Some important clarifications and questions Orcas either predate on fish or predate on marine mammals. Each group shows a distinct behavioral imprint, so fish eaters do not recognize marine mammals as potential prey. The Orcas seen in aquariums are all the fish-eating type.So they don't assume humans are a potential prey. Attacks on trainers are probably due to the stressful conditions orcas live in aquaria. There is research on the intelligence, social and cultural structure of orca populations in the wild, and it is obvious that the limited space and artificial sorroundings of an aquarium enclosure will derail anyone's behavior. Going back to the original blog discussion, we should ask the following 3 questions; First, Is it appropriate to have orcas in captivity? Considering the research done on wild orcas (explained above), and the migratory nature of the species, orca aquarium displays are highly questionable. It is the equivalent to spending the rest of your days in a 6 feet by 10 feet jail without having committed a crime. In a recent meeting at Capitol Hill, Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oceans and Wildlife, where two representatives of the aquarium industry (SeaWord and Discovery Cove), and two representatives of the conservation-minded sector (Dr. Naomi Rose, an orca researcher from the Humane Society, and Mr. Louie Psihoyos director of "The Cove" film) testified on this issue, and on the more general issue of marine mammal captivity in zoos and aquariums. A suggestion was made (Dr. Rose) to "phase out" captive orcas in the USA, meaning that every time an orca dies, it is no longer replaced by a new one. Second, is it feasible to release captive orcas in the wild?Although I'm not an orca expert, I know that baby orcas learn everything required to survive from their mothers and the orca pod they are born into. Therefore, orcas born in captivity have not had this learning opportunity and perhaps they are unsuitable for release into the wild. Although captive born wildlife has had some success at release (the story of Christian the Lion comes to mind), ocean releases cannot follow the same degree of progressive freedom for captive born animals than land releases have. For wild born orcas that have been captive for some time, release into the wild might be feasible. However, we see the associated costs (as indicated in the initial email), and we also have the learning curve problem. When capturing marine mammals for aquariums, the industry targets the very young. They are easier to transport and to "train". The younger an orca is at capture, the less time he or she had to learn from mother. So we go back to what I explained above. Third, what is the bottom line?The U.S Marine Mammal protection Act of 1972 "prohibits, with certain exceptions, the "take" of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas, and the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S.""Perhaps the best way to deal with orca captivity and to use limited resources is to ensure and truly enforce the Act, not only in U.S. waters, but to also spread the basis of the Act to other countries which are still capturing wild orcas for aquarium display.
Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D. http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres > Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 17:03:22 +0100 > From: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Blog discussion: Captive orca whales and > release/rehabilitation > To: [email protected] > >>From some accounts I have read, orcas in captivity at times kill their > trainers by drowning them. This is actually natural behaviour, as this is > how they sometimes kill other marine mammals. I have seen a video of them > separating a baby whale from its mother (I think that these were gray > whales) and drowning it, just not letting it get to the surface to breathe. > This is a long slow process with whales of course, I think it took a couple > of hours. They then just ate the tongue and swam away. > > It would of course be easy for an orca to kill a human with its mouth. > Ironically when they behave the way they do in nature we are horrified. > Unfortunately much of what goes on in nature is pretty ugly -- I still get > depressed when I think of that baby whale, as I do when I think of some of > the other events I have observed in the wild (mostly via video). It is not > surprising that most wildlife documentaries show nature at its prettiest, > such as the big cat bringing down its prey with one quick bite. > > For me the key issue is whether we should present the kind of sanitized view > of nature that captive orcas convey -- does it really help the general > public become more aware of the world they live in? Or is it at least a > useful marketing gimmick for conservation? > > Bill Silvert > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "David Shiffman" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: terça-feira, 4 de Maio de 2010 14:28 > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Blog discussion: Captive orca whales and > release/rehabilitation > > >> Some animal rights extremists have joined in the conversation, making >> claims >> like "evil aquarium employees who enslave whales deserve to be killed by >> whales" and "aquariums and zoos have no education value whatsoever".
