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

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in this indoor pool, deprived of natural light and the company of other orcas, and forcedto endure the noise of overhead fans and the barking of sealions. He finally died there,lethargic and reportedly psychotic, in the summer of 1994, aged only around 13 years.26b37
HEALTH OF CAPTIVE ORCASSurvival rates and longevity. Causes of death. Stress. Aggressive behaviourtowards other orcas. Aggression towards trainers.'Husbandry problems of marine mammals in captivity often come directly fromexhibiting animals in enclosed environments.' (Sea World veterinarian Jay Sweeney1990) 27Introduction:Orcas are, quite literally, a multi-million dollar investment to the marine parks. WhenHong-Kong Ocean Park lost Hoi Wai, its solitary female, in April 1997, the South ChinaMorning Post (27/4/97) reported that a replacement orca might cost up to HK$7 million.When the first orcas were brought into captivity over thirty years ago, virtually nothingwas known about their biology and husbandry requirements. Since then, marine parkshave been forced to undergo a steep learning curve.Marine parks generally rely on a three-pronged approach to maintaining - or attemptingto maintain - the health of their captives. Firstly, they rely on the observations of trainersto alert them to behavioural changes in any animal as these may serve as an early signof a health problem, for example lethargy or refusal to eat. Secondly, the better parksemploy veterinary staff. Sea World, in particular, has invested highly in medicalfacilities and specialist care. Frequent blood checks are carried out: weekly, in the caseof pregnant females. Thirdly, captive orcas and dolphins are reportedly routinely fed awide variety of antibiotics and other medicines, under a policy of so-called 'preventivemedicine'. 28Ironically, it could be asserted that, since captive orcas are kept in such a carefullycontrolled environment, with regular food, expensive medical care and none of therigours of life in the wild, they should be living at least as long, if not longer than theirwild counterparts. Indeed, the marine parks are eager to foster this belief that thecaptive situation is more favourable than the wild.Sea World's Daniel Odell claimed in 1995: 'Our killer whales live in habitats where thewater quality and temperature are carefully monitored and controlled. Unlike killerwhales in the ocean, those at Sea World are not forced to contend with dangers such asshortages of food, parasites and threats from humans.. [they] receive a balanced,nutritious diet and we make sure their day includes plenty of exercise.' 29Jim Bonde of Marine World Africa declared in 1994 that 'the average lifespan of whalesand dolphins in most oceanariums is now comparable to or even longer than thelifespan of their counterparts in the wild.' 30But even the most cursory glance at available statistics gives the lie to this boast, atleast with respect to orcas. So why can't the marine parks keep their whales alive? Whyis the mortality rate so unacceptably high? A useful starting point might be acomparison of survival rates in the wild with those in captivity.Survival rates and longevity:The issue of what constitutes natural lifespan has long been the subject of contentionbetween the marine park industry and researchers studying orcas in the wild. Marineparks maintain that there is very little difference between lifespan in the wild and incaptivity.The central issue is clouded for two reasons: firstly, marine parks tend to adopt lowerestimates of lifespan, whilst some researchers and conservationists cite maximumlifespan as well as average; secondly, accurate comparison is difficult, since validcomparative data is limited. Solid research exists on longevity in the wild, but reliabledata is often lacking in the captive situation. Although the marine parks can obviouslyrecord the precise time of death of captive orcas, such deaths are usually veiled insecrecy and the display industry is notoriously reluctant to release details to outsiders.38
Page 2 and 3: IntroductionContentsSection 1 The s
Page 4 and 5: industry's contention that captives
Page 6: At precisely the moment that his di
Page 9 and 10: the wild for the captivity industry
Page 11 and 12: since some individuals may reach 80
Page 13 and 14: Most of what we know about the habi
Page 15 and 16: Latest news, November 1999Northern
Page 17 and 18: Section 3Captivity: a one-way ticke
Page 19 and 20: It is also important to note that c
Page 21 and 22: 3. Japan: 1972 - to date. 28 orcas
Page 23 and 24: too. My overall impression was that
Page 25 and 26: has 12 belugas (3 adult males, 9 ju
Page 27 and 28: • On 19th November, 1995, a young
Page 29 and 30: Section 4Conditions in captivity:
Page 31: eceive a measure of protection unde
Page 35 and 36: Cote D'Azur use treated natural sea
Page 40 and 41: In a special report for the 1990 me
Page 42 and 43: • Prince died in 1991 at Hong Kon
Page 44 and 45: These observations obviously have i
Page 46 and 47: • In June 1987, 28-year-old train
Page 48 and 49: Marine mammal veterinarian Jay Swee
Page 50 and 51: Section 5Marine Park Myths.'Are sou
Page 52 and 53: Although show scripts have improved
Page 54 and 55: go through their minds? Are they ab
Page 56 and 57: pollution (from shipping, seismic t
Page 58 and 59: e the eventual release of captive-b
Page 60 and 61: observing the births of older femal
Page 62 and 63: • Thor, Stella, Oscar and Maggie,
Page 64: identification techniques and under
Page 67 and 68: of discrediting the accepted link b
Page 69 and 70: In their quest to promote their pro
Page 71 and 72: eality, taken the form of peaceful
Page 73 and 74: make a great deal from these transa
Page 75 and 76: without a valid capture permit, Sea
Page 77 and 78: Attendance at Sea World's Ohio park
Page 79 and 80: park. One student observed that kee
Page 81 and 82: Many people now believe that marine
Page 83 and 84: The way forward: cetacean-free faci
Page 85 and 86: The future of current captives:Thos
Page 87 and 88:
under his flippers, his 'papilloma'
Page 89 and 90:
Lolita: Captured in August 1970 at
Page 91 and 92:
In Keiko's case, orca scientists ha
Page 93 and 94:
Section 8Conclusions and recommenda
Page 95 and 96:
APPENDIXTable 1 Current distributio
Page 97 and 98:
24 NOAA. October 1993. Protected sp
Page 99 and 100:
pp1-102.92 Awbrey, F. November 1991
Page 101:
8, p34.156 Kleiman, D. March 1989."
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Captive Orcas 'Dying to Entertain You' - Whale and Dolphin ...

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