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| F.A.Q. |
| Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I get from peers, teachers and fellow whale watchers, and my own personal feelings and responses to them.Sorry if I offened anyone's feelings on orcas or capativity in this FAQ, but they are my opinions and facts I have learned.The first one is one of those questions I frown at every time it's asked and sadly, it is brought up VERY often. |
| How come all we ever really see of wild orcas are their dorsal fins? |
| My common response to this question is simply: "Because its not SeaWorld." |
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| *sigh* Wild orcas don't jump, spyhop or lobtail on command like captives. They jump when they want, how they want and for WHAT they want. In no way do they respond to hand signals or are fed dead fish by 'trainers'. What they do is natural behavior, what you see in SeaWorld are all tricks TAUGHT to the animals, who entertain you in exchange for food and the extra companionship and interaction they are missing from the wild. |
| B1-pod in BC, Canada. |
| Aren't the preformances we see in marine parks comprised of behaviors orcas and other cetaceans do in the wild? |
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| This is why I hate it when SeaWorld and other captive cetacean facilites use the exscuse that captivite orcas and olphins serve an "educational" purpose. That's BS if you ask me. |
| Gudrun, RIP, on slideout in SWF. |
| Most of the tricks orcas do have SOME kind of human contact involoved. That's unnatural right there. Also, many of the leaps are syncronized for the show, and are done in a certain area of the tank, at a certain time, by a certain orca, at a certain period in the show. That's also TOTALLY unnatural. Even most of the JUMPS themselves are not natural behaviors...leaping extra-high to touch a target pole, doing double-back flip-twists, having four orcas bow one after the other.....and even pencil leaps with trainer's bablanced on their beak! None of that qualifies it as natural behaviors, so therefore, how does it educate people on what they REALLY do in the wild? This is why the first question "How come we only see the wild orca's dorsal?" is so frequently asked. For it to be educational, the orcas should be rising and surfacing at their own pace, jumping, spyhopping and anything else when they WANT to, not for food and on command. In no way are the things you see at the "Shamu Show" behaviors...they are tricks. Most people who are pro-captivty will insist otherwise, but if you put together the above analysis, you should be able to make your own assumptions. The word "trick" sounds a bit harsh and makes captivity SOUND bad....but don't you think they call the "Shamu Dream Team" TRAINERS for a reason? |
| Why do captive male orcas always have flopped over fins? |
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| If you look at some pictures, alot of the older females have flopped, or slightly leaning dorsals as well. A very logical explanation is this: in the wild, they spend 95% of their time below the surface, and that 5-6 foot dorsal is supported by the water and swimming straight.....in captivity however, its vice versa..they spend 95% of the time at the surface, their dorsals above the water, and instead of swimming usually in straight lines, must constantly turn in thier smaller enviorment, and may pass many endless hours of boredom by swimming in circles around the tank in a certain direction. The direction a certain orca swims circles in almost ALWAYS will determins which side the fin will flop too. In males, this is usually to the left. One living exception to this is Ulises, currently at SeaWorld California, the top of his dorsal flops to the right. |
| Ulisis, at SWC, on the slide out. Not the tip of his dorsal is flopping to the right, whereas most males it usually flops to the left. |
| Are the tanks at SeaWorld really big enough for all those orcas? |
| Big enough by whose standards? Ours? Or the orcas? That's the main problem with that question. But according to SeaWorld, they are. Well, frankly, I think SeaWorld's done a great job at making large tanks and providing excellent vetrinary care. BUT........the recent breeding and births....along with the AI on Kasatka, which I am totally against....is creating more calves faster than SeaWorld can create new tanks. SeaWorld, despite what they may think, is NOT large enough to house 14 captive orcas, especially in the one CA park with FIVE of the 9 orcas there being MALE! Sure, some of these males are still young, one of which a brand new baby, but they grow up faster than we realize and it takes at LEAST 2-3 years, usually more, to build new tanks! And as each male reaches maturity between the ages of 14 and 16, they will mate, maybe even with their aunts or siblings, creating MORE calves that SeaWorld or any other park is not ready for! And then they go and AI an orca? As an experiment? |