Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

A Glass Ocean

The cost of marine mammal education

ecember, 1965. It was the first day that a wild orca was ever captured

and caught purposefully. The intent was not for imprisonment nor food, but rather

for the spread of knowledge. Little did SeaWorld staff realize that this first capture

off the shores of the state of Washington would be the face of the company, both

giving it a trademark image and a future of controversy. The healthy, two-ton adult

female was to be named Shamu.

Not even a year prior to the first ever orca being used for a marine mammal

park, SeaWorld came into existence. It began as a small marine park with a small

selection of mammals, such as sea lions and dolphins. As the park rapidly grew

and attracted more and more visitors, it spread into several more parks, some

carrying the SeaWorld name and some arising from partnerships with other

corporations. Together, SeaWorld owns 12 parks around the United States.

Currently, three locations in the United States carry the name SeaWorld; San

Diego, Orlando, and San Antonio. In 2022, SeaWorld will open a park with the

More-

Nelson 1
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

same name in Dubai. Due to its partnerships with other corporations, the other nine

parks around the United States go by other names, such as Aquatica and Busch

Gardens.

The root of SeaWorld’s popularity and success is not only derived from its

unique combination of educating and entertainment, but the way it has tackled

issues along the 53 years of its existence. Current CEO Joel Manby is confident in

SeaWorld’s future despite the ongoing protest against having captive orcas at its

parks. “All the trends are showing improvement in our SeaWorld parks,” says

Manby during an interview by the Orlando Sentinel in 2017, a time when things

slowly began to look up for the company after years of hardships.

Manby’s confidence is not empty or unfounded, but based on a decision

implemented around the same time the above interview took place. A plan to end

the orca breeding program was put into place, leaving the remaining orcas in all of

the company’s parks to be SeaWorld’s last. Beginning on March 17, 2016, media

organizations all over the nation spread the word that captive breeding would now

be a thing of the past.

It wasn’t unlikely for members of the public and even the press to view this

as a move of defense to combat the ever-growing criticism of having orcas in

captivity. With the release of the film Blackfish, a documentary that shows the

More-

Nelson 2
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

horrors of having orcas in captivity, the public grew increasingly concerned about

how ethical it is. SeaWorld had a significant drop in attendance and stocks, which

the company claimed to be influenced by the film.

To keep SeaWorld afloat financially, calm critics, and preserve nature, the

halting of captive breeding couldn’t have come at a better time. SeaWorld did, in

fact, defend itself against Blackfish, stating that it was not factually accurate and

“emotionall manipulative.” Since it did affect sales, SeaWorld was forced to take

into consideration the effect the film had on potential visitors. A first response was

to lower ticket prices, but the true root of the problem was soon realized.

Blackfish focused most of its attention on an infamous orca once housed at

SeaWorld Orlando named Tilikum. Intense scrutiny was brought to SeaWorld in

2010 when 15-year senior trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by Tilikim while

performing a “Dine With Shamu” show. Visitors were eating at a restaurant,

watching Brancheau perform several tricks and commands with Tilikum, when

suddenly he grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her into the water. Autopsy

findings reported that blunt force trauma and drowning were the causes of death,

and the attack was particularly violent. Visitors were likely traumatized, including

a young child who witnessed the attack. Not simply an act of play, Brancheau even

More-

Nelson 3
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

lost an arm in the horrific mauling, reminding us all of the incredible strength orcas

have…And that they are, in fact, wild animals who have the potential to act

unpredictably.

There are many questions that still remain eight years later about this attack.

What caused the lovable mascot of SeaWorld to take the life of a trainer- an

experienced one, at that. Even the name “Tilikum” means “friend” in Chinook, an

indigenous dialect. Animal activist groups including PETA immediately chimed in,

making it clear that this was an indication of Tilikum’s unhappiness with his life of

captivity.

Tilikum, who is now deceased, was captured off the coast of Iceland in

1983, at only two years old when he was brought from the wild into captivity, and

lived to be 35 years old. It is likely that Tilikum did not remember much of the

outside world, and would not survive if released into the wild. Tilikum was in a

park called Sealand, located in British Columbia, and was transferred to SeaWorld

Orlando following the Sealand’s closure. He passed away from an infection

thought to be pneumonia in January 2017, after not responding to various

treatments to fight the illness. Tilikum fathered 21 different calves, mainly from

the use of his sperm to inject in female orcas.

The killing of Brancheau was not the only incident that involved Tilikum.

More-

Nelson 4
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

While at Sealand, he along with two female tank-mates were responsible for the

death of trainer Keltie Byrne. Byrne had fallen into the tank with the orcas and was

grabbed by Tilikum, who then tossed Byrne back and forth underwater with the

other two orcas. This eventually led to her death, and the closing of Sealand. The

second death Tilikum was involved in is still unclear. A man who either entered

the park during its closed hours or never left when it was time for the park to close,

entered Tilikum’s tank. The next day, his naked and lifeless body was found

draped over the orca, the apparent cause of death to be drowning with no signs of

traumatic injury.

Activists claim that Tilikum’s behavior is indicative of stress caused by

captivity. Despite the concern that grew since Brancheau’s death, it was impossible

to simply release all of the captive orcas. SeaWorld is not only a company that

provides education and entertainment to guests, but also is very involved in

conservation and the assistance of injured or stranded marine life. The company

knows that if its orcas were released into the wild, they would have a limited

chance of survival. Living most of their lives in captivity, orcas have not developed

and honed hunting skills required to obtain food, nor proper communication skills

and would lack a pod. CEO Manby spoke with LA Times and mentions how the

More-

Nelson 5
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

orcas would likely die if released into the wild. “Most of our orcas were born at

SeaWorld, and those that were born in the wild have been in our parks for the

majority of their lifes” says Manby.

Part of understanding the effect of captivity on orcas can be evident as soon

as one looks into how orcas live in the wild. Orcas are very intelligent animals.

They are able to communicate in a group much like humans do, using a very

complex language; certain pods even use certain dialects. They are able to navigate

massive expanses of ocean both by working alone and as a team. Remembering

how captured orcas are forcibly taken from their pods and families, it is important

to note that separation for any particular reason is traumatic for an orca. Orcas

travel together, hunt together, and help each other if one is ill. This is a stark

contrast to what former SeaWorld employees have noticed, which is that some of

the whales bullied one another due to being in very close quarters and not being

pod members or relatives. Some orcas were even unsure of how to properly care

for their own calves.

Paul Spong, the director of an orca research institute called OrcaLab

understands that many of the orcas that have attacked humans or exhibited strange

behavior are only doing so because of “extreme sensory deprivation.” Intelligent

animals need mental stimulation or they will grow bored, and being stuck in a

More-

Nelson 6
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

small tank when your brain can process miles of ocean expanse may literally drive

them insane. “Humans who are subjected to the same conditions become mentally

disturbed” says Spong. Some orcas have displayed strange behaviors not seen in

the wild, such as grinding their teeth on parts of the concrete wall of their tanks.

Much of the concern over orcas being confined to tanks and pens began

from the popular 1993 film Free Willy. The film featured an orca named Keiko,

dubbed “Willy” in the film, who was captured, trained, and performed at a park.

Keiko, the star of the movie was in a similar situation in real life; he was a

performer at a park in Mexico City. The movie had a happy ending where Willy

swam off into the sunset, but unfortunately, reality did not bring the same results.

Keiko was released from the park in 2003, but was unable to adapt to life in the

open ocean and was eventually found dead. He lived for approximately a year,

interacting more with humans than other whales. Keiko was 26 years old and spent

most of his life in captivity.

Freeing Willy…or Keiko, has taught us that releasing orcas back into the

wild is a trickier situation than it might seem. While SeaWorld has phased out its

breeding program and intends to no longer have orca performances, it may be

better for the current 22 orcas to stay put. The amount of accidents that occurred

More-

Nelson 7
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

towards well-trained staff members has taught us a lot as well. Having orcas

perform in captivity may add to their stress levels, causing them to behave

erratically and possibly endanger staff and the whales themselves.

Staff are trained to use certain actions or cues to get orcas to do certain

things, and these include distracting them from potentially hazardous situations.

SeaWorld’s orcas are trained to ignore if a trainer falls into the tank, and certain

motions are supposed to distract them from whatever behavior they are engaging

in. The problem is that in any case where an orca has attacked a human, many

techniques were used but they all failed to stop the attack. Some specialists believe

that the orcas are so under-stimulated that any unusual object or situation that

happens in their tanks may trigger an immediate response. Some orcas have felt the

need to act aggressively towards staff simply because of stress or frustration, as

seen during some instances where mothers disobeyed orders and tried to bite after

hearing their calves calling out from another tank. Despite extensive training that

can last for years, we must remember that orcas are wild animals with the potential

to act unpredictably.

SeaWorld is constantly learning new was to assist animals, both its own and

in the wild. A partnership with Busch Gardens has made it so SeaWorld can

More-

Nelson 8
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

rescue, conserve, and research marine life. SeaWorld has developed a website

where people can donate to conservation efforts to show that they care about

marine life.

In the future, SeaWorld sees itself as a company that educates more so than

entertains, particularly by the use of marine mammals. No longer will SeaWorld

breed its remaining orcas, nor will SeaWorld use the orcas for shows and train

them to do tricks. Instead, the company is progressing to an exhibit where they can

be viewed, but kept in healthy conditions. Amendments are being made to their

tanks, allowing more room to swim. Despite pressure from the public, it must be

known that releasing the remaining orcas into the ocean would be the equivalent of

a death sentence. They simply do not have the means to survive outside of

captivity. March, 2016. It was the day that the orca breeding program would end

for good.

###

Nelson 9
Niki Nelson Magazine Piece

Sources:

 http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201307/3552/

 https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/a-brief-history-of-seaworlds-blackfish-damage-

control/

 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/seaworld/os-seaworld-ceo-joel-manby-

20170513-story.html

 https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/17/470720804/seaworld-agrees-to-end-

captive-breeding-of-killer-whales

 http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/seaworld-trainer-dawn-brancheau-suffered-broken-jaw-

fractured/story?id=10252808

 https://theorcaproject.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dawn-brancheau-medical-examiners-

report.jpg

 https://www.outsideonline.com/1924946/killer-pool

 https://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/30-years-three-deaths-tilikums-tragic-story/

 http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/06/killer.whale/

 http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-seaworld-sea-pens-20160317-htmlstory.html

 http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0317-manby-sea-world-orca-breeding-20160317-

story.html

 https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/dec12/death-keiko/

 https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160317-seaworld-orcas-killer-whales-captivity-

breeding-shamu-tilikum/

 https://seaworldparks.com/

 https://seaworldcares.com/en/conservation/focus

Nelson 10