The truth about Seaworld

I would first like to apologise for some of the graphic images,  videos and content in this post.  If you’re easily upset, it’s probably best not to continue reading.

Florida is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world with it’s array of parks and attractions.  We’ve been a few times ourselves and love it!

My husband received a DVD in the post this week from LoveFilm called ‘Blackfish’.  I’d never heard of it but I decided it would be worth watching as we’ve been to Seaworld ourselves and it’s about the Seaworld company.

The sypnosis of the film is this:

Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity. Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry.

I expected to see some shocking images but nothing could have prepared me for the utterly disturbing video footage that was about to but thrust upon me and the sound of Mumma whale screaming in her tank after they took her baby away will haunt me for a very long time.

The first whales were plucked from the ocean in the 1970’s.  They only took the babies.

Once bought into captivity, the whales are kept and bred in small enclosures.  They get stressed causing the bent over dorsal fins we’ve all become familiar with when we see pictures of Shamu. (Although Seaworld will tell you that 25% of whales in the wild have ‘bent’ fins, the truth is that the real figure is less than 1%.  At Seaworld, 100% of the male whales have a collapsed dorsal fin).

Shamu!

The males are used for breeding and following this one of the female Seaworld whales gave birth to a calf some years ago.  Whales live in pods in the wild and the calves NEVER leave their mothers.  They stay together for life.  So when this calf was born they allowed him to take part in the shows with his mother so as not to seperate them.

Cute, huh?

Sure.  Until baby got a little older and more mischievous.  So Seaworld made the decision to remove the calf, sell it to another park and take it away from its mother!  Mumma whale was described as being a quiet whale and not very vocal.  Until the day they took her baby away.

This part of the film is truly heartbreaking.  The footage is filmed from under the water of Mumma whale screaming and screaming in the corner of her pool.  Experts in ‘whale noise’ were bought in to analyse the sounds she was making.  They were long distance whale calls. She was shrieking long-range calls for hours, desperately trying to find her baby.

This kind of disregard for the animals is truly astounding and it’s no wonder we see some of the behaviours displayed.

Tilikum, one of Seaworlds resident Orcas has been in the news a lot lately after his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, lost her life.  She’d been performing with him in one of the shows they’d produced a number of times.  After the show, she went to a shallow part of the pool and laid with him in what they call a ‘relationship session’.  She was stroking and talking to him when he took her pony tail in his mouth and dragged her under the water.

Other trainers that were there at the time tried in vain to rescue Dawn.  They guided Tilikum into a medical pool with a floor that can be raised to bring him out of the water.  He still refused to let go and when he finally did, Dawns arm came off in his mouth and they discovered it was too late for her and she had no heart beat.  Their resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and Dawn was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dawn and Tilikum

Another shocking video that came to light was that of another whale at the same park deciding he’d had enough and no longer wanted to perform.  His trainer bore the brunt of his frustration unfortunately being dragged repeatedly to the bottom of the pool.

This leads me onto this point. When you’re in a pool with a 12,000lb animal that is stressed and probably suffering from some kind of mental psychosis after years in captivity, there will come a point when it’ll snap.

None of these people deserved to die.  Ex trainers of Seaworld have expressed their concerns about the way the whales are kept and treated.  So why is it still going on?  Tilikum has been held responsible for three out of the four deaths of trainers in recent times.  But he can’t be blamed for his actions.  He’s in an artificial environment that isn’t suited to his needs.  He’s asked to perform on a daily basis – more than once.  What do people expect?

I really recommend that people watch the film.  Here’s the trailer for it:

I’d also love to hear your views.  Please let me know what you think and for more information on ways you can help to take action, please visit http://blackfishmovie.com/Take-Action

AN update on Tilikum – announcement from SeaWorld.

The SeaWorld family is deeply saddened to announce that one of its most well-known orcas, Tilikum, has passed away. Tilikum passed away early this morning, January 6, surrounded by the trainers, care staff and veterinarians that provided him around-the-clock world-class care.

Like all older animals, Tilikum had faced some very serious health issues. While the official cause of death will not be determined until the necropsy is completed, the SeaWorld veterinarians were treating a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection. The suspected bacteria is part of a group of bacteria that is found in water and soil both in wild habitats and zoological settings.

Tilikum’s veterinarians and caretakers delivered various treatment regimens over the course of this illness, which consisted of, among other things, combinations of anti-inflammatories, anti-bacterials, anti-nausea medications, hydration therapy and aerosolized antimicrobial therapy.

While today is a difficult day for the SeaWorld family, it’s important to remember that Tilikum lived a long and enriching life while at SeaWorld and inspired millions of people to care about this amazing species.

Tilikum’s life will always be inextricably connected with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Dawn Brancheau.  While we all experienced profound sadness about that loss, we continued to offer Tilikum the best care possible, each and every day, from the country’s leading experts in marine mammals.

“Tilikum had, and will continue to have, a special place in the hearts of the SeaWorld family, as well as the millions of people all over the world that he inspired,” said President & CEO of SeaWorld Joel Manby. “My heart goes out to our team who cared for him like family.”

Tilikum became a part of SeaWorld’s family 25 years ago. Estimated to be about 36 years old, Tilikum was near the high end of the average life expectancy for male killer whales according to an independent scientific review.

Tilikum was not born at or collected by SeaWorld. He came to us from Sealand of the Pacific in Canada. SeaWorld has not collected a whale from the wild in nearly 40 years, and this past March we announced the end of the orca breeding program effectively making the whales currently at SeaWorld the last generation of orcas under human care.