Killer Whale Psychological Effects

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DeAsia Fairley McCabe ENGL 1900 Help the Helpless The Killer Whale, better known by its scientific name Orcinus Orca, it is actually one of the largest members of the dolphin family (Rechberg,726). Ms.Rechberg says that the name Killer Whale came from the interaction that Orcas has with other whales. Orcas were first placed into captivity in 1961 (Jett and Jeffrey,1362) and put on public display in 1965 (Rechberg,733). These predators were once hunted because of their aggressive nature but now are being praised for how big of a splash they can make. Out of the 200 orcas that have been captured since 1964, 167 of them have died. Of that there have been seventy-one deaths of Killer Whales in the US alone. It is said that the average time in…show more content…
Taylor they state that the most common causes of death in captive orcas, wild-caught or captive-born is pneumonia, septicemia, and many other types of infections. Honestly with all the money that organizations use to get the top notch medications, they still are not helping these helpless creatures. Orcas in captivity are said to go through a lot of chronic stress, psychological depression, and even boredom. All of these symptoms are quite understandable. Psychological Depression would mostly likely happen right after the orcas is taken from it family in the wild and placed in a pen and not being able to go back home. Boredom would come into play as time goes on and only being by themselves in a tank that is just big enough for them to swim around in a circle. Nothing new to explore and to find. Evans states that because of pattern swimming orcas have collapsed dorsal fins also known as Flaccid Fin Syndrome. She also states that another reason why orcas have collapsed dorsal fins is because they are constantly resting on the surface thus gravity taking place. Another would be lack of exercise yes they swim but not even half as much as they do in the wild. Evans states that they are constantly moving in the same direction and there isn't an even amount of pressure on both sides of the fin. Ian E. Waldick attributes to this by saying ¨Research has shown that bent dorsal fins can be a manifestation of poor health and stress,…show more content…
These animals do not have anyway of being able to do what they want and they have to constantly be trained to do these big and extravagant flips. Also the major fact that captivity has caused stress, depression, and boredom. Living a life of which they do not. Torture would be the perfect word to describe this situation. It is like a circus but for marine life. Another thing that she covered was the abandonment that baby orcas have to be put through because their mothers are not in a mental state to properly take care of them. Even though SeaWorld has knowledge that there is a possibility that the newborn will be abandoned it does not stop them from doing
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