In February of 2010, news headlines all around the globe were flooded with horrific reports on the events that had unfolded in Orlando, Florida’s SeaWorld theme park. Tilikum, at the time a 26 year old orca, had pulled trainer Dawn Brancheau into the facility’s 5.8 million gallon pool before drowning her. Dozens of tourists watched with absolute horror at the murderous aggression exhibited by the park’s supposed pride and joy. And this wasn’t just an isolated incident. Tilikum had been responsible for two other fatal park accidents prior to Brancheau’s death--once in 1991 and the other eight years later. Victims Keltie Byme and Daniel Dukes (respectively), too, met their fates at the jaws of this 12,000 pound, 22.5 ft bull orca. Worldwide shock was undenied; SeaWorld had spent years fabricating an illusion of rescuing and housing these amicable and disciplined marine mammals. This certainly did not fit their narrative.
Accusations and Backlash
Since opening in the mid-1900s, SeaWorld has been marketed to be a conservation organization dedicated to preserving the wonders of the ocean. Former CEO Joel Manby claimed that SeaWorld has the potential to aid rapidly depleting populations of marine animals by placing them within the park’s pools and cages. “One hundred years from now, people are going to be begging for zoos and aquariums to take the animals from the wild because the extinction rate is so high," he said during an interview.
While Manby has unquestionably revealed his stance on SeaWorld, former orca trainer John Hangrove has entirely different views. His experience of working in such intimate environments with killer whales led him to see SeaWorld as nothing more than a corporation that relentlessly exploits its whales and their trainers. “I saw the psychological and physical trauma that results from captivity,” he says. “It is just morally and ethically unacceptable.”
Hangrove’s response aided growing critiques about the behind-the-scenes treatment of orcas and other marine mammals in captivity--especially with the release of Blackfish (available to watch on Netflix) a few years prior. This film featured exclusive clips and interviews of Hangrove and other SeaWorld trainees who shared their previously silenced experiences. Be it collapsed dorsal fins, exceedingly premature deaths, and even violence among the orcas themselves, Blackfish ultimately pinpointed the harmful conditions of the park as the culprit to why killer whales in captivity were beginning to live up to their ‘killer’ name.
Psychological Stressors
While insufficient diets and lack of stimuli (among other physical aspects) can be somewhat ameliorated within the pool facilities, it is the psychological distress and mental strains that see little hope in amending. For Tilikum and Dawn, Hangrove touches on the extremely close bond between the two: “I do believe that he loved her, and I know that she loved him.” However, this relationship may have just been a mere bandaid on the gaping bullet hole of Tilikum’s suppressed trauma and psychological downfall.
Just like humans, orcas are extremely intelligent creatures. Their added sociability encourages the formation of pods ranging from two to fifteen other orcas. Somewhat similar to all the different nations and states of the world, each pod has its own language-like dialect, matrilineal descent, and food preferences. When captured for captivity in marine enclosures, calves and their pods are most often forcibly separated, leading to long lasting trauma and resentment towards humans.
This was the exact scenario that Tilikum was subjected to. Ripped apart from his mother in the North Atlantic waters, he was among the fifty something orcas sold to global marine parks in the late 1900s. These terrifying captures entailed nets, multiple boats, and even underwater explosives operated by individuals that prioritize profit and capital much over the fear and safety of orcas.
The idea of pods also escalates into violence among the captured orcas themselves. Unable to properly communicate with each other nor hide and flee from confrontational situations, stress and anxiety can accumulate enough tension to break out into fights, injuries, and even deaths.
These stressors only set up an unstable mental foundation for the orcas, which allows the potential for any small upsetting event to upset them to the point of danger. Such was the case where an accidental unrewarded trick and the unexpected shortage of frozen fish had ultimately cost Dawn her life.
SeaWorld’s Response
With the release of Blackfish, an immediate downward spiral consumed SeaWorld’s prior esteemed success and positive popularity across all of its parks. Attendance dropped 13% in the beginning of 2014, following the film a year prior. Stock prices dropped, advocates openly protested, and even hired musicians refused to play at the park’s events.
In November of 2014, SeaWorld took legal action against Hangrove. Hangrove himself was relatively unphased, hiring his own legal team to fight the corporate “bullies who for decades have silenced trainers who threatened to speak out.”
Several years of pressure from advocates ensued following the company’s defensive response until it was officially announced that all SeaWorld locations would end their entertainment-based orca shows. This action was officially carried out in 2019, with news to initiate more educational and humane orca encounters.
SeaWorld also decided to phase out its breeding programs to mediate public callings to set the captives free back into the oceanic wild. To many, this seems to be the best approach as the majority of present orcas have been interbred and kept in captivity their entire lives. Sending them back to the ocean might actually be more harmful than beneficial.
Others say that SeaWorld overcomplicates the matter far more than necessary. Perhaps opening the tanks into the ocean might not be as viable, but sea pens and sanctuaries exist as better methods to combat the situation than these orca encounters. After all, a larger cage--or in this case a tank--is still a cage nonetheless.
Looking Ahead
Tilikum died in January of 2017--a bittersweet moment of observation that was globally acknowledged. His death marks the end of an era, a time where the abuse of marine mammals was kept tightly under wraps. The spellbinding fascination of sitting in the splash zone, cheering as massive tails doused the stands with water, soured as the harsh reality inside these tanks became as transparent as the glass that encaged them.
Even as progressive changes in favor of animal advocacy paint the corporation in a better light, many seem to forget the true idea of liberation when it comes to human entertainment. The fight seems more so forgotten especially as of now. Bottlenose dolphins, seals, and many other species still suffer in SeaWorld today, and many worldwide marine parks continue to capitalize off of orca shows and performances. “It’s shameful that as a species we are so arrogant to believe that we can do whatever we want to any animal,” says Hangrove, and echoed by touched individuals all around the world, it's quite possibly long overdue that the sentiment is shared.
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