For years SeaWorld has been known for throwing great shows of great creatures such as sea lions, dolphins, and especially the Killer Whale presentations which is their main attraction.
It might be fun for people to watch the shows of the Orcas but not so much for them. Orcas are about 20-26 feet long and depending on the gender they can weigh about 3,000-12,000 pounds. They definitely don’t belong in a tank with other whales from other regions. Killer whales need to stick with their families in the wild. For Example, Tilikum a whale that recently died in SeaWorld Orlando is an Icelandic breed and shouldn’t be with a breed from Alaska.
I have interviewed a friend of mine and asked her what was her opinion or views on this topic. Do you think Captivity is a problem at SeaWorld? “Yes it is because there are already so many endangered species and we need to keep them in their natural habitat.” Many believe that Orcas are vicious predators considering there has been situations that they have eaten their trainers or others. This is because they are stuck in a little tank and they become a little irritated. This has happened at our very own SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida in 2010.
Dawn Brancheau was an animal trainer for 15 years at SeaWorld Orlando. She trained and did shows with her best friend Tilikum until one day something had triggered him. On February 24, 2010 she began her show “Dine with Shamu” but near the finale Dawn was left without her left arm and among other injuries. This is a reason to stop shows it helps the orcas and the trainers.
Emily Salmons has agreed with my views on this and said, “Don’t make it all about shows and business these are living creatures not objects.” Their life spans are cut shorter for just being in the tanks. My solution to this is that we release them to the wild but since they have been in the tanks for so long they would die so this is why we would put sea pens. This helps them to finally swim more freely and they finally get to be where they belong… right at home.
