Captive Orcas 'Dying to Entertain You' - Whale and Dolphin ...

Section 3Captivity: a one-way ticketOrca captures have largely taken place in the following areas of the world:1. Washington State (WA), USA/ British Columbia (BA), Canada2. Iceland3. Japan4. Other regions, including California and Argentina. 6Capture sites and methods: 'The capture years'Early captures were characterised by a heady combination of opportunism, recklessnessand ineptitude. They were entirely unregulated and some orcas were captured afterbecoming accidentally entangled in fishing nets. Experimental capture methodsincluded the use of harpoons, hoop nets, gill and purse seine nets.In 1961, the very first orca to be captured was taken in Californian waters. A smallfemale, she was easily corralled with boats and nets and was taken to Marineland of thePacific, Los Angeles. She survived only one day. She died after repeatedly swimmingaround her pool at high speed, ramming into the sides of the tank. In 1962, an orca washoop-netted in Puget Sound, WA, but the line caught in the propeller. At least 11 orcashave died during bungled capture attempts.1. 1964 -1976 Washington State / British Columbia: Between 275-307 orcas werecaptured, of which 56 were taken into captivity (53 died in captivity, 1 escaped after2.3 years, only 2 - Corky and Lolita - are still alive.)The captive orca industry was still very much in its infancy and undergoing a steeplearning curve, but collectors with some experience of marine mammals werebeginning to replace inexperienced collectors and fishermen.After several false starts, collectors such as Don Goldsberry (Sea World) and Ted Griffin(Seattle Public Aquarium) discovered an almost foolproof method of capturing orcas.The key was to ambush the whales as they swam into harbours or narrow, shallow waterinlets. By stringing a net across the mouth of the inlet, the entire pod could effectivelybe entrapped.The main advantage of taking so many orcas at a time, was that a selection of the bestindividuals could be made, with younger and male animals being preferred. If thewhales were reluctant to enter the inlet, Goldsberry was not adverse to using seal bombsas a gentle persuader.Collectors discovered two further, unexpected factors in their favour: firstly, orcas' strongfamily instinct meant that the pod would remain tightly bunched together for support.Secondly, most orcas respect nets and despite their size and strength, rarely attempt tobarge through or jump over them. Occasionally, an individual, often an adult male,would escape the nets, but rarely could he persuade his family to leave other membersand follow him to safety. 7This method of capture was to decimate a pod known as the A5s from the northernresident community. This pod was believed originally to have had about 19 members,before it was captured twice, in April 1968 and again in December 1969, both times inPender Harbour, north-west of Vancouver and, ironically, about 200km (125 miles) fromtheir normal home range. Altogether, 12 pod members were taken into captivity. butonly one whale is still alive today - Corky at Sea World, San Diego. Her pod mate, Yaka,died at Marine World Africa, Redwood City, CA in late October 1997. As capturesincreased and more orcas were taken into captivity, the capture industry became drivenby a new imperative: to provide a mate or companions for whales already in captivity.Some pods, particularly those in the southern resident community, suffered capture ontwo or three occasions. K pod, for example was captured on three occasions. InFebruary 1967, the entire pod was captured at Yukon Harbour, WA: five were taken into16