who were worried about the

harm this decision would have on their research, while others supported this decision as they felt

that the things that could be learned from these animals would not be discovered or justified

through their captivity.

Physiologists such as Heidi Harley, Shawn Noren, and research scientist Kelly Jaakkola

are concerned and unhappy about this decision as it hinders their research on orcas and other

cetaceans. Kelly Jaakola, the former director of research at the Dolphin Research Center in

Florida, supports this stance as she stated that she does not believe this decision was a “science-

based” one. Heidi Harley, a comparative physiologist who, at the time, was advising SeaWorld

on improving its orca enclosures, also shares this stance on the matter. Harley said that most of

what they know about orca health comes from SeaWorld research. Harley also noted that the

research being done through SeaWorld on its orcas is crucial to helping conserve the orcas. The

ocean, along with the climate, is experiencing changes, and it would be helpful to know how

flexible the orcas could be to a changing environment.

Shawn Noren, a physiologist who studied physiology and cetacean development at

marine parks for close to two decades, says that this decision only makes it more difficult for her

and others (like Harley and Jaakkola) to convince the public that the knowledge they are gaining

justifies the captivity of the orcas. She gives the example of the high school students in her

marine biology class. Before ‘Blackfish,’ a documentary uncovering problems within the park’s

industry, Noren’s students were thrilled to meet the dolphins she studied. After the

documentary’s release, however, her students would ask her why they kept animals in captivity,

in tanks, for research. Noren would answer their question by explaining the research being done,

and her students would once again change their minds. Heidy Harley makes a statement that
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explains Noren’s students’ reactions, and most of the public in fact, when she stated “. . . as the

world changes, having more information is better than having less information. Before we

interacted with orcas in captivity, we thought they were savage beasts. Now, people hold their

infants up to kiss them.”

On the other hand, Lori Marino and other bio-psychologists and scientists, are thrilled

with SeaWorld’s decision. In fact, Marino and other scientists banded together with activists and

philosophers to create a “Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans.” This declaration would declare

that no whale or dolphin should be held in captivity or removed from their natural environment.

The scientists against keeping orcas and other cetaceans in captivity have done research showing

that these animals are capable of cognition (the mental act of processing and acquiring

knowledge and understanding through experience, senses, and thought.) So, any research we get

from captive orcas is essentially useful only to captive orcas, as wild orcas don’t have the same

experiences or stresses. Therefore, this research is not an effective way to find ways to conserve

the orcas since wild orcas would more than likely show opposing results to the research than to

the captive orcas it has been performed on.

Before we interacted with orcas at all they were living freely in the wild, in their oceans.

As a matter of fact, it is highly likely that before Homo sapiens even begun to leave Africa, the

orcas were among the most dominant predators in the oceans of the world. Harley is correct

when she says that the ocean and climate are experiencing changes that affect the orcas. These

are changes brought on by our actions. Humans are causing climate change as they are increasing

the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and cutting down plants left and right not allowing

them to filter out the carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. The ocean is experiencing changes

because of our reckless actions of filling the ocean with our trash and with the oil we dispose of
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incorrectly causing oil spills. The key to conserving the orcas and most ocean animals is to clean

up the mess we have made of their home, and to leave them alone. As for Harley’s statement

about how we used to think orcas were savage beasts and now, through the information we’ve

obtained through scientific research on captive orcas, we are holding their infants and kissing

them, humans have no purpose to be holding their orcas in the first place. Orcas aren’t meant to

be held and kissed by humans, they are meant to be swimming 160 kilometers minimum daily

outside of their tanks. It is a great thing that we know we no longer to fear orcas, but isn’t that

the most important thing to know? We know not to fear them, we know they are not savage

beasts, what else do we need to know that doesn’t simply satisfy our own curiosity?

No amount or type of greed will ever outweigh the suffering of captive orcas. Orcas are

cetaceans that are meant to be living in the water, not on land with humans, not in tanks, and

most definitely not on a stage performing for human entertainment. The negative consequences

are too great for the orcas, and too little for humans. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

Incorporation’s focus is entertainment and parks, not animal, much less orca care. Although,

SeaWorld is slowly but surely phasing out their orca shows, and putting an end to breeding, there

is a lot more to be done. Humans have a tendency to limit their thinking to human solutions

which is one of the most important things we need to work past. We also need to refocus our

relationships with orcas to one of mutual understanding and appreciation of these wonderful

creatures. Takara, Tuar, Sakari, Kamea, Kyuquot (the remaining orcas at SeaWorld San Antonio)

and the rest of SeaWorld’s orcas may no longer be able to survive in the wild, but they can

survive in a sea sanctuary that is dedicated to giving its animals care and helping them retain

their natural instincts for possible eventual release into the ocean.
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Works Cited

Anderson, Robert, Robyn Wayers, and Andrew Knight. “Orca Behavior and Subsequent

Aggression Associated with Oceanarium Confinement.” Ed. Clive J. C. Phillips.

Animals: an Open Access Journal from MDPI 6.8 (2016): 49. PMC. Web.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997274/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2018.

Grimm, David. “As SeaWorld stops breeding orcas, what are the impacts for research?” Science,

17 March 2016, http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/seaworld-stops-breeding-

orcas-what-are-impacts-research. Accessed 30 March 2018.

SeaWorld Cares. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc., 2017, https://seaworld.com/san-

antonio/commitment/killer-whales/. Accessed 23 March 2018.

Patton, Linda. “Why Breeding Dolphins and Orcas in Captivity is Not a Good Idea.” One Green

Planet, 15 February 2015, http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-

breeding-dolphins-and-orcas-in-captivity-is-a-horrible-idea/. Accessed 2 April 2018.