SeaWorld keeps captive 29 killer whales, the largest killer whale population in a zoological facility worldwide.
They consider themselves a global leader in care and understanding of the species, but many question their practices in behavioral training, preventive health, and facilities design and management. Like other animals at SeaWorld, the whales live in a small, cramped habitat, receive an overwhelming amount of attention from human tourists, and often appear not to be engaged socially or mentally which is detrimental to their abilities. Captive orcas are kept hungry during the day in order to ensure they will do the tricks they have been taught while rewarded with dead fish. When not engaged, they lie listlessly in their tanks at the surface, something wild orcas seldom do.
Top 5 Things to Know About SeaWorld’s Killer Whale Care
SeaWorld has captured killer whales in the wild, and did so 35 years ago. As recently as 2012, SeaWorld attempted to import Beluga Whales from Russia in conjunction with the Georgia Aquarium that had been captured in the wild. SeaWorld has subsequently signed the Virgin pledge to not source any wild dolphins or whales.
SeaWorld’s killer whales’ life spans are much shorter than whales in the wild. Orcas in the wild are believed to live between thirty and fifty years at least, while orcas in captivity only live an average of thirteen years.
SeaWorld does not recognize the importance of social structure among whales. Calves are often separated from their mothers in captivity when they are as young as 20 months. In the wild, family units stay together virtually for life.
The research SeaWorld does on whales does not mimic life in the wild, therefore it does not benefit wild killer whales or their endangered populations. Their “research” involves artificial insemination, manipulation of reproductive cycles, and forced breeding, as well as other animal husbandry procedures that do not have relevance to wild orcas.
SeaWorld’s vision for the creation of future whale habitats is highly controversial, and has been a major case before the California Coastal Commission. When the Commission conditioned the expansion of their tanks to stopping breeding of captive orcas, SeaWorld sued the Commission. Earth Island’s IMMP is seeking to intervene in that case. Once SeaWorld decided to stop breeding orcas, they dropped their proposal to expand the orca habitat in SeaWorld San Diego.
SeaWorld belongs to two of the foremost zoological organizations: the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums (AMMPA) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Both organizations are strongly supportive of captivity and oppose efforts to reduce captivity. The International Marine Mammal Project and other organizations believe that SeaWorld should remove dolphin and whale captivity from their limited facilities, permanently retire orcas and dolphins to sea pens, and focus on other forms of entertainment.
