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Tuli

Blackfish Discussion

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I saw the documentary Blackfish today and it made me think about a lot of things. If you haven't seen it or heard of it, it discusses most of the well known orca attacks, mostly at SeaWorld. They follow one whale in particular, Tilikum, the whale that was in the news a few years ago for killing his trainer. It explains his life, and at least in my opinion, shows the reasons of why he is the way he is.

I wanted to know other people's opinions on Tilikum and what they've done with him, as well as what you think about keeping animals like orcas in captivity.

My own opinion varies. Being a zoo keeper, I know the workings behind the scenes at zoos. For the most part we do our best to better the lives of the animals we have. I know ideally, my job shouldn't even exist. But on the other hand, I know that we have to because people think that having a monkey or a tiger as a pet is a good idea when they are young, but when they grow up and the owners can't keep them, then they need a place to go. This is also why I want to stick to more sanctuaries than true zoos. But both places give the animals the most natural life they can. However, animals like orcas and dolphins. I don't even like the thought of them in captivity. We cannot give them the life they need. These animals need hundreds of miles of territory that captivity just can't accommodate. And they stay within their family groups for their whole life. Again, something that we don't allow them. I know that if management says one of your animals needs to go somewhere else, then you have no choice but to say good bye. But lions for example, after the cubs are weened then they become a stranger to their parents. Them leaving is not a big deal and will not have any effect to the mother. With orcas, it's like taking a 4 year old human away from his mom. Orcas are so much like humans than most people want to admit, There is evidence of them actually using their own language and each group has their own. In captivity, we put random whales together and call them a family group. But think about it, you put different people from different cultures in a small room with no where to go, there will be some issues. Also their life spans are cut in half. In the wild orcas can life to be over 100. In captivity, they do well to get past 35. Other animals it's the opposite. In captivity they lives are much longer. So in short, we just shouldn't have whales and dolphins in captivity. They have no use. We are not preserving the species like we are with other animals, they are just there to amuse us and make the big guys money.

Now, for Tilikum. Personally he should of been killed or released after his first killing. Something happened while he was young to make him the way he is. Be it being beat up by the 2 whales he was with in the beginning or being shoved into a tiny (20 feet deep and 28 feet in diameter) steel tank. Again, put a 2 year old in a small room with very limited playtime for almost 10 years, and see what happens. Any other animal would have been killed. Be it tiger or monkey or dog. But he was given another chance. He then killed another man and then the most recent incident being his trainer. Thoughts are he did it out of frustration. He wasn't having a good show. I've trained animals, I know that frustration when the animal is doing behaviors they think are right but are not rewarded. But he is still at SeaWorld and even preforming. He is over 30 years old know. Odds are he will do it again.

But give me your thoughts.
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Added: 10 years, 3 months ago
 
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