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April Cunningham
Professor Guile
English 2010 Section 018
March 30, 2014
Everything is Black and White
In the summer of 1983, when I was four years old, my parents took me to SeaWorld in
San Diego. We arrived early before the show began to get front row seats. One of the SeaWorld
staff approached my parents and said Oh, what a cute little girl you have! Would she like to
come down and be in a stunt with Shamu? My parents were apprehensive until the staff
member showed them a picture of another little girl with Shamu. We have kids do this every
day, the staff member said reassuringly. My mother cant recall what the picture depicted
exactly, but after seeing it, both of my parents agreed it was safe to let me participate in the stunt.
I was the only one in the whole audience picked to meet Shamu and do a trick! Even though the
stunt turned out to be me putting my head into Shamus mouth, my mother said I was fearless.
At the end of the show, my parents couldnt believe they had just let me do that (Cunningham).
At that time, my parents had no idea about the dangers or living conditions of orcas in
captivity. Orcas, also known as killer whales, are actually members of the dolphin family. They
earn their name because of their vast differences of prey and what they eat depending on where
they live in the world (Morell). Killer whales in captivity have proven to be deadly not only for
humans, but for the killer whales themselves. Holding orcas captive and the associated breeding
programs need to stop. Not only for the health and safety of these amazing animals, but also for
the dedicated trainers who work with them.
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Skipping forward over 30 years, I had forgotten that special day that I got to bond with
one of the smartest animal species in the world. I recently heard about the film, Blackfish. This
film is about Tilikum, a male killer whale in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. Because of this
film, my eyes were opened to the fact our captive killer whales are not only dangerous to
themselves, but also to humans. The investigative film was created by documentary film maker,
Gabriela Cowperthwaite. She states in her interview with CNN, that she is not an animal
activist, but a mother who has taken her children to SeaWorld. When she heard of the death of
Senior SeaWorld Trainer, Dawn Brancheau there was so much confusion as to what actually
caused the orca to fatally wound her. Did she slip and fall in? Was it because of her pony tail?
She knew that if she had these questions, other people would as well (Cowperthwaite).
Tilikum has been responsible for the deaths of three people. Two were of his trainers,
Dawn Brancheau on February 24, 2010, (Blackfish), and Keltie Byrne on February 21, 1991 at
Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, Canada (Peta). Sealand of the Pacific closed soon after the
trainers death. Tilikum was then bought by SeaWorld and transferred to the Orlando park.
Coincidentally, both women were killed 20 years apart, almost to the day. The other death
involved a man who had broken into SeaWorld Orlando after hours, apparently wanting to take a
swim with Tilikum (Blackfish). He was found the next morning, naked, dead, and lying on
Tilikums back. There have also been several other close calls for trainers whom a captive orca
has shown aggression and possible intent to harm, but they luckily survived.
Consider this: there have been no documented cases of killer whales ever harming
humans in the wild. The behaviors that has caused these deaths and various other attacks against
humans have been widely documented as being a response to being in captivity. In the wild,
orcas are very social animals and have a very matriarchal structure. They live in pods with their
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mothers, grandmothers and great aunts along with siblings and cousins up to four generations.
Each pod is its own family with its own set of language and dialects. When one killer whale is
taken away, the family the whole family mourns. They take the younger killer whales because it
costs less to ship a smaller orca (Blackfish). The orcas, worth millions of dollars, are then taken
to marine themed entertainment parks. They are put in a tank with other orcas, which are
completely foreign to them. They are not related, nor do they even speak the same language or
dialect. This is where the part of the aggression begins, at least between the orcas themselves.
In the case of Tilikum, when he was first released into Sealand Park of the Pacific, he was
released into a pool with two female orcas. At night, they were denied food until they all swam
into a module, which was basically a small night time holding pool. There he would be
isolated with the other two dominant females, and tensions would mound onto Tilikum. They
would rake him, or slide their teeth into his skin and drag (Blackfish). Another constant issue
with orcas in captivity face is that they bite on the steel gates out of boredom and frustration -
often breaking their teeth. Because they are so young, they do not have enough mature pulp in
their teeth perform a root canal. The trainers will then use drills, in a procedure called
pulpotomy. This is very unpleasant for the orcas; so much in fact, they will dive to the bottom of
the pool and resist the procedure. These holes in their teeth can also leave them more susceptible
for disease entering their bodies (Jett).
In response to the criticism of SeaWorld in Blackfish, SeaWorld had dedicated a page on
their website to address the claims as seen in Blackfish. They deny that SeaWorld is harmful for
orcas and their trainers. They also deny that SeaWorld attempted to cover up the facts
surrounding the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau. They strive to convey there are several
misleading facts and manipulations and that Blackfish is not a documentary, but rather a
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propaganda film made by animal rights activists. SeaWorld also has interviews with former
trainers that back up this claim. SeaWorld states that they have extraordinary care for killer
whales and is a leader in the zoological community (SeaWorld).
So after the three deaths and several other attacks, why would SeaWorld still continue to
keep such a dangerous animal like Tilikum? The answer is simple. His semen is worth a lot of
money (Blackfish). Orcas in captivity generate a two billion dollar industry a year
(Cowperthwaite). Also, Tilikums blood line makes up 54% of SeaWorlds orcas. After Dawn
Brancheaus death in 2010, he has been isolated in his own tank and used for breeding. He
comes out at the end of each show to splash his tail at the finale, but he is not preforming with
the trainers like he used (Blackfish).
Once you learn how captivity negatively affects many orcas, not just Tilikum, you can
see that the cons completely out weigh the pros for these animals. In the wild they have life
spans of 60 to 100 years. In captivity, their life expectancy is only around in their teens to early
20s years (Cowperthwaite).
Orcas are not aggressive in the wild and they want to be with their families to live peace.
It is not necessary to make an animal perform circus tricks in front of a screaming crowd
everyday to be able to learn, appreciate and respect them. With all the great underwater
photography and researchers who have been studying these orcas in the wild for decades, we can
still learn about these amazing animals without having to contain them.
With further education on how orcas negatively respond to being in captivity, more
people will stand up and stop supporting marine theme parks. It is clear that the animals get
frustrated, lonely, bored, which causes them to become aggressive. Lets give them a chance to
be free and be in the open ocean with their families where they belong.
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Works Cited
Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. By Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Eli B. Despres, and Tim
Zimmerman. Prod. Manny Oteyza. Perf. Tilikum. CNN Films, 2013. Netflix.
Cowperthwaite, Gabriela, and The Opinions Expressed in This Commentary Are Solely Those of
Gabriela Cowperthwaite. "Filmmaker: Why I Made 'Blackfish'" CNN. Cable News
Network, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Cunningham, Diane. "Aprils Shamu Experience." Personal interview. 25 Mar. 2014.
Jett, John S., and Jeffrey M. Venture. "Keto & Tilikum Express the Stress of Orca Captivity."
(2011): 1-21. Feb. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Morell, Virginia. "Killer Whales Earn Their Name."Science"331.6015 (2011): 274-76. Print.
Peta. "30 Years and Three Deaths: Tilikum's Tragic Story."SeaWorld Of Hurt: Where
Happiness Tanks. Peta, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Seaworld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. "Truth About Blackfish. SeaWorld Parks &
Entertainment, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.