Captive killer whales die very young

This is not about the domestic cat but it is about animals. Our relationship with animals is indirectly about cats so I hope people will be patient with me.

Killer whales lifespan is curtailed in captivity

We have all heard about captive killer whales entertaining people. The best-known organization is SeaWorld in San Antonio in Texas, San Diego in California and Orlando in Florida.

Killer whales at these facilities die at a very young age; much shorter than the average lifespan in the wild. Most die in their teens or perhaps in their twenties at best.

Wild killer whales (orcas) normally live between 50 and 60 years and some even attain the age of 100 years.

Research published in the Marine Mammal Science Journal states:

“Survival to age milestones is remarkably poorer for captive killer whales than for wild whales.”

The researchers looked at the history of 201 killer whales in captivity. Of these, 48 were still alive at the start of 2015. They found that many of them died shortly after being captured. This has been linked to stress and travelling long distances to the facility.

On average, killer whales survived for a mere six years after overcoming the initial ordeals. After 19 years of being captive 75% of them were dead. Amongst wild female killer whales, 75% attained the age of 40.

One reason why male killer whales die so quickly is that they live in female dominated family groups. The males stay with their mothers throughout their life so when, for example, there is an inter-park transfer of a mother leaving her son behind, the male is liable to die shortly thereafter.

For killer whales, being captive impacts the males more than the females.

Mr Rob Lott of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said:

“These are the largest animals kept in captivity and they are too big, too smart and too powerful to be kept in tanks.”

On reading about the research I was shocked at how truncated the lives of, especially, male killer whales are due to being captive.

A lot of us have heard about orcas attacking their handlers due to stress and other emotional issues. The attacks may be deliberate for all we know. Four people have been killed when performing killer whales turned on them. I recall reading about one who dragged a woman handler under the water by her hair and kept her down until she drowned. She was scalped.

Captive wild cats do badly in captivity. They are stressed. They breed badly. This creates pressure on the zoos to find fresh animals. There is also a tendency to inbreed because of the small gene pool. It also puts pressure on acquiring fresh animals from the wild which runs counter to proper conservation. Zoos have very little to do with conservation and much more to do with entertainment.

SeaWorld may profess to be involved in conservation but that has to be promotional bunkum.

I hope people think about the captive wild orcas in what must be minuscule areas of water compared to what they are used to in the wild and how they feel, and how they feel stressed and desperate which ultimately leads to their early demise, all for the sake of human entertainment.


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4 thoughts on “Captive killer whales die very young”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. I always felt so sorry for the whales at Seaworld. The tanks were too small for them. I haven’t been there in many. many years, but I’m sure there must have been, at least, twenty “Shamus” since.
    What are we thinking? And, what is wrong with the high priced vets they hire? Dollar signs, I guess.
    There’s really not much difference between this and holding captive a big cat. The accomodations are always inadequate and we steal their spirit, the essance of what they are.

    Reply
    • Thanks for commenting Dee. I find this exploitation of orcas very upsetting. It is clearly wrong. It looks wrong even on a common sense basis. I feel for these large animals. Life must be a living hell for them. As you say it is the equivalent of keeping a lion in a 20 foots square cage for his life. It disgusts me and makes be ashamed to be human.

      Reply
  3. i want 2 apologize 2 start cuz this is a bit long, & cuz im sure many people will disagree with my thoughts on this subject & potentially think i dont care about these animals, which could not b further from the truth. this is actually a topic i struggled with 4 a while, having family & friends that have worked n such places, & especially after becoming a parent. the issue became more “real” once my kids became aware of it. they even asked me some very pointed questions. i struggled with the answers, cuz i didnt want 2 treat my them like theyd never “get it” or couldnt “til they were older” cuz theyr extremely intelligent & would b understandably upset if i did. so i just tried b give them my honest answer.
    i didnt really understand this situation myself til 5 to 10 years ago. i know some people think its a pretty cut-&-dry situation. having children that ive taken 2 zoos etc as well as having friends/relatives that work n such places changes my outlook making the “situation” a bit of a “necessary evil” & the “solution” a kind of a “double-edged sword”.
    u want current & future generations 2 see & enjoy these beautiful animals(i dont just mean orcas here)n a relatively normal/natural environment. hopefully they will want 2 understand & appreciate them & the habitats theyre found n. one also hopes that such exposure will encourage them 2 want 2 help protect these animals & their habitat. the ultimate goal being: finding a solution 2, or creating some semblance of balance 4, the situation we find ourselves n. a situation WE created due 2 our expansion into THEIR territory, but that means such places(zoos etc)may then b a necessary evil.
    we know that most people(children especially) tend 2 b impacted more by seeing something face 2 face or hearing said story n person (or n as personal a manner as possible) as opposed 2 only seeing it on television…since u can always turn it off.
    unfortunately, most of people lack the money &/or time 2 visit these magnificent animals “on their home turf” so-2-speak. usually such trips r quite costly, especially when u have a family. the logistics of such an undertaking can b nightmarish depending on where u go & what u PLAN on doing as opposed 2 what u MIGHT have 2 do should the “need ” arise. then theres the safety aspect of said trip(cuz we all know kids LOVE needles 4 any extra vaccinations due 2 viruses etc u COULD catch while on said trip). it would b nice if there was a TRULY affordable “low impact” way 2 do all this FOR THE MAJORITY(if not all)of the people out there. i have heard(& fully believe)that having such an experience would definitely b life-changing, but until that time comes, we may b stuck with places like these. what if u could shut down these places?
    if u did away with these places altogether(or even a significant majority of them)the awareness level 4 the animals found there would drop due 2 lack of exposure by the general public(i.e. its daily visitors). the loss of jobs 4 the people employed there would b very large indeed considering the “food court” 4 some of these places have 4-8 people per stand per shift. it might not sound like a lot, but when most of these places have 5+ different food stands it adds up(along with the memorabilia stores, help stands, security, & greeters, etc all considered “unspecialized jobs”). then the trainers, caretakers, etc, h.r. dept & all the rest it takes 2 “run” these places of which most tend 2 b locals. then theres the loss of revenue from the influx of tourists 2 said places would b nearly catastrophic 4 the local(city/town)economy & put a huge dent n the states economy. yes, the animals themselves, their lives & their well-being IS important. would ALL of their lives b better off without such places? cuz some of those places do try 2 help some endangered species & truly do try 2 raise our awareness of the plight of many of these animals . some do really good work & have pretty good records. none r perfect, but some really do try 2 b ahead of the curve n their care & treatment of their animals. the bottom-line is though, if u close down these facilities theyre closed 4 everybody even those that were helped.
    thats y i see it as i do. WE(i mean “mankind”)put ourselves n this position when we encroached on their land. when we build n their habitat, “harvest” their homes, spill oil n their eco-system due 2 our dependence on fossil fuels, & allow species 2 b hunted 2 extinction. so we kinda did this 2 ourselves(mayb not explicitly, 4 many of us, but like Albert Camus once said, “In the end, man is not entirely guilty — he did not start history. Nor is he wholly innocent — he continues it. “). we can make sure our local zoos, etc r n compliance with the law regarding their care & treatment of these animals. we can also encourage(if not outright draft) new laws 2 help these animals have an even higher quality of life. its hard 2 read about, & so sad 2 see it 2, but until there is another way i feel like we’re kinda stuck with it. i hope there will b a solution that will give these animals an environment they can thrive n, & allow us 2 see them live their lives the way nature intended without them having 2 b “locked down” or forced 2 do things they do not want 2, or enjoy, doing. i do have 2 admit though, i enjoy watching them, like our kittens. knowing that i COULD go see them, the big cats, etc, makes my heart skip a beat even though i know theyd b better off n the wild.
    their reply 2 me was, “i see what u mean. we didnt cause the problem, but we benefit from, & pay 4, it at the same time. we can see them when we can, & we have fun & laff when they act like our kitties, but inside we know they dont really belong here & when we think about it we feel bad. we set up a system that depends on them being here 4 some people 2 survive, & we kinda have 2 so THEY will survive cuz we took their homes so some of them have no other place 2 go sometimes. we get something out of it, but we feel bad cuz we did this 2 them & this is 1 of the few ways we can think of 2 offset the problems we caused. we feel bad about it though, & we should cuz we could b trying harder 2 fix it. maybe somebody is, but they havent finished yet. now we r stuck with it cuz shutting it all down would cause even more problems, but maybe this has 2 happen so us kids will get so sick of it that we finally fix it, 4 them & 4 us 2.” thats when my youngest said, “well fix it 4 them 1st though, cuz none of this was their fault. u adults can wait a while while we do that, right daddy?” i could barely answer yes.

    Reply
    • Good comment Ed. You make some good points. I guess what you are saying is that in an imperfect situation this is an imperfect solution which at least has the benefit of educating people about these magnificent creatures and I supposed they promote conservation at these places. I see that point. It is a good argument. It is also an acceptance of failure. Perhaps I am a dreamer and not pragmatic enough.

      My feelings about the welfare of these animals in very tight captive situations and being exploited overcomes the logical arguments that you have set out. I believe there is a better solution but it has to be far more profound.

      If in ideal world the human population was not be expanding as fast and would in fact be stable and much less than it is now. There would arguably be no need to consider conservation of the species in the wild because there will be a natural balance amongst wild species in the wild and with us.

      There would therefore be no need to educate people about conservation and protecting wild species. We would just leave them alone and accept them. That would need a new mentality from human beings. There would be an acceptance that these beautiful creatures exist out there in the oceans and we should leave them alone to live in harmony with them.

      Reply

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