Free Willy—Free Em All—SeaWorld and Killer Whales Should Part Ways
Posted: Saturday, February 27, 2010
by Steve Kovacs
The Kovacs Perspective
The recent death of 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau by a killer whale at SeaWorld of Orlando was a tragedy that caught the world's attention. Brancheau was a world-renowned whale trainer and was considered one of the best in the world. Yet, while she was on a platform, the 12,000-pound Orca named Tilikum dragged the trainer under water and thrashed her around violently.
It simply sounds like a bad whale doesn't it? One certainly could make that assumption by looking at the facts concerning this particular mammal. However, this is a 12,000-pound, male killer whale that has raging hormones to mate. It has a powerful need to be free and do what whales do naturally in the wild. It lives in a small tank that some say is large enough; however, the fact of the matter is that they are tiny for an animal of their size and makeup.
Whom do I blame for the death of this trainer? Of course, I blame the whale but in the same breath, I must say it goes deeper than just blaming a seemingly "bad" whale. Experts tell us these whales are perfect killing machines in the ocean. They swim thousands of miles and do what their DNA programs them to do. That programming is to swim, socialize with their own kind on their own terms, and of course to hunt and kill (up to 500 pounds of food a day).
I was fortunate to have lived about twenty minutes from a now closed SeaWorld in Ohio . It was fantastic and had shows with dolphins, walruses, otters, and of course killer whales. The shows were informative, exciting and entertaining. I remember they always had people protesting outside of the facility carrying signs: Free the Whales, Sea World Abuses Animals, and Stop Animal Abuse and Exploitation. I never gave the protesters much thought and I kind of thought they were extremists. I am not so sure now.
Killer whales are extremely bright animals and quite social. Putting something that intelligent, social, and programmed to hunt at massive levels and have it jump through hoops all day is wrong. They are wild animals with wild instincts. Granted, they are lower down the food chain than we are and some may say we are entitled to both learn and be entertained by them. It is also a fact these killer whale shows have enlightened and educated millions throughout the years and scientists have learned a great deal from them while in captivity.
SeaWorld has decided not to kill the offending animal; however, they are going to review everything about how they deal with killer whales. I am sure officials will make a thorough review and make some specific changes. However, the real change that needs to be done is to re-introduce the whales that can survive on their own to the sea. The ones who could not survive in the wild because of being in captivity for so long should continue to be studied and utilized.
SeaWorld's killer whale program should be stopped. No new whales should be bred in captivity and no new whales should be captured and used mainly for entertainment. There is a fundamental truth in life that nothing stays exactly the same that as time passes all things change. This is a change an increasingly civilized, enlightened, and educated society should make.
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)Great article. Well done.It's killed three people! If a person kills once they spend their life in prison however if a whale does it, its alright. The fact that it has killed once and nothing has been done, and then killed again still nothing, and then again and they say well lets have a wee review. It's starting to built a case for negligent homicide.I listened to the president of the parks talk about it on the news and I got the impression that he was not bothered how many people the whale kills. He never once Apologized for it or explained that it should never have happened. He just plainly outlined what the company was going to do as if he was wondering whether they should change the water cooler.Great point Connor---person kills once in the US they usually spend years or life in prison or the death penalty--I caught a few seconds of the CEO on TV and he did seem like it was a minor problem and spoke about it as if he was just trying to handle a water-cooler issue!!!!
Free them all. The first word in this creature's name is killer. That should have given Sea World pause. I cannot believe they will continue to showcase these mammals which should remain in their natural habitat.Good job, sir.Hi Mike and thanks for writing--Yeah, they'll continue to showcase em---profit is the bottom line--if that dries up so will the whale program. And I agree that this is a perversion of nature.
Great article. I too think they should not keep these whales in captivity for just the reasons you stated. They are following their instincts.Yes Linda, just their instincts--no one should be surprised--time to let em go and stop it--thank you for writing.
Hi Steve Excellent Article and very thought provoking on whether killer whales.or in fact any animal should be kept in captivity.I did see the item on the news last week,and my first thoughts were that the whale would definately be put to rest,i was rather amazed when they did not.The question against,if park keepers or organisations in general will ever stop using animals in shows is a hard one after all its "Business " as to say and it employs people from all over the world plus the revenue it must generate,at parks like in Disneyland and Florida.Thanks for writing--Yes, it's big business and many people depend on the income but I say that sometimes the right thing to do----is the answer. Possibly other similar related businesses could be started up without the live captive mammals being used.
I agree with you and with what Connor had to add. It's shocking changes weren't made after the first deaths.Yeah, kind of hard to believe isn't it. I'm curious to see what kind of changes they come up with. Thanks Brianna.
Years ago, before I moved to Florida to sing, I wrote freelance features for Cleveland publications. I was fortunate enough to interview an Aurora Sea World trainer of orcas, better known as killer whates. I found the killer whale to be a truly amazing animal.This aquatic beast has the capacity to easily kill just about any other animal, past or present, in a confrontation; including a great white shark or even a tyrannosaurus rex. They swim in schools, much like piranha. But unlike most killing machines such as lions or tigers, for some unknown reason they are gentle to man, as a rule.Killer whales are really over-sized dolphins, who are also amiable to man. Like dolphins killer whales are extraordinarily intelligent and affectionate.Sea World trainers can actually communicate with orcas using hand signals and high tech underwater sound systems which send high-pitched sounds in killer whale language. I was awarded the honor of being permitted to feed Shamu a fish and rub it's belly. He took the fish without biting my hand off and his skin felt like leather. I was awarded with an orca kiss. Coincidentally, Shamu I died a week after kissing my aunt a week after his performance. Fortunately Shamu II. did not die that soon after kissing me. His tongue felt like sandpaper. To me, Shamu was like a 12,000 pound playful puppy. We even had a friendly splash fight. I won that round because I got the last splash and I was able to run away from the tank before Shamu could get the next big one. The next time I saw him he almost got even with me. Being a highly intelligent life form, he remembered who I was when he saw me in the front row during one of his shows. He immediate jumped about 20 feet in the air and I saw a giant tidal wave about to sop me. I saved myself from getting sopped by grabbing the girl sitting next to me and using her as a shield. I considered our confrontation as harmless fun. Not all are harmless.unfortunately, like any other high intelligent form of life, different killer whales are going to have different temperaments.. Tillicum, who killed 3 people after confrontations, is a rare rogue of this gentle-to-man species of animal. Sea World officials need to get rid of Tillicum but not get rid of the orcan research program. Killer whales invaluable to the research effort of understanding other species and improving human relations with them. And the killer whale show is great entertainment. Plus, keeping a few captive orcas for these purposes does not impede the natural activity of killer whales in the wildHi Mike and thanks for offering your viewpoint. On a humorous note though let me get this straight, you grabbed a girl and used her as a shield? I guess it's safe to assume you guys aren't dating now!No. She was a stranger sitting next to me. She hit me afterwards then we dated for a while.Unique way you have of getting dates Mike....whatever works I guess!!!!!!
Great article, Steve. I, too, have seen the killer whales perform, at Sea World in San Antonio. As impressive as it was I knew the trainers who played with the whales like they were puppies had voluntarily taken on quite a risk. It's something akin to being a stunt man or WFW wrestler. A risky job undertaken willingly.Again, great job.Yes it is (stunt man etc) and the trainers understand that and I've never heard one complain. I'm curious to see what kind f changes the powers that be will make.Thanks for dropping a line Ken.Steve
Hi Steve I couldn't agree more. Over the last 3 years I have been to Florida and watched the Shamu show. There wasn't a time that I didn't fear the worst. Sadly my fears came true. It's all in the name, is it not enough when you see "KILLER" whale not to get into the waterThanks for a great articleKeep wellKacyYour common sense showed you that at any time tragedy can happen with these animals. If they don't make major changes death will continue--it's just a matter of time. It's about time to let it go and do something else with those whales-------hope you liked Florida!Ken I loved Florida, however this year I am not going when my sons fly out again in April. My legs can't keep up with all the running across roads, and not to mention my worst nightmare "snakes." We rented a house on our last visit, but god must have been on my side this day.For 5 days I had been sitting outside on the patio where there was a dripping a pipe, of which many a time I bent down to - to warn the kids not to touch. I expect you know what's coming next. This day I was sitting outside having a cup of coffee when my son who was stood up said 'Give me your coffee and go inside' I thought he wanted my chair so I hummed and arred, but then I seen something in his face and when he was taking the cup from hand I knew something was up, but I still took the chair with me into the house. I rushed upstairs to look over the balcony to see what I know now as "black racers" coming up from the ground by this pipe. So yes there was a time when I did like Florida but now I am not so sure.Keep well SteveKacyI've spent a lot of time in Florida and never heard about those black racers. I just looked them up. If you ever go to Florida again go to the Everglades at night--the loud sounds of insects are amazing. One day in the Everglades my brother had a cotton mouth snake rear up at him and we both had a huge alligator get aggressive with us as we stumbled on her young. Having said all this I still love the State.My best,
First of all, I must say I've never been a maniacal "Free Willy" activist. I have paid to swim with captive dolphins, and loved it. It was amazing. That being said, recent events, as well as the release of the dolphin documentary "The Cove" (you all must watch it!!) has made me realize that, maybe unfortunately, it is time to stop dolphin, killer whale, and sea mammal shows. They are wild animals. We have learned (mostly) not to train Grizzly Bears or lions at our major zoos, yet we continue to train these sea mammals to do our bidding, at the expense of their freedoms and human lives. Once you learn the methods by which many of these animals are obtained, how nervous and anxious they are in captivity, you wonder what in the heck we're doing. It's really quite inhumane. I don't know what should be the fate of the whale in the latest tragedy. But I know the whale really shouldn't be there in the first place.I never knew that they are nervous and anxious in captivity but it makes sense. I'll have to check out The Cove and I agree--what are we doing? Money...it's mainly money related. Thanks for writing.
This is a great debate about a very complicated topic.It is sad to see any creature confined in a cage or tank, however if we didn't have such places, most people wouldn't get to see these amazing creatures in the flesh.Additionally, would be so anti breeding in captivity if killer whales were on the endangered species list?Of course it is terrible that people have lost their lives. But trainers and experts would have known the risks they were taking - at the end of the day its a wild animal.
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