Have you ever been encaptured by the beauty and magnificence of marine wildlife in a marine park or aquarium? After watching the 2013 documentary Blackfish directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the idea of having orca whales domesticated and trained as a form of entertainment became a questionable subject in my mind. I questioned whether or not it was an ethical treament to the whales to have them nurtured in a park rather than their natural habitat in the wild where they are living in an uncontrolled environment, which allows them to develop skills an orca would naturally develop. After researching the topics of orcas in the wild and orcas in captivity, much of the information suggests orcas in captivity are more likely to die sooner than those in the the wild. After learning of this fact, I pondered if the orca’s lifestyle as a performer deteriorated its health and well-being than a wild orca’s lifestyle of roaming the open waters for food. Does the possibility of an orca’s lifestyle as a performer shorten the lifespan of an orca?

The average lifespan of an orca in captivity is between 30 to 50 years, according to Seaworld. (“Lifespan”) The average lifespan for wild orcas differs for genders, but can live from 50 to 100 years according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.(Killer Whale) The average lifespan of a captive orca is parallel to that of a wild orca according to Seaworld, but many of the captive animals die prematurely due to accidents with the park’s pool not being big enough for the orca to swim around as much as a wild orca or from stillbirth. The average lifespan of orca Another statistic pertaining to orcas is 100% of captive male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, where the dorsal fin of an orca collapses partially or completely to one side. This evidence has lead many to believe the living conditions of captive orcas are small and cramped for the orcas, but many scientists also do not know what causes this to happen. The population of wild orcas having collapsed dorsal fin is very rare, but has happened in 2002, when a stranded orca showed the signs of collapsed fin, but shortly after being released back into the wild it regained its normal fin shape. What many believe causes the dorsal fin collapse are the factors of the orca’s age, fitness, reduced swimming from lack of space and water pressure, chemicals used in the water, medication, food, and dehydration.(“SeaWorld Fact Check - Dorsal Fin Collapse”) This is analogous to a fit human losing muscle over time if they do not continue to work the muscles to stimulate muscle growth, but also the factors of diet, exercise, and age also play into the muscle loss.. This comparison of facts should be able to show the people of the world about Seaworld’s orcas living conditions being very questionable in their policies and treatment of the orcas. I believe this to show the effects of the lifestyle and living conditions of captive orcas to be detrimental to their health as the rare effects of collapsed dorsal fin and reduction of lifespans have differed from wild orcas.

What good has come from Seaworld keeping these orcas in captivity? Seaworld debates keeping orca whales in captivity brings new information on the orcas through research and science, while also providing an experience to park visitors an experience with the whales. The relationship of whales to humans is one-sided in this case with the whales being used to inspire the humans, but one could argue the whales’ inspiration serves as a spark for humans to delve into animal rights and care.

The question of captive orcas versus wild orcas has become more apparent after the spark of inspiration from the movie to research more about this topic. Before watching the movie, I had no knowledge of this subject, but after the movie and additional research, I have come to the conclusion of orcas should be left alone in the wild as having orcas kept in parks as entertainment will reduce the health of the orcas and possibly prove detrimental to future generations of orcas.


Work Cited
"Killer whale (Orcinus orca) :: NOAA Fisheries." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2015. Web. 2 November 2015.
“Lifespan.” Seaworldcares.com. Seaworld, n.d. Web. 2 November 2015.
“SeaWorld Fact Check - Dorsal Fin Collapse”  n.p., n.d. Web. 2 November 2015.