Orcas in Captivity: Born to be Free

My research topic is about comparing and contrasting the Orcas that are in the wild and those that were brought or born into captivity, and why it shouldn’t be illegal to keep them in tanks to perform tricks. I’m interested in this topic since I’ve seen two documentaries about Orcas in captivity. One was about how Seaworld and other aquatic theme parks get their whales, and the other, Blackfish, was about the life of Tilikum and what happened between multiple former Seaworld trainers and the Orca whales they interacted with on a daily basis. I will cover distinct characteristics that wild and captive Orcas have and what happens to an Orca during the process of being captured and trained, plus the outcomes of what captivity does to the Orcas. I will also include both pro-captive and pro-wild point of views, but will ultimately conclude that captivity does more harm than good.

~AG

3 thoughts on “Orcas in Captivity: Born to be Free

  1. I agree but laws will not keep them alive unfortunately, china kills whales near the Artic claiming in the name of research, it’s death in human hand regardless. Over time torture, or poaching, sad it’s come to this.

  2. Ex situ (in captivity) and in situ (in the wild) conservation measures have very different possibilities and purposes, but both can be useful in preserving a species that’s at risk. Good job balancing both points of view and looking at the practices in an objective manner.

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