On Why it is Time to Free our Wild Marine Mammals from Captivity
When many of us dream of majestic killer whales, playful dolphins and inquisitive sea lions, we see these animals swimming through the clear blue waters of the ocean, a golden sand beach just visible in the background perhaps. Yet sadly for some marine mammals, this is not their reality. Many different species of marine mammal, from killer whales to bottlenose dolphins are kept in captivity, trapped in display tanks in the name of entertainment. While some argue that these public attractions are a way to educate society about these creatures and the problems they face, many others argue that keeping these free beings locked inside is creating another enormous issue in itself. So what are the true costs of keeping these animals as public resources?
Some of the most popular species kept in captivity are orcas and dolphins, used to wow an audience with tricks and pose for photos. Yet these species are extremely unsuited to being confined as after years of evolution, staying still is just not in their nature. In the wild, whales and dolphins are renowned for living in tight knit family groups which hunt, feed, migrate and sleep together. In fact, baby male orcas stay by their mother’s side for their whole lives, whilst grandmother orcas are essential for helping take care of new young ones. Dolphins are also highly social beings who love being in big groups of friends to help them hunt, move away from predators and care for the young or vulnerable in the group. Within captivity, many individuals are separated from their family and placed within a new, small, human-made group, where they are forced to get along with each other. Despite what some say, these beautiful creatures are mostly deeply unhappy in tanks and pools as their natural instincts see them travel vast distances and dive hundreds of feet into the deep. Orcas often travel up to 40 miles per day, even staying swimming whilst they sleep, and only spending around 20% of their lives at the surface of the ocean, with the rest of their time spent hiding under the waves. Yet the average orca tank is only 170 feet long, or 0.0001% of the smallest known orca home range in the wild. The deepest tanks are only 30 feet deep, the equivalent of half the length a bowling alley lane. Due to these reasons and the fact that whales and dolphins are some of our most intelligent and social species on the planet, these creatures are simply not biologically suited to thrive in captivity.
Compared to the ocean, concrete and glass tanks are very dull places to spend your lifetime; all there is to explore are the small four walls rather than schools of fish, tangled kelp forests, floating icebergs and submarine ridges. As there is nothing to investigate and nothing to hunt, many of the individuals which live in captivity for a long period of time have almost no need to use their sonar clicks which normally help them communicate and hunt. To try and give these animals some mental stimulation and exercise, trainers from entertainment parks have to keep up regular training and enrichment activities. This could include teaching a whale to wave its flipper and rewarding it with a handful of fish. Yet as you can see, it is very hard to recreate the natural environment this creature should be living in within a tiny pool, there is simply no space to hunt down schools of fish or to playfully chase seabirds. Out of boredom, many animals which are kept in these facilities develop negative behaviours which include aggression towards other animals and trainers as well as grinding their teeth on the tank walls, sometimes wearing them down to the nerve endings. From here, it is often a downward spiral into poor health issues from infections to stress related ailments. In fact, many of the orcas which are forced to breed within captivity sadly suffer miscarriages due to stress. As a result, the oldest orca to ever live in captivity was a female named Kayla who lived until she was 30. In the wild, however, these animals can easily live to 50 years old, sometimes even as old as 80. Even the water within the tanks can lower the quality of life of these spectacular creatures as the chlorine used for cleaning can lead to bad skin conditions and even blindness. All in all, despite the fun these creatures look like they might be having during choreographed shows, they are actually hardly living their lives at all.
On the bright side, keeping marine mammals captive is a practice which has largely disappeared from Europe and Canada, with America being the only Western nation still keeping this outdated practice alive. Those in favour of wildlife parks say that these animals are an educational resource which help boost conservation efforts by teaching the public about these species which live far from our front doors. Yet in reality, the audiences at these facilities are learning nothing about these species’ natural behaviours or natural habitats; after all, there is nothing natural about whales beaching themselves on the side of a pool or balancing humans on their noses. It is actually proven that humans learn a lot more about our blue planet by spending time watching creatures in their natural environment and by actively helping protect our ecosystems than they do by reading posters or watching shows. However, a ground-breaking documentary called ‘Blackfish’ was released in 2013 which exposed the true lives of the orcas living in captivity, sparking a new surge of outrage in the public. Since then, California has made it illegal to breed orcas in captivity within the state whilst one large American enterprise has also since announced they will no longer breed these animals in their parks. While captive protests remain in the West leading to positive progress, it seems the problem is only just arising in the East. China is thought to have over 75 operational sea parks with another 25 under construction with their pools being filled with cetaceans obtained from Russia and Japan. While the West seems to be winning the war, it appears to be only just starting in Asia as wildlife shows rapidly grow in popularity. It seems it is up to us to educate, persuade and protest against these new developments to ensure that our marine mammals can stay safely in our oceans. This shift has already occurred in circuses filled with terrestrial species where large companies have realised that customers no longer want to see elephants and bears trapped and trained, instead they have released their animals to sanctuaries and started working on new acts.
Thankfully, the same seems to be slowly beginning for our marine circus counterparts. Re-releasing animals that have been trapped for all or most of their lives is a tricky business as most have lost the skills they need to survive in the wild. In some cases, individuals are given months of rehabilitation to teach them how to eat live fish or avoid boats with their sharp propellers. For some creatures, such as dolphins, this has been successful with individuals released around the world from Guatemala to Turkey. Yet for others, it is more difficult. For example, Keiko is the famous killer whale in the film ‘Free Willy’ who was released back into Icelandic waters where he was taken from his family at the age of two. However, Keiko had grown so used to his tank and trainers that he never wanted to stray far from humans or boats, simply watching the herds of wild killer whales but never being accepted into a group. He also struggled to feed and migrate, living only a couple of years after his release. For creatures which don’t know any different, it seems that sadly, the wild is no longer a place they can successfully live and so keen conservationists have created semi-wild ocean habitats around the world to house retired or rehabilitated marine mammals.
One such project is called The Whale Sanctuary Project which is led by an eclectic mix of scientists, policy experts, vets and engineers. After two years of careful research and planning, the group has chosen an area on the coast of Nova Scotia in Canada to be their future sea sanctuary. The group hope that once creatures have been freed from captivity, they will come to live in this cordoned off section of ocean where they can swim, dive, interact with others and investigate some of our beautiful rocky bays, fish species and underwater plants. The animals will still be fed by humans and are going to be placed in an area free from pollution, boats and other human threats. The project is also planning to build nearby offices for marine researchers as well as an animal care centre and a learning centre and viewing dock for the public to use. The local community in Nova Scotia has so far been extremely positive about the new initiative, however American entertainment centres whose animals are at threat of being relocated are not so supportive, accusing the project of trapping animals in ‘sea cages’ and exposing them to stressful environment hazards. Whilst the debate continues, it is hoped that with a continuation of public pressure, by the time the sanctuary is built, entertainment centres will have agreed to the idea.
Already in some areas of the world, sea creatures are being moved from tanks to the ocean, with two beluga whales recently taking the journey from a water park in China to a sea sanctuary in Iceland. After 10 years in a small pool, photographs show the two whales smiling as they are lowered down into their new wild home. In preparation for the move, the whales were taught more useful skills such as how to hold their breath for a long time whilst being trained to be physically strong against tides and currents. The whales have been fattened up with fish to help them deal with the cold and they now have another 30 years of life to enjoy in their Icelandic sea sanctuary, a place of relative freedom and excitement for these creatures.
Around the world there is a lot of mixed work going on; some companies are investing in creating bigger and ‘better’ wildlife shows whilst other projects are doing all they can to release these animals for good. If you feel strongly about holding marine mammals in captivity, why not use the power of your words and actions to make a difference for these animals which cannot turn their lives around themselves.
By Neve McCracken-Heywood