Famous Cetaceans

This is what I wrote about a week or so ago, and believe me have things changed. It was going so well, looking so positive, two and a bit weeks of no slaughter. But unfortunately, for now, all good things must come to an end. It is now known that the 16 days without slaughter was due to a holiday, so yet again things have gone back to normal in the town of Taiji. On Friday and this weekend, there has been a large number of dolphins slaughtered and even taken into the holding pens, ready to be transferred into captivity. It is a sad truth that the dolphins will not be truly safe now until the fishermen have another holiday. 

'So, 16 glorious, triumphant days without a single dolphin being killed in Taiji. Such great news, and such a great start to the new year. Fingers crossed that it marks a permanent change in Taiji, and indeed across the world. As after all, where on earth will the below-par dolphinariums and marine parks get their dolphins from now? No Taiji drive hunts = a depletion in captive dolphin stock = the gradual closure of the establishments that rely on the drives for their dolphins. So good news all round then!'

Such a crying shame that this was a false hope. I, like so many others, thought that it marked the beginning to the end of the annual slaughter, yet it now seems as though the fishermen are making up for lost time. Reports are coming in daily, telling of the countless dolphins who have been slaughtered in the Cove, so remember to keep emailing the Japanese Gov. etc.

                                                           The end of this equals..........

                                                                   The end of this.

Anyway, welcome to my 9th follower...wow nearly at double figures! Better get cracking with some more essays then. Apologies for this one taking weeks, it has been very busy here at uni, but I will try and keep up from now on.

Misty has been moved, however he is still under the care of Dolphin Base which could lead to further problems, as if he recovers he no doubt faces a life performing in captivity. He is in a new tank, which is an obvious improvement from his green gooey bath tub, but of course the situation is not ideal. He needs recovery and rehabilitation, and eventually, release.

However, Operation Save Misty has proven, once again, how strong our anti-cap community is. We are like a hurricane when we work together, and if it wasn't for everyone getting on the case and spreading the word and the pressure, cetaceans such as Misty would never be noticed by the international community. So, here is to all of us. There is still a long long way to go, but we are gathering momentum and strength, and this year will be the year we take down SeaWorld, free Lolita and help stop drive hunts around the world. As a team we can do it. The petitions, the online information sharing, the emails and calls to embassies and companies, the donations, the constant pressure and demands for change-- it all adds up and it will push for global change in time.

Check out the Save Misty the Dolphin group on Facebook for regular updates from the ground in Taiji.

Also, poor Nami the orca has died. She was a female who was once at Taiji Whale Museum (yes, that means she was the result of a drive hunt) and was then moved to Nagoya Aquarium in June of this year. It is known that she was a very aggressive lady, and that is why the trainers or guests were not allowed to interact with her at all. It seems as though her life was totally wasted, as she would have no doubt made a doting mother, yet now due to the sordid captivity industry, her life has been cut short.

                                                               Nami in all her glory. RIP.

So, with all this sad news in mind, I will go onto today's post-- a quick 'nod' to the world's most famous and well-known cetaceans. A tribute to their lives- a recognition and an understanding of their life in the public eye and how they were seen by those who loved them best, in dedication to Nami and the countless dolphins who have lost their lives in Taiji since the beginning of this year.

Namu

  The first original seed, the one who inspired people to want to get close to orcas. It could be argued that without him, the orca captivity phenomenon of the 70's would have been far less dramatic and progressive. He died at a very young age, which is hardly surprising when considering his young life-- being wild-caught and then being basically dragged 400 odd miles to Seattle whilst his family are desperately trying to save him is surely enough stress to warrant an early death, let alone being kept in captivity afterwards. Despite being loved by Ted, his purchaser and the man who trained him, it was not enough to prevent the sudden demand for performing orcas. This of course meant capturing them, something that Ted would have no qualms in doing, while also making a heck of a lot of money along the way.

  Despite being loved by all who saw him (he even had his own film), Namu

     The love which eventually led to Namu's death, and the birth of the orca captivity business.

     (Poster from Google images)

  

Shamu

  Shamu was intended to be a partner for Namu, but due to her aggressive nature towards Ted and Namu, he decided to sell her to SeaWorld, who had recently opened. From a profit and business point of view, it was probably the best thing SW has ever done, as due to the huge popularity of the first 'Shamu Show', their performing orca industry became global and has no doubt made them millions upon millions of dollars. Shamu was a very young female when she was captured, and despite surviving nearly 6 years in captivity, she still died at the depressingly young age of 9. She was famous and loved the world over during her time at SW San Diego, however when she died the public were still led to believe that 'Shamu' existed. The 'Shamu Show' still lives on today, as the name has been given to the orcas of SW as their show name. Despite it being intended as a tribute, it somewhat lessens the value of her life, and indeed her death as people were not and are still not, informed fully of the deaths of captive orcas. Her legacy lives on yet it portrays captive orcas as 'fun' and 'entertaining' and 'happy'. She was in no way happy, or indeed healthy, and the public should not be so naive as to think that she was either of those things- just as the orcas of SW are not today. The infamous video of her thrashing poor Annette Eckis about during a SW publicity stunt should be the real legacy- she was agitated and bored, and people should know and respect that. An interesting page to look at would be a Yahoo Answer- it clearly shows the immense naivety of a lot of people regarding Shamu. 'Tamara's' comment is a personal favourite.

Shamu back in the day. It is also sad to notice that if you type in 'Shamu orca' into Google, there is only a few legitimate photos of her- the rest are of random orcas that people assume are the same one. Legacy? What legacy? (Photo from Google images)

Cuddles

  Cuddles was supposedly one of the most aggressive orcas in captivity, and got himself quite a reputation during his time at Dudley Zoo and Flamingo Land, both in the UK. He was captured as a young 7 year old in BC, and no doubt had a very traumatic experience. He was then shipped thousands of miles to the Midlands and was expected to perform, despite being in a tank the size of a hot-tub. He was the first captive performing orca in the UK, so it is no wonder why he became so famous- he had several news articles about him in English papers, but unfortunately a lot of them were reporting his supposed 'attacks'. He was young and alone in a strange, cold place so it is sad how people viewed him as some sort of monster. He was only a baby, torn from his mother and family and then expected to learn tricks in order to be fed. I have read on a lot of forums about old zoos and aquariums, and a fair amount of comments are from people who thought of him as aggressive. Sure, he did nearly drown his trainer and they had to then clean his tank from a shark cage, but Cuddles was practically abused in those places. The tanks was too small, he suffered severe broken ribs and internal bleeding from thrashing about in a too-small tank and rumour has it, people even tried to throw spears at him. Unbelievably, there are even several WikiAnswers about him, asking if 'the whale at Dudley Zoo bit off his trainers hand'. I am so sorry Cuddles, we who understand your plight do not remember you in this way. To us you were an abused and broken-down baby, alone and scared and trying so hard to communicate your torment.

                                        Cuddles in his jacuzzi-sized tank. (Photo Google images)

Cathy

   Cathy, also known to millions as Flipper, was a female bottlenose dolphin trained by Ric O'Barry for the show 'Flipper'. Due to the show, people were introduced to the dolphins' immense intelligence and kindness. It portrayed dolphins as willing to help, clever and affectionate, who would do anything for their human counterparts. However, despite enlightening people about their intelligence, the show did nothing for dolphin welfare. People wanted to see 'Flipper' in real life, to see him do tricks and to touch him, and so the captive dolphin industry was born. 'Flipper' was the spark that ignited the whole industry, and has no doubt accounted for many dolphin captures and deaths. However, if it wasn't for Cathy on that fateful day, I don't think Ric would have seen the light in time to save as many dolphins as he has. It was after the filming had finished, and Cathy was apparently looking sad and was not herself. Ric went in the pool and it was at this time that she swam right up to him and he held her in his arms. She looked into his eyes and then took one last breath, and sank to the bottom off the pool. This act of suicide was in a way the saviour to her fellow dolphins- it made Ric and his comrades realise how wrong the industry was, and so began the fight to free all captive dolphins and whales. Cathy's act was out of sadness yes, but in a way it seems as though she did it for Ric, and for her dolphin brothers and sisters. It was a selfless act, she did it to make Ric understand, and understand he did. The very next day he was out trying to free captive dolphins. To this day, he is still at the pinnacle of cetacean rights and freedom, the man that we all look up to in great admiration and respect, and it was all down to Cathy.

                                             Ric back in the day, with Cathy by his side.

                                                            Ric as we know him today.

                                                              (Photos Google images)

Keiko

   Keiko's life tells a similar story to Cathy's. He was the orca that made millions want to go and see an orca show, yet he was the one that sparked the revolution against captive orcas. His life was a sad one, captured in Iceland as a young boy, torn from his family, and eventually taken to a dump of a sea park in Mexico. It was here that he was spotted by the filmmakers of the most controversial and divisive film of the 90's- 'Free Willy'. You have all seen it, of course you have, it even was the film that made me fall in love with orcas and want to set them free. Yet despite this, he was still kept in the most awful conditions. It is a wonder why they chose him and not an orca from another establishment, as surely experts would have been concerned at his living conditions and capture? It was first thought that the film producers would have the film shot in SeaWorld, but that would have come with a very large request- in return, SW would have wanted the story changed, rather than freeing Willy, he would have just been moved to a better park, like SW. Ha, you literally could not make that up. The film is called FREE Willy, so no wonder SW were worried, as it could have been a danger to their reputation. He may well have been a troublesome orca to train, yet Keiko was not. It was as if he was grateful for the attention and somehow knew it would do him good. After the film was released, thousands of people around the world were touched by the story, yet found it hard to fathom why the real 'Free Willy' was not free and still stuck in a Mexican amusement park. This led to a global uproar, as people saw his plight and wanted the story to become a reality.

After a lot of planning, money, sponsors, encouragement and at times, downright force, Keiko was taken to an aquarium in Oregon to be rehabilitated for life in the wild. He had world-wide support, Warner Bros donated $4 million to the Free Willy Foundation and a US parcel company even arranged his transport. After his rehabilitation, Keiko was a healthy weight and was showing typical wild orca behaviours, so was transferred to a sea-pen in Iceland. There he was able to swim with other wild orcas and hunt wild fish. He was tagged with a tracking device and let loose, where he swam the whole North Atlantic to Norway. Keiko's release was heralded a success by orca experts and scientists the world over, yet sadly he passed away in 2003, a decade after the Free Willy film release. His death has plagued the rehab and release program for some orcas, as many pro-caps still use it as a reason to keep orcas like Lolita or Tilly in captivity. In reality of course, this is ludicrous, as Keiko at the end was a wild orca. He was not a captive orca in deep, wild water. He was a wild, free adult orca who knew what he was doing, and his death was nothing to do with him being released. He was a triumph, and the program was a triumph, and it is a shame that some people still see it a legitimate reason to never ever free a captive orca again. Keiko was free, happy and healthy, and the fact he got pneumonia was just tragic luck. It is strange how despite all this, people still find an excuse for every orca death in captivity- you would think they would feel as strongly about it as they did about Keiko's, and blame captivity like they blamed freedom.

                 Keiko- glorious and free. How he should be remembered. (Photo from Google images)

Lolita

  Lolita, also known as Tokitae, is the orca that many of us can still not believe why she is not freed. She is an old lady now, and has been in the same tank for 40 odd years. The same tank, may I add, that has been declared illegal and inhumane by orca experts around the world. She is a living example of an orcas determination. She ploughs on everyday, regardless of how lonely she is, performing the same show day in day out. It is a tragic shame that Miami Seaquarium has not had the dignity to hold their hands up and say 'Ok ok, you can free her'. They have been asked, begged, and even bribed, yet still they will not budge. And still, Lolita lives on, despite the unimaginable loneliness she must feel. She has had no children, which seems such a waste. She is famous because people love her, that's why they buy a ticket to go and see her. But they do not understand what she has been through- her capture in Penn Cove in the 70's was the most barbaric one ever seen. The Miami Seaprison guys, along with lots of other groups, are there every week, protesting and begging MSQ to let her go. Her remaining family are still out there, waiting for her- she has even been played tape recordings of their calls and has responded. If she were released, she would no doubt live out a very long and happy retirement. If only the people who say they love her most would step up and do the honourable, and right, thing. MSQ- shame on you.

                                           Lolita and her only orca friend. (Photo Google images)

Tilikum

  Tilly is probably the most infamous orca of today, which is sad as none of it is his fault. If you type in Google anything about an orca, all that comes up is 'Orca kills trainer!' and things. There are even Internet memes about him, which poke fun at the deaths and seem to undermine the whole issue. It seems as though Tilly's legacy will only be that he killed people, not that he was a majestic orca stolen from the wild in his prime. There are scores of people out there who appreciate Tilly for what he is- a beautiful and misunderstood animal who is the victim of an international multi-billion dollar exploitation program. He is the real victim in all this, his name has been ruined and so has his reputation, and yet SW still insist on keeping him. It is a tragedy, he should be freed just as Keiko was freed, as there is just as much support for him- but as he is worth something to SW they will never back down. Tilly, we know who you are, and we appreciate you. You are not a wild-eyed blood-thirsty killer in our eyes- you are are a majestic and sentient being who deserves freedom and peace perhaps more than anyone at this point in time. So Tilly-haters, leave him alone!

                       Two memes about Tilly- cruel and unnecessary. (From Google images)

       The other side of the divide- those who understand the circumstances. (Photos from Google images)

That concludes this post today, I hope it has been enjoyable and perhaps an easier read than some of my other essays. I shall try and get the next essay out by the end of next week, as it is my birthday this weekend so I will not be able to research till next week. Many thanks for reading :)

FTO

For The Oceans

Mortality Rates in Captivity

     Hello all. I hope you had a good Christmas. It seems one of our wishes came true- Taiji had a very unproductive few days hunting which no doubt provided a much-needed sigh of relief for us and our dolphin brothers. Also, Paul Watson has reported via SSCS that there have been no whales killed for a good few days now, which is a really good positive start to 2011!

Unfortunately though, not all our Christmas wishes came true- Tilly, Lolita and the countless other poor souls are still stuck in their tanks performing demeaning festive- themed shows. So Tilikum, Lolita, Kohana, Trua, Lovey, and the countless other captive dolphins, false killer whales and orcas who are alive today- I hope that 2011 brings you the peace and freedom you so much deserve.

Poor Morgan has had her fate decided by the powers that be, i.e the profit- driven captivity industry. Her life is now set to be a life of captivity. All she has ever known, the ocean, the fresh fish, the waves, are no more. Her freedom has gone, and being so young she could have easily been rehabilitated and set free. She knows freedom, she knows what it is to be wild. It wouldn't be like trying to rehab and retrain an orca that had been performing tricks for 20 years. But no, as usual profit margins come first. Read the whole story here at the Orca Project. And sign the petitions if you haven't already done so please.

 

                                                           Lets help free Morgan in 2011. 

Another sad story- Misty the dolphin who has been left alone in what seems to be a 'death-pool' for the last few days. Misty, a young male, is being held at a captive facility called Dolphin Base in Taiji, and is likely to be very ill. His pool is thick with algae and bacteria and it appears to have no circulation. So please sign this petition and ask for Dolphin Base to consider setting him free, as they have no chance of selling him in the state he is in. Petition can be found here. Please sign!

We are all in this together- in the words of Ric O'Barry: 'We are their only hope'.

     This next essay is going to explore the phenomena that plagues the cetaceans in captivity-- vast mortality rates. There are numerous reasons and theories, and to be honest it would take me till about 2014 to really get to the bottom of it, so I have decided to do this topic in a bit of a different format. I am going to go through the main factors that cause such huge numbers of premature deaths within the captive cetacean industry, and I shall also be looking at a few important case studies such as key individual incidents. However, the way I am going to present this information will be using bullet-points for a change, as a lot of what I will be writing about has already been touched on in previous essays, so I shall just be reiterating it and condensing it all down for this post and will just see how it goes!

     Factors that have contributed to the mortality rates of captive cetaceans

• Dental problems

The results from dental problems, as discussed in the previous essay, are very diverse and often very serious. It can cause illnesses such as pneumonia and infection, feeding problems and behavioural problems. It is difficult to determine just how many deaths have been directly caused by poor dental health, but it is clear to see there being a huge link between poor dental health and the countless premature deaths of orcas in captivity. The drilling-away of teeth (without anaesthesia may I add) leaves large holes or mere stumps of teeth, which despite making the cleaning-out of remnants of dead fish much easier, does in fact leave the mouth more prone to infection and attacks from various bacteria. The gums, as with human mouths, as very thin and easily susceptible to infection if not fully cleaned, and of course if you are feeding an orca pre-killed, sloppy and day-old fish, there are bound to be some bacteria in it that will have the potential to infect. So, while it is kind of possible (at a push) to 'understand' their logic of drilling the teeth, it in fact just makes matters worse for the orcas in question. There gums and sensitive root canals are left exposed and the holes left by the teeth make it harder for all the food debris to be flushed out, leaving plenty of room for bacteria to grow and enter into the blood stream. It is argued that the poor dental care shown on captive orcas may be what causes such sudden, random and supposedly 'without a cause' deaths. Organ failure, blood poisoning etc etc can all hit suddenly and pose no real direct cause- but if you look at it closely, it is plain to see that the bad dentition practised on captive adult orcas have had an influence on their deaths- be in directly or indirectly.

However despite the horror of the captive orca dentition, the dental problems faced by all captive cetaceans are totally caused by the people working for the captivity industry and the industry itself. It is not just 'one of those things' that occurs when in captivity, like the collapse of the dorsal fin for instance. It is not just a mere result or 'by-product' of captivity, but it is in fact 100% directly caused by the industry itself. The industry that so wants us to think it has the welfare of the whales and dolphins it keeps at heart. If that is true, why do they insist on drilling out the teeth of their captive orcas?There is nothing that could ever justify such a practice, and now finally they are catching on- I believe they do not use this practice to the extent it was once used, certainly not on their most valuable younger orcas anyway. After all, if they did drill their teeth away, they would have no healthy-toothed orcas left for the photo shoots, then everyone would start asking questions no doubt: 'Hey mummy...how come Shamu has no teeth?'

• Vices

The vices and behavioural problems caused by captivity are endless: self harm, suicide, the eating of non-food items, aggression, attacks on tank mates, failing to know how to care for their own calves, etc etc. The list could go on and on and it is such a shame, a tragedy, how these problems are just accepted within the industry. It is as if the cetaceans are just left to get on with it themselves, with no psychological help or support, or even recognition of their acute and sensitive problems that are so bad they often result in death. The vices they get are a result of boredom, which is obviously due to their pitiful tank size and the fact they are forced to perform the same demeaning shows day after day. Their tanks, as I have discussed before, have no stimulation, there is no attempt at all to even try and make it resemble their natural habitat. So really, it is no wonder they will do anything to keep themselves amused and take their minds off things for a while.

I guess its like an extreme version of equine vices (weaving and crib-biting etc), which the horse develops in order to relieve itself of stress, boredom and anxiety, which of course is amplified ten-fold when considering the plight of captive cetaceans compared to most domestic equines. At least they get some sort of normality- fields full of their natural food, in which they have the freedom to run, albeit for only a part of the day in some cases. A captive cetacean gets no such things, no freedom to swim and no natural food stuffs. So it is understandable why they would develop such severe and often strange habits and behaviours in order to deal with their situation and survive.

Such behavioural problems have very negative affects and implications on everyone around- the individual, its tank mates and the people involved with it, which makes it difficult to understand why they are often left untreated and unmanaged. As more often than not these vices and problems result in death.

• Accidents

Accidents within the captivity industry usually occur either during performances or behind the scenes, but either way they could have almost always been prevented. The shows that marine parks put on for the paying public involve cetaceans performing very unnatural sequences of behaviours in very unnatural and small tanks, so it is not surprising that fatal accidents happen. The cetaceans involved in the shows are often performing together and in very close proximity, which of course will result in collisions at some point. It is inevitable when considering the size of the tank and the scope of some of the tricks they are made to do.

Accidents have also happened when the orcas are not performing, which has often been due to the fact they are left in an environment that is unsafe for them to be kept in. Problems with tank mates and the safety of the actual tank have accounted for a few 'accidental' deaths of captive cetaceans, but we all know these 'accidents' could and should have been prevented. As after all, it is the park's responsibility to ensure that the cetacean who are living together in the same pool get on and are not a risk to themselves or others- and we all know how often they fail at this basic requirement.

• Problems with breeding

As I have discussed in detail in an earlier essay, the problems with the captive breeding programs are appalling and numerous. This is because the marine parks do not take into account the basic factors of cetacean (especially orca) breeding. They mix Transient and Icelandic, they inbreed, they allow females to breed too young, they inject females with hormones to prevent pregnancy, they perform intrusive AI, they try to play God. And trying to play God has resulted in them being responsible for countless still-births and birthing complications,which over the years has amounted in a large death toll. As if captive cetaceans don't die quick enough in captivity anyway! Isn't that a sign? Captivity doesn't work, so leave it. Stop trying to make it work, and stop creating more and more lives to be cut short, just to try and restock the dwindling supplies of live caprive cetaceans. SeaWorld is the worst culprit here as obviously it is the largest establishment, so it has the power to create and ultimately be accountable for, more deaths during breeding. Since 1985, SW alone has produced 27 captive births, 8 of which died (not including miscarriages). So it seems that despite being able to produce fresh baby orcas at the rate of ten to the dozen, they are also killing them off at a similarly fast rate. The mothers are not safe from birthing complications either, as death during birth is a common occurrence in the industry too. It is a sad fact that captive cetaceans are being brought into this world by the industry and at the same time being forced to leave it by exactly the same people. The people who claim they are doing what's best.

• Illnesses

The illnesses suffered by captive cetaceans are some that they would never encounter in the wild. It is often down to a poor diet, stress, anxiety and a poor environment that they develop such illnesses. Things like pnemonia, organ failure and immune deficiencies are very rare occurrences in the wild. It is hardly unknown that the life expectancy of a captive cetacean is basically half of that of a wild cetacean, and in some cases can even be shorter. However, parks like SeaWorld are constantly bombarding us with the message that they provide the 'best medical care available' and have the best 'veterinarians and experts' etc etc. However, when it comes to actually keeping their cetacean stock alive for the normal number of years, they fail miserably, and what makes it worse is, they know it. That is why they fail to release causes of death- take the four, yes FOUR orcas that died in 2010 alone. The causes of death were not released for a long time or still have not been released. They are still struggling to come up with a believable story as to why such young orcas were dropping like flies. Could it be that their top vets and advanced medical care is not enough? Well yes it does look that way, especially when you consider the fact that some of these causes of death, like the random illnesses, would never happen in the wild.

• Injuries

As for the injuries sustained in captivity by cetaceans, it is a wonder the industry is still afloat. The injuries suffered by these cetaceans are caused by the industry alone, so surely that would warrant its downfall? Yet somehow it manages to survive- it must be the good PR and spokesmen they hire, as otherwise the marine parks would have a hard job trying to explain and justify some of the injuries and fatalities happening in their establishments. Injuries that could have been prevented, injuries that should never have been allowed to happen, and have ultimately resulted in the premature deaths of countless captive cetaceans. Be they self-inflicted, accidental, whatever, they are still the establishment's responsibility, which is what is hard to fathom at times. If these parks are responsible and accountable for these horrific injuries sustained to the animals in their care, which are effectively their property too, how come they never see any consequences? If you owned a dog and let it injure itself due to mental problems, or let it hurt itself and kill itself on your property due to negligence, then you would have to deal with the legal and social consequences. yet for some reason these establishments that are responsible for the deaths of countless cetaceans are just left to it, with no consequences or punishment.

      Case studies and individual incidents

• Dental Problems- Taku was a young male orca who died in 2007 in SW San Antonio, at the very young age of 14. He died of interstitial pneumonia, which is pneumonia characterised by the scarring of the lungs, which may have been down to some sort of infection. His teeth are well known to have been in an absolutely appalling state, and it is argued that this may have had an indirect causal link to the pneumonia. 

 Taku's teeth were practically non-existent on the lower jaw. (Photo from Facebook)

• Vices- Poncho was a bottlenose dolphin at Miami Seaquarium who died in 1982. He died of intestinal failure, which was a direct result of the non-food items he used to eat out of severe boredom. Dolphins are not stupid, and in the wild they eat nothing but fish, however it seems that Poncho would have done anything to take his mind off the numbing boredom he had to endure day after day, so that's why he took to eating various non-food items. Found in his stomach after death were, among other things, 2 footballs (deflated of course), 31 coins, 1 trainers whistle and 2 screws. It would be hard for anyone to deny that eating and ingesting these objects did not cause his intestines to fail, and thus directly cause his death.

 It is no wonder he died of digestive problems with what he was eating on a daily basis. Surely MSQ trainers would have known? And therefore should have addressed it and prevented it? (Photo from MiamiSeaPrison)

Winnie the orca also suffered a similar fate, as during her stay at Windsor Safari Park in the UK (which I ashamedly visited as a very young child) she ate many non-food items, presumably out of stress as she was a live-caught orca. In 2002 at SW San Antonio, aged 26, she died of a blocked intestine. After her death, 12lbs of debris were found at the blockage, which is proof that it was her habit of eating non-food items which led to her death, albeit two decades later. 

Winnie performing before her untimely death, at age 26. (Photo from Google images)

•    Accidents- Due to the vast dangers present in the captive industry, accidents happen all too often. One of the more tragic accidents that I have written about before would be the death of Kandu V, who in 1989 died of a massive hemorrhage as a result of the negligence shown by SeaWorld. Their 'leave them to it' attitude was what directly caused Kandu V's death, it was known that their were tensions between her and Corky, as Kandu detested the fact that she was showing interest in her new baby Orkid. So really at that point, SW should have shown the initiative and moved either Corky or Kandu and her calf, but instead they chose to make Corky and Orkid perform together, which obviously left Kandu seething, which led to her attacking Corky. Therefore, when she broke her jaw due to the impact, and was left slowly bleeding to death in the back pool, it was all down to the lack of planning and consideration on SeaWorld's part. 
 Another more recent but by no means less tragic accident is the death of Sharky at Discovery Cove earlier in 2010. During a performance, the 30 year old female bottlenose collided with Tyler, another bottlenose, in mid-air. She then died soon after. Obviously, Discovery Cove's statement proclaimed it was a unfortunate and random incident, which in a way is true, as it isn't every day that you hear of performing cetaceans colliding during shows. Yet in a way it highlights the true dangers that are present when making cetaceans, particularly dolphins, perform such agile and athletic tricks in such close proximity of other dolphins. The training they receive can only account for so much- as despite being trained to within an inch of their lives to ensure precision in performances, it is inevitable that each dolphin cannot always be guaranteed to be completely accurate. Therefore, as for who is responsible for her death, Discovery Cove should hold their hands up in shame. Sharky would never be dead now if it wasn't for being coerced into performing unnatural and downright dangerous tricks in an unsafe environment. I know some people will come up with the resolution that Sharky performed in hundreds of performances and made it to a relatively good age, but that logic aside, it was DC's responsibility to ensure his safety. Sharky wouldn't be dead if she was not forced to perform tricks, and she wouldn't need to do that if people didn't pay for a ticket to the show, and they wouldn't be put on if DC wasn't so profit-driven and tried to put on educational shows like it promises to do instead.  

 

 

Sharky and trainer before her death at DC. (Photo from Google images)

• Breeding problems- here the two most infamous incidents would be the deaths of mother and daughter Gudrun and Taima, who both died in very similar circumstances. In 1996, Gudrun passed away due to difficulties during the birth of her stillborn calf, and in June of 2010, her daughter Taima died during the delivery of a stillborn calf also. Both deaths are tragic, as not only did these poor would-be new mothers die, so did their babies. It is obviously questionable here as to where the blame lies- SW had a duty to ensure the safety of both mothers and their babies during the delivery, and it is a known fact how unsuccessful captive cetacean breeding can be, so obviously the blame lies within the ethics of captive breeding. However, on these particular occasions, I would say the blame still does lie directly with SW, as Gudrun and Taima had known issues with motherhood, for instance, both Gudrun and Taima showed severe aggression to their previous calves, and even more worryingly Gudrun had produced a very poorly and unstable calf called Nyar prior to the pregnancy that caused her death. So ere the question lies- if SW knew that both orcas had such problems with their calves and with being a mother, why did they let them get impregnated again? It was their responsibility to realise that making both Gudrun and Taima a mother again was bound to cause problems- who knows what they would have done to their new calves had they survived. Yet here, once again, profit comes first and they obviously had the intention of replenishing their orca stock with no consideration or second-thoughts as to what would happen to the calves once they came out. So here the blame lies- if SW had been less negligent and realised that Taima and Gudrun should never have been made pregnant again in the first place, then they would never have died through birthing complications. 

 

                          The late Gudrun during a performance. (Photo from Google images)

• Illnesses- Here are just a few examples of random illnesses encountered within the captive cetacean industry that have led to deaths. Kanduke, a young female who was wild-caught in B.C. in the 70's, died suddenly of bacterial pneumonia in 1990, at SeaWorld Orlando. Bacterial pneumonia is caused by bacteria entering the lungs, either by inhalation or through the bloodstream from other parts of the body. It was likely she had a cut or something, or even poor dentition, which caused the infection to start. Kenau, a young female who was wild-caught in the 70's, died at SW Orlando in 1991 of bacterial pneumonia too, which leads me to think that there was something in the water there- perhaps poor water circulation or something. Winston, another wild caught orca who was a tank mate of Kenau, died suddenly of heart failure, at the young age of 19 in 1986. Kona II died at Orlando too, in 1987 aged just 12 years old. She died of a lung abscess. Bjossa, a wild-caught female who was kept at SW San Diego, died of bronochopneumonia in 2001. She also suffered three tragic losses- all three of her calves did not make it, one of whom, Kyosha, died at just 3 months due to a brain infection. It seems as though the captivity industry is having a hard time of keeping these illnesses and ailments under control despite, as they keep insisting, having the best medical experts in the world to prevent such random and untimely deaths. 

                                              The late Bjossa. (Photo from Google images)

• Injuries- Here the most important incidents to address would obviously be the deaths of Hugo and Kotar, both of which were caused by the captivity industry. Hugo, the male orca who kept Lolita company for a while at MSQ, died due to the indirect effects of captivity- the boredom and immense lack of space and enrichment, and of course the stress of being live caught, led to him developing sever mental problems which then led him to start slamming his head into the wall on several occasions. After the first incidents nothing was done (well apart from sewing his rostrum back on), and so poor Hugo was left to deal with his traumas and stresses alone, which got so bad he ended up injuring himself so severely that he killed himself. This, as I have discussed many a time, was all down to MSQ and their lack of support and recognition for poor Hugo's problems. Obviously he should never had been captured and transferred to MSQ in the first place, but while he was under their duty of care, it was up to them to provide him with a stable and safe environment, psychological stimulation and support, and ultimately the mental health care he so desperately needed. His mental distress was caused by the captivity industry, and that led him to injuring himself and killing himself, so therefore the captivity industry is to blame, 100%.

                                Hugo in his tiny tank before his death. (Photo from Google images)

And as for poor Kotar, his fate was directly caused by SeaWorld's negligence. He was so bored in his tank that he developed a very dangerous habit- lifting up the gate that separated each pool. SeaWorld knew of this habit, yet it was just brushed of as tomfoolery, a harmless and humorous habit. However, due to their naive and somewhat ignorant view of Kotar's destructive habit, he sadly passed away in 1995 with severe head injuries caused by the gate falling down and crushing his skull. He was only 17 years old at the time, and had been in captivity since being wild-caught in Iceland in 1978. It seems as though his habit was a way of dealing with the boredom and repetition of captive life in SW San Antonio, and some may even speculate that he was imagining how to escape his pool. However Kotar merely ended up being another sad statistic in the records of captivity-caused deaths. If it wasn't for SeaWorld's utter incapability throughout Kotar's stay at one of their facilities, he would have (hopefully) been able to live for a much longer time. They should have looked at the situation and seen the possible risk factors, instead they just viewed it as a humorous habit that, so I have read, showed intelligence! What a painful irony. Kotar's death was due to the fact the 'experts' in the orca-captivity field looked at his destructive and dangerous habit and viewed it as 'inteligent'. It is such a painful degradation and misunderstanding of Kotar's intelligence, as he was trying to express his discontentment and boredom, not trying to 'play around'. So therefore SW is completely responsible for his death and should have been given a severe punishment, just like any pet owner or animal owner would if they were responsible for the death of an animal in their care. But, as usual, an orca is just seen as a commodity- a bit of property- whose death is undeserved of the justice it so needs.

      So as you can see, the appalling and often alarming rate of cetacean deaths seen in captivity is not a mere coincidence. Each and every death had its own particular circumstances, and each and every aspect of each and every death is down to captivity. From the mental health issues, danger during performances, and breeding problems that come from being in captivity, to the illnesses and health ailments caused directly by the captivity industry. Each death could and should have been prevented- and are totally and completely the responsibility of the parks that still insist on keeping these delicate and sensitive creatures captive.

A great list of dead, born and transferred captive cetaceans in 2010 can be seen at Cetabase here.

Thanks you very much for reading, I hope everyone has had a good Christmas and New Year. Here is to a good, freedom-filled 2011! :)

Oh and hello to my eighth follower! Welcome :)