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 much about 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 these characteristics include their strong dorsal fin, ability to swim hundreds of miles in a day, and choice to swim with their family for their whole lives.  Blackfish consists of knowledgeable, credible information about killer whales in order to provide a background for its audience 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 and death of trainers and other whales.

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 understand when they are being targeted; the whales have been known to use tactics such as staying underwater for longer periods of time or splitting up the pod in order to avoid detection.  Unfortunately, the planes are able to spot them when they 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 the calves have to live the rest of their lives without the nurturing love of their mothers.  Killer whales have an extra part of brain near the limbic system (part that processes emotions) 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, something the park owners refuse to acknowledge.  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). 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 killer whales left out in the wild.

Unfortunately, SeaWorld is not the only park that captures and keeps killer whales for profit.  Another park mentioned in Blackfish, Sealand, possessed even worse living conditions for the whales 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 did more harm than good.  The compact enclosed space only frustrated the whales, which led to the physical harm of one another every night.  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 where immediate tension occurred between him and the two females already living there.  The reason for this has to do with each whale being a different member from random pods that are forced to live together as a family. Regrettably, the owners of the parks do not care about the whale's social family when they should, "Our findings ... suggest that the social structure of populations cannot be disregarded from management plans that promote the recovery of depleted species" (Williams).  The estrangement from his family, terrible living conditions, and harsh treatment from other whales caused many physical and mental problems for poor Tilikum. 

Captivity creates physical complications that do not exist in the wild and are detrimental to the killer whales' health.  For example, almost 100% of male killer whales have a collapsed dorsal fin when they are in captivity, while less than 1% of males have the same problem in the wild.  Scientists do not fully understand this phenomenon yet, but the visible droop almost seems to resemble the misery of their confinement.  Another problem that arises when random killer whales are thrown into the same pool with each other is raking.  Raking is when one killer whale uses its' teeth to scratch another whale, causing bleeding and scarring.  While in Sealand, Tilikum's trainer used a method of punishment to try to teach the whales.  He paired Tilikum with an experienced whale that knew the tricks they were being asked to perform and if Tilikum performed incorrectly, both were deprived of food.  This gave the other whale impetus to punish Tilikum himself and would rake him out of frustration.  The act of raking proves that the whales cannot even rely on each other during their stressful imprisonment.  Another obstacle is if the whales' environment is not sufficient (so, every environment besides the ocean), it usually results in stomach problems and tooth decay.  Both complications cause pain for the animal and require constant check ups from veterinarians.  A problem that is not as predominant is the physical toll the whales endure during the expeditions to capture the calves.  Besides the fact that whales have accidentally been killed during the chaos, the noise underwater is overwhelming for the other whales.  The hunters used bombs to position the whales and the sound of the boat engines during the chase can be heard at the same frequency that the whales communicate in, leading to the permanent 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).  All of these physical difficulties they endure heavily influence their mental state, especially once they begin their relationship with their trainer.

Becoming a killer whale trainer seems like a one of a kind experience that draws many people in, but also puts those people in an incredibly difficult position if they get the job.  Having the opportunity to swim, train, and build a relationship with a killer whale enticed many into the business, but the injustice of the system also caused them to leave.  Killer whales have been known to attack trainers and even kill them, with Tilikum being the main example.  SeaWorld has covered up the attacks in court multiple times, usually blaming the trainer when the whale is undeniably at fault.  The head trainer at SeaWorld, Kelly Clark, constantly denies the accusations in court, "Tilikum never exhibited any behavior that would make me think he'd pull"(Blackfish).  In Blackfish, all of the trainers claimed that they were fed information to spew out to the public that they believed to be accurate.  For example, the trainers were told to say that the whales live into their thirties in captivity, a much later age than in the wild because they are given the proper care.  In reality, killer whales live up to one hundred years old and have similar life spans to humans.  They die at such a young age because of their captivity, not the way that SeaWorld spews out to its customers.  SeaWorld also puts the trainers in a difficult spot because most of the trainers are passionate about whales; they love working and building relationships with them.  John Hargrove said in his book: 

We swam with them.  We kept them healthy.  We saw them give birth.  We watched them suffer.  We suffered with them.  We looked them in the eye and caught a glimpse into their souls.  Sometimes, we saw joy.  Sometimes, we saw things that were terrifying. (Hargrove)

The trainers were debatably the closest, physically and emotionally, to the killer whales.  Some trainers witnessed births in captivity and had the chance to grow up with their whales.  Most of the time, the whales loved interacting with them because it was a distraction from their jail cell of a pool.  SeaWorld's control and manipulation over the trainers adds to the overall wrongdoing to these innocent creatures.

Being taken from their home in the ocean and thrown into a new, very different environment, the killer whales deal with many stressful encounters that affect them emotionally.  While the pools the orcas live in seem huge to humans, the orcas feel restricted after experiencing the freedom of the ocean.  John Jett studied that, "Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed".  Being the active swimmers that the whales are, the new, stationary lives in captivity add unnecessary anxiety to their mental wellbeing.  A relevant quote from Blackfish from a news anchor explains her opinion of their feelings in a very telling way, "If you were in a bathtub for 25 years, don't you think you'd get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe even a little psychotic?".  Despite their vicious names, killer whales are actually amiable, beautiful creatures in the wild.  Captivity brings out a cruel side of them that would not normally be brought out in their lifetime.  Tilikum's aggression began in Sealand when they learned that he tended to lunge at his trainer so they wrote his aggression specifically into his profile.  He ended up murdering a trainer back at Sealand, causing the park to close down.  SeaWorld then bought him from Sealand, claiming that they were unaware of Tilikum's past.  Once he moved into SeaWorld and got settled in, a few years later he killed a well-known head trainer named Dawn Brancheau.  Killer whales are not normally aggressive creatures, but living in captivity creates a frustrating environment.  The whales do not have an outlet for their irritation so they do not know what to do with themselves and the only way they cope is by killing their trainers.

SeaWorld's spokesperson denied the allegation of Dawn's death in court, which created an uproar from Dawn's trainer friends.  They initially told the press that she fell in, but eye-witness accounts claimed that was not the case.  SeaWorld had to go back and adjust their statement, saying that Tilikum pulled her in by her ponytail when she was not supposed to wear one.  Dawn's friends on Blackfish could not believe SeaWorld's actions.  One of the trainers said, "They blamed her.  How dare you.  How disrespectful for you to blame her when she's not even alive to defend herself" (Blackfish).  Dawn Brancheau was a head trainer at SeaWorld, known for her fun personality, dedication to the whales, and safety precautions.  Her sister created a 5k run in her name called Dream Big, D.B. for Dawn Brancheau, that donates to her favorite charities.  Her autopsy report shows the extremely gruesome reality of the whale's frustration and anger.  Dawn was brutally murdered and died a painfully horrible death, but she will be remembered through her friends and family.

The third park mentioned in Blackfish, Loro Parque, is located in Spain and 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.  One of the main problems that Loro Parque encountered had to do with renovating old pools that were going to contain killer whales 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.  Another major problem for the park had to do with a trainer named Alexis, who spent the most time with the whales and became arguably the best trainer at Loro Parque.  Unfortunately, he also lost his life due to a killer whale attack.  Loro Parque also tried to cover up his death and claim it was an accident, but it obviously was not an accident.  SeaWorld, who supplied their whales denied any connection to Loro Parque in court, so yet another trainer's death went unnoticed without any concrete action taken to prevent another death.  

Surprisingly, SeaWorld has owned killer whales for many decades, "Killer whales Orcinus orca have been exhibited at Sea World since 1965" (Asper) yet seems to have learned absolutely nothing from their mistakes during that time period.  They have two similar deaths of trainers twenty years apart, which proves that SeaWorld has done nothing to change the outcome.  The only reason why the trainers cannot be in the water with the whales anymore is because OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) took them to court after Dawn Brancheau's death and won the case.  At first, the park owners did not like the outcome of the trial or the documentary, Blackfish, released around the same time.  They immediately responded, "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).  The same claim they taught the trainers to say to people that is untrue.  SeaWorld's argument, "Most people do not have the opportunity to observe these animals in the wild.  Visitors are not only entertained, but also educated.  The unique ability to observe and learn directly from live animals increases public awareness and appreciation of wildlife" (Markwell).  After several months, they came out with a statement explaining the changes that would take place at SeaWorld.  The main change being the addition of a huge new tank, "The new tank will have 10 million gallons of water for the whales to swim in, which is double the current capacity" (Krantz).  These 'improvements' are not really improvements because "captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer" (Hargrove).

The killer whales that have to suffer through captivity live a shadow of a life, and the calves born in captivity will never know the freedom of the ocean.  Even though the trainers love them and build relationships with them, the whales are wild animals and are psychologically unstable due to trauma of the things they go through.  SeaWorld owners not only takes these animals from their homes, they put them in unhealthy conditions to spend the rest of their lives in.  When the whales harm or kill a trainer, SeaWorld covers it up in order to save their company from losing more money.  Once Blackfish was released, the public finally got to see the unknowns happening behind the press at SeaWorld.  The park owners need to understand that keeping the whales is not worth the money the park makes.  While the whales suffer for years on end, the audience is entertained for about an hour.  Is a day trip really worth their years of pain?

