Characteristics Of Killer Whales

1058 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Killer whales behavior research essay

Free the Whales Orcas, or killer whales, are one of the world’s most powerful predators. Killer whales are mammals that can live up to fifty to eighty years in the wild. They can grow up to thirty two feet weighing close to six tons. Killer whales hunt in deadly pods that may have up to forty individuals. Each pod is unique and does not have the same techniques and characteristics as every other pod. These whales have a variety of communication sounds that are specific to their pod. Killer whales have different types of languages just like we do with other humans (National Geographic Socitey). Because killer whales are so big and have these characteristics, is it right for them to be kept captive at amusement parks such as SeaWorld? The warrant …show more content…

That specific lobe has to do with processing emotions. This extra lobe has evolved in their brain causing them to have a very emotional life (Blackfish). When their very own child is ripped from these mammals, they get very emotional. There is a scene in the documentary BlackFish when a calve had been taken away from the mother and she was constantly sending high pitch vocals. A vocalist whale expert came to study these sounds and concluded that the mother was sending long distance screeches so she could reach her baby. For SeaWorld to keep separating the mother and calve knowing how much it hurts these mammals is …show more content…

In 2010, a trainer named Dawn Brancheau was doing a show just like she had done plenty of times. Tilikum is the name of the whale that she was doing the show with. He got a hold of Brancheaus ponytail, dragged her in the pool and mauled to death. After six years, SeaWorld still claims no responsibility for the vicious attack (Occupation of health and safety cooperate). Former trainers claim that Brancheau did nothing wrong to cause her death. They claim that it was an action from the whale caused by him getting frustrated because he did not do a behavior correctly and was not given a treat. It is not a good thing for these whales to be interacting with the trainers while having these super high stress levels. It puts these trainers in a very dangerous situation. These whales are not supposed to be caged up. These are beautiful intelligent creatures that deserve a great life. They should not be forced to be caged in for entertainment. It is not morally right for humans to do this to these whales. For the benefit of humans, killer whales are neglected. SeaWorld needs to stop breeding these mammals and give them the life they deserve. SeaWorld tells so much lies to customers about these whales and it is time that they start speaking the truth. Many kids think SeaWorld is such a good place for these whales but in reality it is not. That may be what SeaWorld claims but it is a lie. These whales suffer every

Show More
Related

  • Sea World Rhetorical Analysis

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since whales are normally peaceful in the wild and they only seem to attack while in captivity, the argument is that captivity is wrong and dangerous for killer whales. This argument is supported by detailed facts about how the whales are tortured and agitated by other whales with no outlet. Both female and male whales are confined to a swimming pool where they are in a way being forced to try and mate. The female whales tend to abuse the male whales, which leads the whales to become mentally and physically unhealthy resulting in attacks on trainer. In the interviews with Corinne Cowell and Nadine Kallen, they mentioned that when they visited Sealand of the Pacific that three whales were confined to a “dingy pool”. Another appeal to pathos is when a neurologist that has studied killer whales mentions how the animals are very intelligent and are well-aware of what is going on around them. (SeaWorld) Killer whales have similar brains to humans, but have a bigger part of their brain where emotions are processed. With this, whales are more aware of their emotions and the bonds they make with humans and other animals. (SeaWorld) With the huge amount of raw footage, first-hand accounts, and true information, the film is able to grasp the attention of the viewers with the amount of emotion that is shown from the former trainers and the whales themselves. With these tactics, the film effectively appeals to the

    Read More

  • Movie Review: The Blackfish Effect

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director

    Read More

  • Seaworld Persuasive Speech

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    Out of the 156 whales they have taken into captivity from the wild, 129 are dead. Including orcas bred within SeaWorld, at least 165 have died in their facilities (Schelling). Another falsehood SeaWorld claims is that collapsed dorsal fins are completely normal and common of all male orcas. It is actually quite rare to find in the wild, while every single one of their male whales has a collapsed dorsal fin (“8 Shocking Facts…”). SeaWorld also guarantees that they never separate a calf from its mother and even have posted a picture of a baby and its mother as proof. What they didn’t tell the public was that soon after that picture was posted they shipped the calf off to Spain alone to a different park. A past trainer even said that there had been at least 19 separations of mother and calf that he knew of at his location. All of these factors previously stated added up have a large influence on the whales mentally. Many whales are afflicted by psychosis and anxiety and in turn are given drugs such as Valium to keep them performing in shows. There have been various occasions, often swept under the rug by SeaWorld and away from the public eye, where the drugs didn’t work enough (Schelling). There

    Read More

  • Reasons Why Orcas Should Not Be Kept In Captivity

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    Second reason why they shouldn’t be kept in a captivity. You can’t recreate on orcas natural environment. The pods sea world cannot hold 40 or more whales which are usually in a pod. If it holds 40 orcas they will make more babies and after their gonna be so much whales and the water won’t hold that much whales. Because whales are the size of bus school and is just like 40 bus

    Read More

  • Should Killer Whales be Kept in Captivity?

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Should killer whales be kept in captivity? Killer whales are mammals that travel in schools. These mammals eat large fish, seals, and even other whales. Killer whales can be dangerous, and are really big animals. When looking at all the evidence about killer whales in SeaWorld, laws and actions need to be enforced with this dangerous activity.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Techniques Used In The Film Blackfish

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    The trainers along with Cowperthwaite believe to have them in a captivity like SeaWorld is inhumane. I agree with this documentary, Blackfish. This documentary gave a perfect visual representation on why I do not like having animals in a cage or in a small area. Having animals captive, working hard, and hardly fed is wrong, especially only allowing them in a small area to roam. Watching this documentary made me feel sympathy toward these poor animals that must go through with this harsh life style. Just like Cowperthwaite, I strongly believe the orcas shall not be held in these small areas and be allowed to live in their natural

    Read More

  • Seaworld Persuasive Speech

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    Little do they know that they are placing their money in the hands of people who are destroying the lives, “SeaWorld has experienced roughly one orca death per year since its breeding program began,” and reputations of wild and beautiful animals (Rose 4). The animals that are held captive are not bred and born in captivity, but rather captured and sold to the park or rescued and relocated into the parks afterward. The tanks made for these captive creatures are nowhere near the size that they should be in order to create a comfortable life for the orcas. In fact a wild orca spends most of it's life swimming. The orca swims when it is hunting and traveling and breeding. An orca that lives the entirety of it's life in the ocean will swim thousands upon thousands of miles in it's lifetime. The orcas like Tilikum, “the largest orca in captivity, weighing 12,500 pounds and measuring over 22 feet in length,” who are taken out of the ocean and placed in tanks for the enjoyment of mankind do not obtain the ability or the luxury of performing such a basic need in their life (SeaWorld of Hurt 1). The orcas that are held captive can not swim thousands of miles like they need to in order to remain healthy not only physically but mentally as well. These orcas are left to live in a rather confined space and spend most of their time relatively stationary when compared to

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Orcas In Captivity

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Orcas

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    And even a six year old wasn’t blind to that fact. The issue of keeping Orcas in captivity and under the care of man has been a controversial practice ever since the first dolphins and whales were taken into aquariums for the amusement of humans. In more recent times, the documentary Blackfish (which has been recently broadcast on popular TV stations such as CNN) that focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, has brought to light the controversy over captive killer whales. Orcas are majestic, beautiful, and intelligent creatures that should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment because of the harm they cause. SeaWorld, a leader in the captivity and use of killer whales for entertainment, has counterattacked the points made by the documentary Blackfish, which brought many points to light.

    Read More

  • The Killer Whales: Characteristics Of The Killer Whale

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the front of the head is the melon. Its melon transmits sound waves that help it see at night to helping it catch its prey. Killer whales have sharp, cone-shaped
teeth made for ripping and tearing prey. The Killer Whale has no sense of smell because there is a part of their brain missing that is missing. The sense of smell goes unused because they spend most of the time in the ocean. The blowhole helps the Killer Whale to breathe; the blowhole flap provides a watertight seal. To open its blowhole, a killer whale relaxes the muscle covering the hole (SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment).

    Read More

  • Seaworld Persuasive Essay

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    It all began with good intentions. People thinking that they can control these animals and not expect any negative impacts. It was all due to wanting to explore and entertain with the animals. However, not all animals are meant to be taken from the wild to be show animals. After many years of unfair ways, SeaWorld is doing the right thing by closing down the whale exhibit even if it isn’t by choice because it is unhealthy for both the humans and animals involved.

    Read More

  • Seaworld Research Paper

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    Seaworld is a giant marine life theme park. The greatest attraction to these many theme park would be those killer whales. In fact, these killer whales are the face of the park. As gigant as these mammals are, seaworld is keeping them in some pretty tight quarters. Mr. Jett and Mr.Ventre says “Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed. In stark contrast, with little horizontal or vertical space in their enclosures, captive orcas swim only limited distances, with most spending many hours surface resting.” The animals don't have the freedom they need. Also when taking the whales out of their natural habit the whales tend to be depressed and not as heath in that situation. They need their freedom in the big ocean blue. Bring them into the small living units, breeding whales in captivity all for the entertainment of humans. At young ages the calves are taken away from their mothers on to a new seaworld park. Mothers of the calves have even been seen denying their offspring.

    Read More

  • Killer Whale Shows Should NOT Be Banned

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think that killer whale shows should be banned because killer whales can protect themselves in the wild,they can lose natural abilities to hunt and feed themselves, and that killer whale shows can ruin the population of killer whales. My first reason is that, that killer whales could protect themselves in the wild because from a website called “animals.mom.me,” it said that “Orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years-their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 years for females. The average age of death for orcas that have lived in seaworld is 13 years old.” So this shows that if you do not capture orcas (killer whales), they will have a longer life span because they can protect themselves in the wild and can survive much longer than 13 years in an aquarium.

    Read More

  • Seaworld Argumentative Essay

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is your definition of “family.” A grouping of parents, and children, or maybe a brother and a sister with an aunt or uncle. Well seaworld has redefined family. They tell their viewers that they care about the social structure of their whales, and that they keep families together when in reality their “families” are just an artificial assemblage of whales that they found or bought and put in a pool together. Imagine being put with a bunch of strangers you don’t even know, thats not a family, its just a random grouping. A common controversial issue has been going around the US for years. Should killer whales in seaworld be kept in captivity. Some people believe that it is inhumane and unhealthy whereas others think that it is educational for the viewers and has no negative impact on the animals. Seaworld killer whales should not be held captive.

    Read More

  • Killer Whales Should Not Be Allowed In Captivity Essay

    1977 Words  | 4 Pages

    In recent years, humans have gained the ability to tame and train these creatures. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity simply because it is cruel, unnatural, and dangerous. Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually

    Read More

More about Characteristics Of Killer Whales

Open Document