Killer whale captivity has recently been brought into the light due to the documentary released in 2013, Blackfish.  A few decades ago, scientists did not understand the killer whale, or Orcinus orca, but after many years of researching, a few unique characteristics stood out when comparing orcas to any other marine mammal.  Some of them include their strong dorsal fin, ability to swim hundreds of miles in a day, and choice to swim with their family for the rest of their lives.  Blackfish consists of knowledgeable information about killer whales in order to provide some background before discussing SeaWorld.  The producers of the documentary then interviewed multiple killer whale trainers that no longer worked at the park.  In total, Blackfish revealed the unknowns occurring at SeaWorld and persuaded its audience to realize the harm (to both whale and trainer) from keeping killer whales in captivity.  Imprisonment of these killer whales takes a toll on them physically, mentally, and emotionally, causing a build up of aggression that has led to the harm of trainers and other whales.

Unfortunately, SeaWorld is not the only park that captures and keeps killer whales for profit.  Two other parks mentioned in Blackfish, Sealand and Loro Parque, both possessed even worse conditions than SeaWorld's inadequate pools.  Sealand, located in Canada, consisted of extremely small pools and an overall run-down park.  At night, the staff would lock all of the killer whales into one 20x30 foot metal pool to keep trespassers out, but this only brought out aggression in the whales that led to the physical harm of one another.  Loro Parque, located in Spain, has a generally bad reputation in the marine park community because of their inexperience and lack of regulation.  The staff based their show routines off of SeaWorld's, but the trainers did not spend the same amount of time or effort with the whales.  Another main problem that Loro Parque encountered had to do with renovating old pools that were going to contain killer whales being shipped from the US.  The owner decided that in order to save money, the renovations would have to be postponed, which led to terrible living conditions for the killer whales.  SeaWorld can be categorized separately from the other two parks due to its significant popularity and success.  According to scientist Edward Asper, "Killer whales Orcinus orca have been exhibited at Sea World since 1968."  So, SeaWorld's experience with handling killer whales may have affected the 

 The ideal age for killer whales that SeaWorld was interested in were the young, wild calves.  Hunters were sent out in the water to find pods and locate the babies while planes flew overhead as backup.  Killer whales are intelligent animals and usually know when they are being targeted so they have been known to use tactics such as staying underwater for longer periods of time to avoid detection.  Unfortunately, the planes are able to spot them when they have to surface to breathe; the pilots inform the hunters on boats, so they can encircle the whales and trap them with nets.  This traumatizing experience mentally affects the mothers when their calves are taken from them and vice versa.  Killer whales have an extra part of brain near the limbic system (emotional part) that allows them to experience things in a way that is unknown to humans.  They are extremely social creatures and rely heavily on each other and working together in the wild.  Scientists have found, " ... resident killer whales exhibit a unique social system in which neither sex disperses from their natal matrilines -- both females and males maintain close associations and continue to travel with their mothers throughout life" (Olesiuk).  Another problem that is not as predominant, but still important is the physical toll they endure.  Besides the fact that whales have accidentally been killed during these expeditions, another complication for the other whales is the overwhelming noise underwater.  The hunters used bombs to move the whales around and the sound of the boat engines when chasing the whales can be heard at the same frequency that the whales communicate in, leading to the damage of their hearing.  Hearing is one of the killer whales' most important features, "Masking or hearing damage can affect the animals' ability to communicate, echolocate for finding prey and for orientation, navigate by environmental sounds, and detect predators" (Erbe).  So not only is SeaWorld paying the hunters to capture the calves and destroy their connection to the ocean, but they are also, unknowingly or not, affecting the whales left out in the wild.

A unique whale named Tilikum was captured in the 1980s and at the age of two, was already 11.5 feet long.  He was sent to Sealand initially and there was immediate tension between him and the two females already living there.  The reason for this has to do with different members from different pods being forced to live together as a family. Parks do not care about the whale's social family, "Our findings ... suggest that the social structure of populations cannot be disregarded from management plans that promote the recovery of depleted species" (Williams).  In other words, 

 "The new tank will have 10 million gallons of water for the whales to swim in, which is double the current capacity." (Krantz)

"The company launched a marketing campaign in response featuring the orca's keepers, who say that the animals are treated well and live just as long as they do in the wild." (Associated)

"Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed." (Jett)

