YesA total change of direction here For as long as I can rememberI have been fascinated by whalesAll animals reallyBut especially whalesIt started when I did a project on them in primary schoolAnd the fascination has never left meThere is something so magical about them Their sheer size alone is mind bogglingLast night on BBCThere was a documentary on about zoosPresented by Liz BoninThat asked the questionsShould we keep animals in captivity?What are the costs and the benefits?I wasn't going to watch said documentaryAs in the trailer It said there were some upsetting scenesAnd nothing upsets me more than seeing animals in distress I decided to watch it thoughAs even though it is really upsetting I want to be aware of what is happening The documentary itself was brilliantIt asked some really tough questions About why we keep animals in captivityTheir habitat in captivity Their behavior in captivity as opposed to the wild Apparently an elephants life span is cut in half in captivityThey also experience other problems such as obesity Rotten teeth And foot problems All because they have been kept in the wrong sort of conditions The documentary also questions about extinctionIn the case of the northern white rhinoThere are none left in the wild at allAnd only five exist in captivitySoIs it better to keep a species in captivity to keep it alive?Or should we allow these beautiful animals to die out?It's a tricky one
But back to whales The documentary spoke about the movie Black FishThe film that focuses on the events that led up to the death of 40 year old Seaworld trainer Dawn Branchaeu in 2010I haven't seen the movieAs I think it would send me over the edge and traumatise me for lifeThe name of the whale that killed Dawn Brancheau is called TilikumDawn was rubbing Tilikum as part of a post show routine when the orca grabbed her by her left arm and hairAnd dragged her to the bottom of the enclosureTilikum scalped herBroke her bones Dismembered herShe drowned The third person to have been killed by Tilikum since his capture over 30 years agoSeaworld declined to take part in the film Black Fish But they did agree to an interview for the BBC documentary last night We got to meet TilikumWho still resides in Sea WorldThe head vet there Argued that Dawn Brancheaus death was a tragic accident And not a deliberate attack on her life
Let's rewind here a little So I can give you some history of TilikumTilikum is the largest orca in captivityWeighing in at 12, 500 poundsAnd over 22 feet in lengthTilikum was captured near IcelandIn November 1983Two years oldHe was ripped away from his family and ocean home He was covered in lanolinAn oil extracted from sheeps wool which is applied to the orcas whole body to prepare them for a long transport without waterTilikum has been bought and sold like a commodity since his captureHeld in small holding tanks All he could do was swim in small circles and float aimlessly at the surface of the water In the wild an orca can cover an area of up to 100 miles a day So you can see how disturbing it must be to the whaleIn captivity Food was held from Tilikum as a training techniqueHe was forced to perform every hour on the hour 8 times a day 7 days a weekOn February 21 1991 Sealand trainer Keltie Byrne fell in to a pool containing three orcas including TilikumShe was pulled to the bottom of the enclosure Tossed around among the three orcasAnd ultimately drowned She was the first of three people to have been killed due to Tilikums stress, confinement and frustration
After the death of Keltie Sealand closed its doors for goodAnd Tilikum was sold to SeaworldOver the course of Tilikums life at thereHe has been involved in multiple acts of aggression The stress of captivity also drives him to exhibit abnormal repetitive behaviourSuch as on metal gates and the concrete sides of his tank The stress of captivity also drove Tilikum to kill a young trainer called Daniel P Dukes in 1999Following Dawns tragic death in 2010Tilikum was kept in a tiny enclosureAfter a year of isolationHe returned to performing Aggression towards humans by orcas is almost non existent in natureBut the constant stress of living in incompatible social groupings inside minuscule tAnks at Seaworld causes them to lash outPosing a threat of danger to other whales and employees alike
Having researched this topic today And some of the information here was taken directly from Seaworld of Hurts website I feel a sense of despair for these animals It really upsets me In fact cruelty to animals upsets me a lot more than cruelty to people I asked myself todayWhat I can do to help these poor creatures And I guess by raising awareness here on my blog is at least something I find myself with little pity for those that Tilikum killedI mean these are wild animals Being kept in unsatisfactory conditions I'm actually surprised that more people haven't been killedSo I guess we need to ask ourselves some difficult questionsIn order to solve this problem In my opinionSeaworld and similar places should be illegal No more than dancing bearsDonkey ridesAnd any other activity that exploits animals for money As humans We do not own this planet Animals have every right to life in the wild As it seems keeping them in captivity does not work
With all that said I was wondering about youWhat do you think about places like Seaworld?Have you ever been?And also what do you think about zoos?I know a lot of you out there are animal lovers like meSo I am interested to hear what you think...