Orcas were never meant for a life of captivity — but many still live in confinement. Here’s why that matters.
There is a poignant clip from the 2013 documentary, Blackfish, that still resounds today. The documentary told the story of one killer whale, Tilikum, who had been housed at SeaWorld for over 30 years. He was involved in the deaths of three people, and became a symbol of the consequences of life in captivity. This part in the story recounted how Tilikum grabbed his trainer’s arm during a “relationship session,” pulled her into the water, and violently killed her. It was an event that rocked the marine park world — but it also wasn’t the first.
Just what have we learned from events like this and the continued practice of orca captivity?
Since 1961, 166 killer whales have been taken from the wild and placed into captivity, 132 of which are dead. The most infamous mass captures happened in 1970 in Penn Cove, Washington; where seven killer whales were taken from a now endangered pod of Southern Resident orcas. Today, there are 53 orcas held in captivity, most of which are found in North America. This number could still increase in the East where this form of entertainment remains popular and welfare regulations low.
Most captive orcas are held in artificial social groups, while some, like Lolita (the last remaining killer whale from the Penn Cove capture, who recently passed away at the age of 57; she was promised to be released back into the wild later in 2024 to early 2025), live alone. Captive-born orcas are typically separated from their mothers and then transferred to other facilities. This is unnatural and distressing for orcas, who are socially complex creatures that naturally come from matrilineal families in the wild, and depend on them for their own survival. Captive breeding hasn’t proven more effective in any way — still births and miscarriages are common among captive orcas due to inbreeding; some mothers even reject or attack their calves.
Where most orcas live to be as old as 80 in the wild, captive orcas have far shorter life spans — some as young as 25. The health of captive orcas ought not to be overlooked either. Collapsed dorsal fins due to underdeveloped musculature, persistent dental issues (caused by drilled and unfilled teeth to prevent them from chewing on bars), and other infections inflict many orcas who live in captivity.
While some marine parks have shut down their shows, studies show orcas are still vulnerable to stress in entertainment parks. These orcas suffer from chronic boredom; unable to behave based on their natural evolution. Captive orcas show signs of deteriorated mental health and increased aggression, towards humans, each other and themselves (by banging their heads against their tanks or intentionally beaching their bodies).
While these are the unsettling realities of orca captivity, safe and successful releases of orcas into the wild are possible.
This WORLD ORCA DAY, let’s put an end to captivity by donating with VAKOVAKO.
