Seaworld Ecology

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Why SeaWorld Needs To Release its Orca Whales from Captivity
The SeaWorld is probably one of the most amazing parks that offer a sea life amusement park where visitors can get the rare chance to see the orca whales in real life as they perform (Rose 16). The evidence clearly shows holding the animals in captivity subjects them to psychological harm as well as physical harm while these animals should be living their lives in their natural habitats with other marine living creatures. (MacDonald 1215). Naomi Rose, who is a scientist specializing in marine mammals argues that the act of holding the orcas in captivity forces the animals to breed with their members of the family which is harmful to their coexistence. The confinement of the orcas in artificial habitats by the SeaWorld has led to several as well as injuries among dozens of people involved in handling the animals (Ford 672).
A report also shows scientific evidence that proves the killer whales fail to adjust to the life in confinement. The report further indicates the killer whales that are held captive have low rates of mortality compared to the wild orcas, a situation that has increasingly worsened to date (Olesiuk and Ford 75). The evidence also shows that female killer whales bear offsprings at a younger age compared to the wild orcas, which leads to high mortalities for both the infant and the adult whales (Ford and Balcomb 102). Majority of the death causes witnessed in the captured orcas are because of infections while chronic stress plays a critical role in suppressing the animal’s ability to respond to disease infections.

There is an association of low dental hygiene with whales in captivity in comparison with the whales living in the wild habitats, which increases their susceptibility to severe disease infections. The act of holding the killer whales in confinement escalates their aggression against one another compared to the wild whales.
Works Cited
Ford, J.K.B. 2009. Killer whales. In: Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (W.F. Perrin, B. Wursig, and J.G.M. Thewissen, Eds.). Academic Press, New York, pp. 669-676; National Marine Fisheries Service op cit.
Ford, J.K.B., Ellis, G.M., and Balcomb, K.C. 1994. Killer Whales: The Natural History and Genealogy of Orcinus orca in British Columbia and Washington State. UBC Press, Vancouver, 102 pp.
MacDonald, D. 1965. The saga of Moby Doll. Reader’s Digest 86 34; Bigg, M. A. and Wolman, A.A. 1975. Live capture killer whale (Orcinus orca) fishery, British Columbia and Washington, 1962-73. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 32: 1213-1221.
Olesiuk, P.F., Ellis, G.M., and Ford. J.K.B. 2005. Life history and population dynamics of northern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia. Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document 2005/045, 75 pp.
Rose, N. A. 2011. Killer Controversy: Why Orcas Should No Longer Be Kept in Captivity. Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, Washington, D.C. 16 pp.