I often times think about the trip that my family took to Sea World in San Diego, California because it was one of my favorite trips that we have ever taken. We walked around to the various exhibits and were amazed at the different things that the animals did. But, of course, the most memorable thing was seeing the famous “Shamu” act.
The show was amazing, and seeing what the trainers at Sea World could command Killer Whales to do was crazy. One of the things that sticks out the most for me, is seeing a video of Killer Whale and trainer accidents which explained how and why is usually happens. For a nine year old, this video was pretty alarming and it made me question why and how people get into this profession. But it also made me wonder why they capture these animals from their homes in the wild.
In recent news, it was announced that Sea World’s most famous Killer Whale, Tilikum, is dying. Veterinarians suspect that he has an infection in his lungs; although he is being treated for this, there is no cure for his illness.
Tilikum’s story was published in the documentary “Blackfish”, which raised awareness about the alleged mistreatment of animals at Sea World. He has been at Sea World for about 23 years and was taken from his wild family at the age of 2. During his time in captivity, he has been involved in three extremely public human deaths. It is suspected that Tilikum’s along with other wild orca’s aggression is a result of stress and confusion about being in captivity. Tilikum has been seen showing signs of stress such as floating in the water for hours (which is extremely abnormal for wild orcas) and breaking his teeth from biting on the side of his tank.
Tilikum’s condition is known to be more common in orcas in captivity because of stress and the poor water quality levels. Unfortunately, Tilikum’s illness is not the only one at Sea World right now. Five marine animals have died since last summer, including Tilikum’s daughter. Hopefully Tilikum will survive and recover, but it does make you wonder: maybe seeing these amazing animals perform in a tank is not worth the harm to them and it is just better to let them live their natural lives.
https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-tilikum-sick-1649765261.html
The Environment is Everything 