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Orca show at SeaWorld San Diego. Orcas, or killer whales, are large predatory cetaceans that were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s. They soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size. [1]
Captive orcas are kept in small tanks, false social groupings and chemically altered water. Captive killer whales have been observed acting aggressively toward themselves, other killer whales, or humans, which is a result of stress. [89]
At the time of her death in 2023, she was the last remaining captive orca from the 1960s-1970s Washington captures, prior to the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. After five decades of captivity, she was succumbing to skin lesions, with a chronic lung infection continuing to weaken her body.
In 2016, California was the first state to ban the breeding of killer whales for theatrical shows. Hopefully, in years to come, killer whales will be held free from captivity
Kiska, a young female orca, was captured in 1978 off the Iceland coast and taken to Marineland Canada, an aquarium and amusement park. Orcas are social animals that live in family pods with up to ...
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. [8] He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). [9] His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
When director Gabriela Cowperthwaite set out to make Blackfish more than a decade ago, not even she knew the impact the documentary about the captivity of orcas, mostly at SeaWorld, would have. "I ...
In captivity, orcas cannot swim to their necessary depth, causing sunburn and blisters. The extended exposure to open air can cause the dorsal fin to collapse. [7] As of 2016, 63 orcas are in captivity in the U.S. Studies show that nearly all captive orcas die for reasons other than old age. [9] Twelve orcas have died at Sea World since 1970.