Skylaar Underwood

MW 1:40

Sea World

Sea World is a USA chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and

animal theme parks owned by Sea World parks and entertainment. For years this
theme park has been the center of controversial opinions due to their orca
habitat. There is abundant empirical scientific data, which show that orca
nature is fundamentally incompatible with conditions at SeaWorld.
In order for orcas to thrive they need contact with other orcas, as well as
room to travel and hunt; however, in their habitat at SeaWorld they are not given
the space to swim long distances because they are placed in relatively small
swimming pools. Orcas are made to be in oceans, swimming wherever they
please. Also, their natural instinct is to hunt. Because they are confined to their
small habitat and are not given other sea life to hunt and eat, they are not able to
go hunt, as they should. All captive male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins,
likely due to the fact that they do not have a lot of space to swim freely
and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed, dead fish. SeaWorld claims
that this condition is common; however, in the wild, it rarely ever
happens and is a sign of an unhealthy orca. Now SeaWorld has
responded to the criticisms on the sizes of their orca habitats and have
put out a statement announcing that they will be increasing the size of

Skylaar Underwood
MW 1:40
the habitats so that the orcas will have more room to swim around and
not be so confined.
After doing some scientific research, it has also been stated that annual
mortality rates for orcas are two and a half times greater in captivity than in the
wild. Most orcas live well into their sixties or nineties; however orcas that are held
captive normally die in their twenties. This is a representation of how unhealthy it
is for orcas to be held captive. Many of these mortalities are due to behavioral
abnormalities that are rare or absent in the wild, and symptomatic of
psychological stress and trauma. These symptoms include extreme
aggression toward other whales, swimming in a stereotyped manner,
maternal rejection of newborns, self-injurious behaviors such as
breaking the teeth on hard surfaces, and serious aggression toward
humans. Also in SeaWorlds corporate logs there are over one hundred
reports of orcas displaying aggression towards their trainers. These
incidents often resulted in injuries to the humans and there has even
been a death due to extensive internal bleeding.
In the wild, orcas have strong social bonds with other orcas that
are compatible with each other; their social rules prohibit serious
violence against each other. When violence does occur they are able to
find space in order to flee from the situation, but when they are in
captivity there is no where for them to flee to which results in injury or
even death of the orcas. Orcas are highly social animals who live in

Skylaar Underwood
MW 1:40
stable social groups ranging from two to fifteen individuals. In the wild,
some offspring stay with their mothers for life. In captivity, orcas are
forced to live with orcas from other family units and are constantly
moved between facilities for breeding and to perform.
Beside the fact that their habitats are not what they should be,
SeaWorld acquired their orcas by kidnapping them from the wild. One
report states that an orca by the name of Tilikhum was captured at the
age of two and taken away from his family against his will and confined
to a small concrete tank. Other reports state that not only does
SeaWorld obtain their orcas by capturing them from the wild, but the
orcas that they do not successfully capture are killed. In 1965, the first
ever orca at SeaWorld was called Shamu. During Shamus capture, her
mother was shot with a harpoon and killed by a marine named Ted
Griffin. Griffins partner, Don Goldsberry, then worked for SeaWorld and
was assigned to bring orcas into the park. He continued doing this by
kidnapping and slaughtering orcas. He even hired divers to slit open
the bellies of the orcas he killed, fill them with rocks, put anchors
around their tails, and sink them to the bottom of the ocean so that
their deaths would not be discovered.
Instead of capturing orcas and confining to them to the small
habitats at SeaWorld in order to use them for entertainment, people
should be observing them in their natural habitat and admiring them.
The human race can do so much better than holding innocent animals

Skylaar Underwood
MW 1:40
in confined spaces. We should be doing things to help the orcas and
keep their natural environment clean so that they will be able to live
long lives where they belong. Instead of having people pay to come
watch orcas swim in a pool and do tricks, we could be collecting
donations to improve their natural habitat. Instead of watching orcas in
the shows at SeaWorld people could go out into the real world and
observe them in the oceans where they belong. SeaWorld is taking
these animals from where they belong so that they can make a profit
off of their talents and appeal to human beings.
Although many people base their thoughts about SeaWorld on
opinion, there are many scientific facts that support the claims made
on how SeaWorld affects orcas. They do not give them a habitat that
fits their needs. Orcas at SeaWorld are held in swimming pools that do
not give them the space necessary to be healthy mammals. Due to
their poor environment they are unable to escape conflict, they are
unable to hunt, and their dorsal fins become collapsed. It is
scientifically proven that orcas belong in the ocean where they can be
free and experience a normal life, not held captive in theme parks such
as SeaWorld.

Skylaar Underwood
MW 1:40

http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/ten-things-didnt-knowseaworld/
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/15/262767226/months-after-blackfishrelease-controversy-for-seaworld-grows