What are facts about seaworld?

Answer 1

First of all, notice at @SeaWorld that all the male (and some female) orcas dorsal fins were flopped over? There's a reason for that. See, in the wild, orcas always have straight dorsal fins-- the only two cases of flopped dorsal fins in the wild are due to an oil spill. Orcas' dorsal fins are constructed of collagen. Collagen needs pressure to harden--orcas need to be able to spend time at depths in order to have a straight dorsal fin. The shallow water in the pools at SeaWorld don't provide this depth. Thus, the dorsal fin will flop to a side. This causes imbalance in the orca; the dorsal fin is crucial to the swimming habits.

Secondly, there are two main types of orcas-- resident, and transient. Residents eat fish and transients eat other animals (such as porpoises, seals, penguins, dolphins, etc.). However, SeaWorld feeds ALL orcas DEAD FISH-- which is EXTREMELY bad for their dietary habits. And, because orcas are unable to vomit (their trachea and esophagus aren't connected), the dead fish is used as an (inadequate) substitute for the norm of an orca's diet. Also, being hand fed by humans means that calves have no reason to develop the skill of echolocation, a vital skill for wild orcas, and therefore... don't.

Third, recently, the US placed a ban on capturing wild orcas. So, SeaWorld now forces orcas to breed with each other. If the orca is not born dead, then there's more then a fifty percent chance that it will die in the first two months. At SeaWorld alone, fourty four calves have died. A statement was even released admitting that captive born orcas were dying faster then they are being born. Immoral much? The phrasing reminded me of a factory line, but producing orcas. Not only that, but sub-species are being forced into breeding with each other.

Fourth of all, orcas have EXTREMELY sensitive eyes and ears. The unnatural chemicals from the pools and the noise from all the screaming 'fans' damages their most vital senses. Also, the chlorine often causes a skin disease known as papillomatosis.

Fifth, most of these orcas were taken from different pods. Each orca pod has it's own unique form of communication, as orcas are very social animals. However, the orcas at SeaWorld are deprived of the ability to communicate with other orcas due to the fact that they all understand different 'languages'.

Sixth, orcas are used to swimming miles and miles every day. In SeaWorld, they are not given the space to do much more then splash their flukes. Captive orcas don't participate in the normal activities of an orca-- such as spyhopping.

Seventh, the mean survival age of all the orcas ever taken to/born at SeaWorld is four years. FOUR YEARS. In the wild, males survive up to an average of 50 years; females...80. The entire range is from one day-- ONE DAY TO LIVE-- to twenty eight years. Do you see nothing wrong with that??

Many mention that SeaWorld has a Rehabilitation Center. I won't dispute that; they most certainly do. What I will point out, however, is a story from the coast of Mexico. A few months ago, an orca calf washed up on the shore, barely alive and badly harmed. It's mother had died in a storm. The Mexican town decided to take care of the orca. She was on her way to making a comeback, when... SeaWorld butted in! They announced they were planning on taking the orca to Orlando (to be abused and shown off with the rest of the orcas) when... the orca died. Strange, she was healthy until SeaWorld arrived...Also, of these supposed 'rehabilitation missions', six orcas victimized by this have been brought to SeaWorld for the rest of their lives.

And that's completely ignoring the ethical issues of forcibly capturing an stunningly majestic creature, taking it from it's home and family, and sticking it in a pool (after the painful agony of transportation) that is only EIGHT times the size of it's entire being for the rest of it's life (the pools you see the shows in aren't where the orcas spend most of their time). Excuse me, but I don't think you'd like to be torn from your home and put behind glass so people can goggle at you. It's heart wrenching how people think that they can simply put these phenomenal animals behind bars for the entirety of their life. And they just do it for their own selfish purpose-- money.