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Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
From the New York Times bestselling author of Evidence of Harm and Animal Factory—a groundbreaking scientific thriller that exposes the dark side of SeaWorld, America’s most beloved marine mammal park.
Death at SeaWorld centers on the battle with the multimillion-dollar marine park industry over the controversial and even lethal ramifications of keeping killer whales in captivity. Following the story of marine biologist and animal advocate at the Humane Society of the US, Naomi Rose, Kirby tells the gripping story of the two-decade fight against PR-savvy SeaWorld, which came to a head with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Kirby puts that horrific animal-on-human attack in context. Brancheau’s death was the most publicized among several brutal attacks that have occurred at Sea World and other marine mammal theme parks.
Death at SeaWorld introduces real people taking part in this debate, from former trainers turned animal rights activists to the men and women that champion SeaWorld and the captivity of whales. In section two the orcas act out. And as the story progresses and orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Naomi Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with the death of Dawn Brancheau. Finally he covers the media backlash, the eyewitnesses who come forward to challenge SeaWorld’s glossy image, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that challenges the very idea of keeping killer whales in captivity and may spell the end of having trainers in the water with the ocean’s top predators.
Death at SeaWorld centers on the battle with the multimillion-dollar marine park industry over the controversial and even lethal ramifications of keeping killer whales in captivity. Following the story of marine biologist and animal advocate at the Humane Society of the US, Naomi Rose, Kirby tells the gripping story of the two-decade fight against PR-savvy SeaWorld, which came to a head with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Kirby puts that horrific animal-on-human attack in context. Brancheau’s death was the most publicized among several brutal attacks that have occurred at Sea World and other marine mammal theme parks.
Death at SeaWorld introduces real people taking part in this debate, from former trainers turned animal rights activists to the men and women that champion SeaWorld and the captivity of whales. In section two the orcas act out. And as the story progresses and orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Naomi Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with the death of Dawn Brancheau. Finally he covers the media backlash, the eyewitnesses who come forward to challenge SeaWorld’s glossy image, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that challenges the very idea of keeping killer whales in captivity and may spell the end of having trainers in the water with the ocean’s top predators.
469 pages, Hardcover
First published July 17, 2012
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April 20, 2024
Caution for sensitive individuals - I will be addressing some GRAPHIC content. This is a revised version of a previous review I wrote. The incredible book written by the late David Kirby left me in awe. I'll share a few additional details that he didn't delve into.
The world's most famous marine park was forever altered on February 24th, 2010, when Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, brutally killed star trainer Dawn Brancheau.
There is something about killer whales. Scientifically, the animal is known by its genus Orcinus - from the Latin “kingdom of the dead,” or belonging to Orcus, the Roman god of the underworld - and its species orca, from the Latin and Greek for large whale or fish.
Maybe it’s their sheer size, some as big as school buses. It might be their force and power, their awesome ability to rocket into the air, or travel a hundred miles a day. It could be their masterful design, their hydrodynamic submarine-like forms, or those elegant black-and-white patterns as if outfitted in tuxedos made of wet suits. Perhaps it’s the fearsome name and ruthless, predatory reputation. Or maybe it’s the whales’ almost otherworldly intelligence, their sense of humor and play, their apparent love of sharing.
Death at Seaworld is the tale of Tilikum, the most famous killer whale since Keiko. Keiko gained worldwide fame in the 90s for his role in the movie Free Willy. Tilikum, on the other hand, became famous for killing three people - trainers Dawn Brancheau and Keltie Byrne and trespasser Daniel Dukes. His tale has been recounted in the widely recognized documentary Blackfish, as well as in various articles and online forums. Similar to Keiko, Tilikum was captured in Berufjörður, Iceland. At the tender age of two, he was separated from his family on November 9th, 1983. His early years were spent at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, where he endured punishment through food deprivation if he failed to perform tricks correctly. He was confined to a small enclosure and faced aggression from the two older female orcas. Sealand closed down in 1992 after the tragic death of trainer Keltie Byrne during a live show. Tilikum and the two female orcas were then sold and transported to Seaworld. Tilikum arrived as a replacement for Seaworld Orlando's deceased orca, Kanduke. Once again, he had to endure the dominance and aggression of the female orcas. Katina, the matriarch of Seaworld Orlando, frequently harassed Tilikum and inflicted wounds with her teeth.
On February 24, 2010, an ordinary day unfolded at Seaworld Orlando. Little did anyone know that by the day's end, the park would be forever marked by the most horrifying incident in its history. Seaworld advocates still deny the truth and insist that Tilikum was simply 'playing.' Here is Dawn Brancheau's autopsy report :
- avulsion of the scalp and associated galeal and subgaleal hemorrhage
- lacerations and abrasions of the right ear and left cheek
- fracture of the mandible, laceration, and hemorrhage of the oral mucosa
- fracture of the 7th cervical vertebra, hemorrhage of the paravertebral musculature, epidural hemorrhage
- abrasions of the left upper back
- fractures of the posterior aspects of the 9th through 11th left ribs
- fracture of the sternum
- liver lacerations
- hemoperitoneum
- dislocation of the left elbow
- dislocation of the left knee
- abrasions, lacerations, and contusions of the extremities
- complete avulsion of the left upper extremity, fracture of the proximal left humerus
A park visitor captured this photo of Dawn and Tilikum just before the incident occurred. The final image of Dawn shows Tilikum pulling her towards the water by her arm, but I choose not to display it here as a sign of respect.
TO SUM IT UP, Tilikum grabbed Dawn from a shallow ledge, rammed her repeatedly in the water, severed her spinal cord, fractured her jaw, ribs, and vertebra, nearly tore off her left arm, and scalped her.
I wouldn't categorize any of that as playing, but you know what they say - ignorance is bliss. I guess all the antidepressants they pumped into him didn't have the desired effect. Seaworld, as usual, tried to shift the blame onto Dawn. This wasn't the first time they did that. Whenever a trainer got injured, Seaworld always pointed fingers at them. Gotta sell those Shamu toys and t-shirts.
Following Dawn's passing, the federal government prohibited Seaworld from allowing its trainers to enter the water with orcas.
Keto took the life of trainer Alexis Martinez just two months before Dawn's passing. Keto, a 75% Icelandic and 25% Southern Resident hybrid, was born at Seaworld Orlando and was famously known as Seaworld's 'problem child.' In 2006, Keto was moved to Loro Parque, Spain, along with Tilikum's offspring Tekoa, Kohana, and Skyla. Unfortunately, on December 24, 2009, Keto fatally attacked Alexis Martinez.
I couldn't find Alexis' full autopsy report, but here's a summary of the incident:
- he was grabbed by Keto, taken to the bottom of the pool, and rammed in the chest
- he received multiple bite marks to his torso
- multiple compression fractures
- damage to vital organs
- bite marks on the body
Loro Parque attempted to portray Alexis' death as unintentional and insisted that Keto did not intend to harm him. The true villains are not the orcas or the trainers but rather the wealthy individuals in expensive suits - the owners and executives.
Tilikum has fathered 21 calves (14 if we don’t count stillborns and miscarriages) – Kyuquot, Taku, Nyar, Unna, Sumar, Tekoa, Tuar, Nakai, Kohana, Ikaika, Skyla, Malia, Sakari, and Makaio. Seven of those offspring are still alive. He has three grandchildren. His son Makaio, daughter Malia, grandson Trua, and granddaughter Nalani live in Seaworld Orlando. His son Ikaika lives in Seaworld San Diego. His sons Kyuquot, Tuar, and daughter Sakari live in Seaworld San Antonio. His son Tekoa and grandson Adán live in Tenerife, Spain (they live with Keto, the orca who killed Alexis Martinez).
I must address SeaWorld's former practice of separating mothers from their offspring. Here is the list of orcas that were separated from their mothers:
Kalina, daughter of Katina and Winston. Takara, daughter of Kasatka and Kotar. Keet, son of Kalina and Kotar. Keto, son of Kalina and Kotar. Katerina, daughter of Katina and Kanduke. Trua, son of Takara and Taku. Taku, son of Katina and Tilikum. Tuar, son of Kalina and Tilikum. Skyla, daughter of Kalina and Tilikum. Kohana, daughter of Takara and Tilikum. Sumar, son of Taima and Tilikum. Tekoa, son of Taima and Tilikum. Unna, daughter of Katina and Tilikum. Ikaika, son of Katina and Tilikum.
Seaworld has created hybrids that don't exist in the wild. Breeding across different ecotypes is strictly prohibited in orca communities. Let's take a look at the orcas in the Pacific Northwest. Even though the Resident and Transient orcas inhabit the same waters, they have not had a common ancestor for more than 750,000 years. They do not socialize, mate, or even hunt the same prey.
Dawn and Tilikum
If you've had the chance to read any of my previous orca reviews, you'll know that I strongly oppose keeping these magnificent creatures in captivity. However, my ultimate priority is to promote truth and science. Nothing frustrates me more than misinformation. I take great pride in conducting thorough research, ensuring that every word I write in my reviews is based on factual information. If I happen to make a mistake, it is never intentional. Throughout the years, I have engaged in numerous debates with both pro-captivity and anti-captivity people. I have noticed that both sides often spread false information.
I frequently encounter these topics when discussing orca captivity with others:
Collapsed dorsal fins are common in the wild:
Less than 1% of male orcas in free-ranging populations have fully collapsed dorsal fins. Every male orca in captivity has a collapsed dorsal fin. In the wild, it may occur due to injury, illness, or exposure to toxins. Another misconception is that captive orcas have collapsed fins because they're depressed. Whether or not they're depressed can be debated, however, the reason all adult captive males have collapsed dorsal fins is most likely due to spending most of the time at the surface and not being able to dive deep.
Captive orcas live as long as their wild counterparts:
Only six captive orcas have reached the age of 40 - Lolita/Tokitae (Southern Resident, died at the estimated age of 57), Corky (Northern Resident, currently 58/59), Kasatka (Icelandic, died at the estimated age of 40), Kiska (Icelandic, died at the estimated age of 46), Ulises (Icelandic, currently 46/47), and Katina (Icelandic, currently 47).
Wild orcas (females live longer than males):
K7 Lummi (female Southern Resident) - died at the estimated age of 98
L25 Ocean Sun (female Southern Resident) - still alive, estimated to be 95 years old
J2 Granny (female Southern Resident) - she could have been anywhere between 70 to 100 years of age
J1 Ruffles (male Southern Resident) - died at the estimated age of 59
T087 Harbeson (male Transient) - estimated to be 60 years old
T018 Esperanza (female Transient) - estimated to be 68 years old
As much as I hate to say it, Seaworld deserves some credit. They decided to terminate their orca breeding program in 2016 in response to the widespread public outcry. This generation of orcas will be the last in their care. Other marine parks have not been as responsible. Lolita died in 2023 after spending 53 years in North America's smallest orca tank at the Miami Seaquarium. She had no shade, no space to dive, and no companions of her own kind. Kiska, Canada's last captive orca, died in 2023 in complete isolation. Argentina's last captive orca, 33-year-old Kshamenk, suffers from severe malnourishment and has a deformed spine due to being held in a small tank. While I cannot support Seaworld, it is important to acknowledge that they provide their animals with world-class veterinary care, high-quality food, and clean water.
It is ethically wrong to keep orcas in captivity, regardless of the conditions. Orcas possess a highly developed limbic system and the most gyrified brain in the world. It's unethical to make them do tricks for tourists in artificial enclosures. They deserve to be free, exploring the vast oceans and showcasing their natural abilities as apex predators.
Tilikum performing
Tilikum displayed remarkable kindness towards his tank mates. Gudrun had a challenging experience upon her arrival at Seaworld. Katina and Kanduke treated her terribly, as reported by former trainers. Kanduke persistently imposed himself on her. However, when Kanduke passed away, Seaworld acquired Tilikum, and Gudrun's life took a significant turn for the better. They found solace in each other's company. Additionally, Tilikum took great care of his disabled daughter, Nyar. He also shared a close relationship with his grandson, Trua.
What caused Tilikum to display such aggression towards humans? He showed immense tenderness towards his mates and offspring. Gudrun sadly passed away in 1996 due to labor complications. Tilikum found solace in the company of Taima, who unfortunately passed away in 2010 due to labor complications. The remaining years of his life were spent in isolation, heavily reliant on medication for comfort. It doesn't take a psychology degree to understand Tilikum's struggles – he was forcibly separated from his homeland and family, thrust into a tank with older orcas who regularly bullied him (orcas live in matriarchal societies where the leading ladies make all the decisions) and was even denied food if he didn't perform tricks correctly. Although his life at Seaworld was an improvement from his time at Sealand, his problems never truly vanished.
Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, passed away in 2017 due to bacterial pneumonia. He was 35 years old. Among the 18 orcas in Seaworld's collection, three were caught from the wild: Katina, the matriarch of Seaworld Orlando; Ulises, the oldest male orca in captivity; and Corky, the oldest orca in captivity. Corky has been living in captivity for over half a century. She belongs to the Northern Resident A5 pod, A23 matriline, and was captured in 1969 in Pender Harbour, British Columbia. Corky resides in Seaworld San Diego. Her sister Ripple, brother Fife, niece Midsummer, great-nephews Fern and Ne'nakw, and great-niece Eliot are wild and free.
“But what if the capture of the young calf had never occurred? Tilikum might still be swimming free in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, chasing his cherished herring, perhaps alongside his mother. He might be surrounded by siblings, nieces, and nephews, and his grandmother might still be leading the pod.
An oceanic Tilikum would be gliding through his boundless home with fearless power and majestic grace, his fin erect, his teeth intact, his interactions with humans minimal and nonlethal. There would be no need for gelatin or Tagamet, antibiotics or isolation.
And of course, if Tilikum had never been wrenched away from his family and friends, entirely for the amusement of humans, the family and friends of Keltie Byrne, Daniel Dukes, and Dawn Brancheau might not be grieving to this day.
Tilikum was trying to tell us something. It was time to listen.”
The world's most famous marine park was forever altered on February 24th, 2010, when Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, brutally killed star trainer Dawn Brancheau.
There is something about killer whales. Scientifically, the animal is known by its genus Orcinus - from the Latin “kingdom of the dead,” or belonging to Orcus, the Roman god of the underworld - and its species orca, from the Latin and Greek for large whale or fish.
Maybe it’s their sheer size, some as big as school buses. It might be their force and power, their awesome ability to rocket into the air, or travel a hundred miles a day. It could be their masterful design, their hydrodynamic submarine-like forms, or those elegant black-and-white patterns as if outfitted in tuxedos made of wet suits. Perhaps it’s the fearsome name and ruthless, predatory reputation. Or maybe it’s the whales’ almost otherworldly intelligence, their sense of humor and play, their apparent love of sharing.
Death at Seaworld is the tale of Tilikum, the most famous killer whale since Keiko. Keiko gained worldwide fame in the 90s for his role in the movie Free Willy. Tilikum, on the other hand, became famous for killing three people - trainers Dawn Brancheau and Keltie Byrne and trespasser Daniel Dukes. His tale has been recounted in the widely recognized documentary Blackfish, as well as in various articles and online forums. Similar to Keiko, Tilikum was captured in Berufjörður, Iceland. At the tender age of two, he was separated from his family on November 9th, 1983. His early years were spent at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, where he endured punishment through food deprivation if he failed to perform tricks correctly. He was confined to a small enclosure and faced aggression from the two older female orcas. Sealand closed down in 1992 after the tragic death of trainer Keltie Byrne during a live show. Tilikum and the two female orcas were then sold and transported to Seaworld. Tilikum arrived as a replacement for Seaworld Orlando's deceased orca, Kanduke. Once again, he had to endure the dominance and aggression of the female orcas. Katina, the matriarch of Seaworld Orlando, frequently harassed Tilikum and inflicted wounds with her teeth.
On February 24, 2010, an ordinary day unfolded at Seaworld Orlando. Little did anyone know that by the day's end, the park would be forever marked by the most horrifying incident in its history. Seaworld advocates still deny the truth and insist that Tilikum was simply 'playing.' Here is Dawn Brancheau's autopsy report :
- avulsion of the scalp and associated galeal and subgaleal hemorrhage
- lacerations and abrasions of the right ear and left cheek
- fracture of the mandible, laceration, and hemorrhage of the oral mucosa
- fracture of the 7th cervical vertebra, hemorrhage of the paravertebral musculature, epidural hemorrhage
- abrasions of the left upper back
- fractures of the posterior aspects of the 9th through 11th left ribs
- fracture of the sternum
- liver lacerations
- hemoperitoneum
- dislocation of the left elbow
- dislocation of the left knee
- abrasions, lacerations, and contusions of the extremities
- complete avulsion of the left upper extremity, fracture of the proximal left humerus
A park visitor captured this photo of Dawn and Tilikum just before the incident occurred. The final image of Dawn shows Tilikum pulling her towards the water by her arm, but I choose not to display it here as a sign of respect.
TO SUM IT UP, Tilikum grabbed Dawn from a shallow ledge, rammed her repeatedly in the water, severed her spinal cord, fractured her jaw, ribs, and vertebra, nearly tore off her left arm, and scalped her.
I wouldn't categorize any of that as playing, but you know what they say - ignorance is bliss. I guess all the antidepressants they pumped into him didn't have the desired effect. Seaworld, as usual, tried to shift the blame onto Dawn. This wasn't the first time they did that. Whenever a trainer got injured, Seaworld always pointed fingers at them. Gotta sell those Shamu toys and t-shirts.
Following Dawn's passing, the federal government prohibited Seaworld from allowing its trainers to enter the water with orcas.
Keto took the life of trainer Alexis Martinez just two months before Dawn's passing. Keto, a 75% Icelandic and 25% Southern Resident hybrid, was born at Seaworld Orlando and was famously known as Seaworld's 'problem child.' In 2006, Keto was moved to Loro Parque, Spain, along with Tilikum's offspring Tekoa, Kohana, and Skyla. Unfortunately, on December 24, 2009, Keto fatally attacked Alexis Martinez.
I couldn't find Alexis' full autopsy report, but here's a summary of the incident:
- he was grabbed by Keto, taken to the bottom of the pool, and rammed in the chest
- he received multiple bite marks to his torso
- multiple compression fractures
- damage to vital organs
- bite marks on the body
Loro Parque attempted to portray Alexis' death as unintentional and insisted that Keto did not intend to harm him. The true villains are not the orcas or the trainers but rather the wealthy individuals in expensive suits - the owners and executives.
Tilikum has fathered 21 calves (14 if we don’t count stillborns and miscarriages) – Kyuquot, Taku, Nyar, Unna, Sumar, Tekoa, Tuar, Nakai, Kohana, Ikaika, Skyla, Malia, Sakari, and Makaio. Seven of those offspring are still alive. He has three grandchildren. His son Makaio, daughter Malia, grandson Trua, and granddaughter Nalani live in Seaworld Orlando. His son Ikaika lives in Seaworld San Diego. His sons Kyuquot, Tuar, and daughter Sakari live in Seaworld San Antonio. His son Tekoa and grandson Adán live in Tenerife, Spain (they live with Keto, the orca who killed Alexis Martinez).
I must address SeaWorld's former practice of separating mothers from their offspring. Here is the list of orcas that were separated from their mothers:
Kalina, daughter of Katina and Winston. Takara, daughter of Kasatka and Kotar. Keet, son of Kalina and Kotar. Keto, son of Kalina and Kotar. Katerina, daughter of Katina and Kanduke. Trua, son of Takara and Taku. Taku, son of Katina and Tilikum. Tuar, son of Kalina and Tilikum. Skyla, daughter of Kalina and Tilikum. Kohana, daughter of Takara and Tilikum. Sumar, son of Taima and Tilikum. Tekoa, son of Taima and Tilikum. Unna, daughter of Katina and Tilikum. Ikaika, son of Katina and Tilikum.
Seaworld has created hybrids that don't exist in the wild. Breeding across different ecotypes is strictly prohibited in orca communities. Let's take a look at the orcas in the Pacific Northwest. Even though the Resident and Transient orcas inhabit the same waters, they have not had a common ancestor for more than 750,000 years. They do not socialize, mate, or even hunt the same prey.
Dawn and Tilikum
If you've had the chance to read any of my previous orca reviews, you'll know that I strongly oppose keeping these magnificent creatures in captivity. However, my ultimate priority is to promote truth and science. Nothing frustrates me more than misinformation. I take great pride in conducting thorough research, ensuring that every word I write in my reviews is based on factual information. If I happen to make a mistake, it is never intentional. Throughout the years, I have engaged in numerous debates with both pro-captivity and anti-captivity people. I have noticed that both sides often spread false information.
I frequently encounter these topics when discussing orca captivity with others:
Collapsed dorsal fins are common in the wild:
Less than 1% of male orcas in free-ranging populations have fully collapsed dorsal fins. Every male orca in captivity has a collapsed dorsal fin. In the wild, it may occur due to injury, illness, or exposure to toxins. Another misconception is that captive orcas have collapsed fins because they're depressed. Whether or not they're depressed can be debated, however, the reason all adult captive males have collapsed dorsal fins is most likely due to spending most of the time at the surface and not being able to dive deep.
Captive orcas live as long as their wild counterparts:
Only six captive orcas have reached the age of 40 - Lolita/Tokitae (Southern Resident, died at the estimated age of 57), Corky (Northern Resident, currently 58/59), Kasatka (Icelandic, died at the estimated age of 40), Kiska (Icelandic, died at the estimated age of 46), Ulises (Icelandic, currently 46/47), and Katina (Icelandic, currently 47).
Wild orcas (females live longer than males):
K7 Lummi (female Southern Resident) - died at the estimated age of 98
L25 Ocean Sun (female Southern Resident) - still alive, estimated to be 95 years old
J2 Granny (female Southern Resident) - she could have been anywhere between 70 to 100 years of age
J1 Ruffles (male Southern Resident) - died at the estimated age of 59
T087 Harbeson (male Transient) - estimated to be 60 years old
T018 Esperanza (female Transient) - estimated to be 68 years old
As much as I hate to say it, Seaworld deserves some credit. They decided to terminate their orca breeding program in 2016 in response to the widespread public outcry. This generation of orcas will be the last in their care. Other marine parks have not been as responsible. Lolita died in 2023 after spending 53 years in North America's smallest orca tank at the Miami Seaquarium. She had no shade, no space to dive, and no companions of her own kind. Kiska, Canada's last captive orca, died in 2023 in complete isolation. Argentina's last captive orca, 33-year-old Kshamenk, suffers from severe malnourishment and has a deformed spine due to being held in a small tank. While I cannot support Seaworld, it is important to acknowledge that they provide their animals with world-class veterinary care, high-quality food, and clean water.
It is ethically wrong to keep orcas in captivity, regardless of the conditions. Orcas possess a highly developed limbic system and the most gyrified brain in the world. It's unethical to make them do tricks for tourists in artificial enclosures. They deserve to be free, exploring the vast oceans and showcasing their natural abilities as apex predators.
Tilikum performing
Tilikum displayed remarkable kindness towards his tank mates. Gudrun had a challenging experience upon her arrival at Seaworld. Katina and Kanduke treated her terribly, as reported by former trainers. Kanduke persistently imposed himself on her. However, when Kanduke passed away, Seaworld acquired Tilikum, and Gudrun's life took a significant turn for the better. They found solace in each other's company. Additionally, Tilikum took great care of his disabled daughter, Nyar. He also shared a close relationship with his grandson, Trua.
What caused Tilikum to display such aggression towards humans? He showed immense tenderness towards his mates and offspring. Gudrun sadly passed away in 1996 due to labor complications. Tilikum found solace in the company of Taima, who unfortunately passed away in 2010 due to labor complications. The remaining years of his life were spent in isolation, heavily reliant on medication for comfort. It doesn't take a psychology degree to understand Tilikum's struggles – he was forcibly separated from his homeland and family, thrust into a tank with older orcas who regularly bullied him (orcas live in matriarchal societies where the leading ladies make all the decisions) and was even denied food if he didn't perform tricks correctly. Although his life at Seaworld was an improvement from his time at Sealand, his problems never truly vanished.
Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, passed away in 2017 due to bacterial pneumonia. He was 35 years old. Among the 18 orcas in Seaworld's collection, three were caught from the wild: Katina, the matriarch of Seaworld Orlando; Ulises, the oldest male orca in captivity; and Corky, the oldest orca in captivity. Corky has been living in captivity for over half a century. She belongs to the Northern Resident A5 pod, A23 matriline, and was captured in 1969 in Pender Harbour, British Columbia. Corky resides in Seaworld San Diego. Her sister Ripple, brother Fife, niece Midsummer, great-nephews Fern and Ne'nakw, and great-niece Eliot are wild and free.
“But what if the capture of the young calf had never occurred? Tilikum might still be swimming free in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, chasing his cherished herring, perhaps alongside his mother. He might be surrounded by siblings, nieces, and nephews, and his grandmother might still be leading the pod.
An oceanic Tilikum would be gliding through his boundless home with fearless power and majestic grace, his fin erect, his teeth intact, his interactions with humans minimal and nonlethal. There would be no need for gelatin or Tagamet, antibiotics or isolation.
And of course, if Tilikum had never been wrenched away from his family and friends, entirely for the amusement of humans, the family and friends of Keltie Byrne, Daniel Dukes, and Dawn Brancheau might not be grieving to this day.
Tilikum was trying to tell us something. It was time to listen.”
May 9, 2020
This is long, so first off…
A friend of mine wanted me to narrow this down to three words, so here you go: Read the book!
Before a riot starts on the thread of this review, I would like to say, SeaWorld, its supporters, and others in the animal theme park community will tell you not to read this book, that it is one-sided and that the author is not an expert on the subject of marine animals. They are correct. The book is mostly one-sided, however as noted in the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, David Kirby asked numerous display industry representatives for their input in the book (including Sea World) and they all declined. Despite this, I spotted many times in the book where Kirby tried to give Sea World credit for one thing or another (including an educational manatee exhibit, a beautifully designed aquarium, animal rescues, and grants for habitat restoration, but the issue at hand is killer whales in captivity) . On the note of Kirby not being an expert in marine animals, he never claimed to be. David Kirby was an investigative reporter who contributed to the New York Times among other publications. As an investigative reporter, he reached out to those who are experts in the field of marine animals and to those who offered a small look inside Sea World from former trainers at Sea World. Those against this book's publication will also tell you that the book is disrespectful to Dawn Brancheau’s memory. Where Dawn is concerned, she is not often mentioned in the book. There is one chapter that focuses mostly on her, but other than that she is mentioned only occasionally. If anything, this book does more for her memory than Sea World has by claiming that there are risks to keeping these killer whales captive and that changes need to be made, while Sea World blames Dawn for what happened. That being said…
I have always been a lover of animals and although I have loved the experience of seeing animals up close in zoos and places like SeaWorld, I have always questioned the ethics of it. Also, I am a history major in college. People studying history generally love research, verifiable evidence, and sources. While reading the book I was constantly looking up videos, articles, and interviews mentioned in the book to get an even bigger view of the picture David Kirby was presenting. I also poured through Sea World’s website and Facebook page.
Death at Sea World is a well written narrative of not only the unfortunate incident of February 24, 2010, but of the history of orca research and orcas in captivity as well as the reactions to the events of that day on both sides of the debate. It is written so well, I often became so absorbed that I didn’t want to work or sleep, just so that I could keep reading. It isn’t bogged down like many non-fiction books become with statistics and dates to remember (this coming from a history major), but flows easily by following the lives those who have been vital to the issue of orca in captivity and their struggles to get legislation passed to protect the animals and the resistance they have met in that battle.
After reading this book, I am compelled to become an advocate not only against zoos and animal theme parks, but also an advocate of getting people to read this book. It has also appalled me at how far companies will go to make money, and how far legislation will go to ensure the cash flow keeps coming. For a company to argue that people with PhDs and decades of years in the field are “not experts” when speaking out against Sea World is quite frankly ridiculous. The only way I can wrap my head around their train of thought when making this claim is that these PhD scientists and advocates are not experts in jailing large, intelligent, wild animals in small, bland, non-stimulating environments, and I suppose they are correct, which is the whole point. These animals were not meant to be pulled from their mothers so young (and in the case of males, probably ever), put into such confined spaces, forced into artificial pods with other unknown orca, fed dead fish infused with vitamins and medicines that they would not need in the wild, and impregnated over and over again at ages unheard of in their natural habitat.
Below are the updates I made after reading the first two sections of the books and how I felt upon finishing those respective sections…
UPDATE 2 (6/24/2012): I just finished "Part Two: Dark Side" of the book which ends at 66% through the book, and I am sad, and angry, and disillusioned. "Part Two" focuses the lens more clearly on the long battle activists have had with SeaWorld and "ProCap" activists over all sorts of issues including trainer safety, longevity of killer whales, ethics of holding these large and highly intelligent animals, and the release of captive killer whales back into the wild. "Part Two" ends with the much publicized death of Dawn Brancheau, and I assume that "Part Three: After Dawn" will cover the ramifications this unfortunate incident has had on the efforts of animal activists as well as what it has meant to Sea World and the animal entertainment industry. I already feel like I've learned tons from this book and am looking forward to the knowledge the last third of the book will share with me.
UPDATE 1 (6/18/2012): I just finished "Part One: Blackfish" of the book which was the first 29% and so far and am thoroughly enjoying it. "Part One" had more to do with the history of killer whale scientific research, how the display and entertainment business of killer whales began, and the first few decades of the business than any specific incident of aggressive killer whale incident in captivity, although the incidents are mentioned in this part. The book reads like a novel in which all the characters are destined to converge in the coming pages, and it makes it a really easy non-fiction book to read enjoyably and learn from at the same time.
*** I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads
A friend of mine wanted me to narrow this down to three words, so here you go: Read the book!
Before a riot starts on the thread of this review, I would like to say, SeaWorld, its supporters, and others in the animal theme park community will tell you not to read this book, that it is one-sided and that the author is not an expert on the subject of marine animals. They are correct. The book is mostly one-sided, however as noted in the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, David Kirby asked numerous display industry representatives for their input in the book (including Sea World) and they all declined. Despite this, I spotted many times in the book where Kirby tried to give Sea World credit for one thing or another (including an educational manatee exhibit, a beautifully designed aquarium, animal rescues, and grants for habitat restoration, but the issue at hand is killer whales in captivity) . On the note of Kirby not being an expert in marine animals, he never claimed to be. David Kirby was an investigative reporter who contributed to the New York Times among other publications. As an investigative reporter, he reached out to those who are experts in the field of marine animals and to those who offered a small look inside Sea World from former trainers at Sea World. Those against this book's publication will also tell you that the book is disrespectful to Dawn Brancheau’s memory. Where Dawn is concerned, she is not often mentioned in the book. There is one chapter that focuses mostly on her, but other than that she is mentioned only occasionally. If anything, this book does more for her memory than Sea World has by claiming that there are risks to keeping these killer whales captive and that changes need to be made, while Sea World blames Dawn for what happened. That being said…
I have always been a lover of animals and although I have loved the experience of seeing animals up close in zoos and places like SeaWorld, I have always questioned the ethics of it. Also, I am a history major in college. People studying history generally love research, verifiable evidence, and sources. While reading the book I was constantly looking up videos, articles, and interviews mentioned in the book to get an even bigger view of the picture David Kirby was presenting. I also poured through Sea World’s website and Facebook page.
Death at Sea World is a well written narrative of not only the unfortunate incident of February 24, 2010, but of the history of orca research and orcas in captivity as well as the reactions to the events of that day on both sides of the debate. It is written so well, I often became so absorbed that I didn’t want to work or sleep, just so that I could keep reading. It isn’t bogged down like many non-fiction books become with statistics and dates to remember (this coming from a history major), but flows easily by following the lives those who have been vital to the issue of orca in captivity and their struggles to get legislation passed to protect the animals and the resistance they have met in that battle.
After reading this book, I am compelled to become an advocate not only against zoos and animal theme parks, but also an advocate of getting people to read this book. It has also appalled me at how far companies will go to make money, and how far legislation will go to ensure the cash flow keeps coming. For a company to argue that people with PhDs and decades of years in the field are “not experts” when speaking out against Sea World is quite frankly ridiculous. The only way I can wrap my head around their train of thought when making this claim is that these PhD scientists and advocates are not experts in jailing large, intelligent, wild animals in small, bland, non-stimulating environments, and I suppose they are correct, which is the whole point. These animals were not meant to be pulled from their mothers so young (and in the case of males, probably ever), put into such confined spaces, forced into artificial pods with other unknown orca, fed dead fish infused with vitamins and medicines that they would not need in the wild, and impregnated over and over again at ages unheard of in their natural habitat.
Below are the updates I made after reading the first two sections of the books and how I felt upon finishing those respective sections…
UPDATE 2 (6/24/2012): I just finished "Part Two: Dark Side" of the book which ends at 66% through the book, and I am sad, and angry, and disillusioned. "Part Two" focuses the lens more clearly on the long battle activists have had with SeaWorld and "ProCap" activists over all sorts of issues including trainer safety, longevity of killer whales, ethics of holding these large and highly intelligent animals, and the release of captive killer whales back into the wild. "Part Two" ends with the much publicized death of Dawn Brancheau, and I assume that "Part Three: After Dawn" will cover the ramifications this unfortunate incident has had on the efforts of animal activists as well as what it has meant to Sea World and the animal entertainment industry. I already feel like I've learned tons from this book and am looking forward to the knowledge the last third of the book will share with me.
UPDATE 1 (6/18/2012): I just finished "Part One: Blackfish" of the book which was the first 29% and so far and am thoroughly enjoying it. "Part One" had more to do with the history of killer whale scientific research, how the display and entertainment business of killer whales began, and the first few decades of the business than any specific incident of aggressive killer whale incident in captivity, although the incidents are mentioned in this part. The book reads like a novel in which all the characters are destined to converge in the coming pages, and it makes it a really easy non-fiction book to read enjoyably and learn from at the same time.
*** I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads
January 8, 2014
The first, and most important thing, to say about this book is that it's prodigiously well-researched and compulsively readable. Spurred by Dawn Brancheau's death (and Alexis Martínez's less-publicized death) and the subsequent Outside magazine article Killer In The Pool, Kirby launched a full-scale journalistic investigation into the history of orcas in captivity, specifically those at SeaWorld. Kirby does his homework; he starts out with the history of orca/human conflict, delves deep into the biology of wild orcas, and even discusses the orca/killer whale terminology divide. He gets in up to his elbows interviewing anyone who at any time had anything to do with SeaWorld who was willing to talk to him.
He studies the paradox that is the keeper/whale dynamic: the cognitive dissonance required to simultaneously love these animals and keep them in tiny pools where their very dorsal fins attest to the fact that they're not where (or what) they're meant to be. He scrupulously follows the debate and chronicles the OSHA trial. It makes for fascinating reading.
The resulting book is an eye-opening look at the history of killer whales and a distressing exposé of SeaWorld. The book does have faults: at times, he lets his glasses get a little too rosy and gets carried away with storytelling, especially regarding the human scientists. He also occasionally leans unnecessarily on Naomi Rose as a lens, putting things in terms of her experience that he could have just said straight out. But that doesn't detract from the worth of the book.
The books' detractors (SeaWorld's defenders) have painted this as a one-sided book. It isn't. Kirby works very, very hard to tell both sides of the story. Of course, that's more difficult if one side refuses to talk to you and also appears to be hoodwinking and in some cases flat-out lying to a number of people up to and including the United States federal government, but he does do his best. It's just that there's not a whole lot of solid support to their side of the story, and the bits he is able to gather only reinforces the impression that the whole thing is a charade meant to perpetuate a very profitable industry.
(Sidebar: One of his best points comes when he's talking about how SeaWorld enthusiasts decry those who suggest people should whale-watch instead of go to SeaWorld as "elitist" because not everyone can afford to go whale-whatching. Kirby actually does the math, and brings up the very good point that it's far more expensive to go to SeaWorld. Another point he counters is that people won't care about these animals if they don't see them in person. He brings up the counter-example of dinosaurs. Humpback whales would also be apt.)
This whole book reminded me (as so many things do) of a Firefly quote: "They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are." The orcas at SeaWorld aren't orcas inside; they've forgotten. Release and reintroduction may not always be possible or wise, but somehow we have got to get them closer to the sky, and the sea.
He studies the paradox that is the keeper/whale dynamic: the cognitive dissonance required to simultaneously love these animals and keep them in tiny pools where their very dorsal fins attest to the fact that they're not where (or what) they're meant to be. He scrupulously follows the debate and chronicles the OSHA trial. It makes for fascinating reading.
The resulting book is an eye-opening look at the history of killer whales and a distressing exposé of SeaWorld. The book does have faults: at times, he lets his glasses get a little too rosy and gets carried away with storytelling, especially regarding the human scientists. He also occasionally leans unnecessarily on Naomi Rose as a lens, putting things in terms of her experience that he could have just said straight out. But that doesn't detract from the worth of the book.
The books' detractors (SeaWorld's defenders) have painted this as a one-sided book. It isn't. Kirby works very, very hard to tell both sides of the story. Of course, that's more difficult if one side refuses to talk to you and also appears to be hoodwinking and in some cases flat-out lying to a number of people up to and including the United States federal government, but he does do his best. It's just that there's not a whole lot of solid support to their side of the story, and the bits he is able to gather only reinforces the impression that the whole thing is a charade meant to perpetuate a very profitable industry.
(Sidebar: One of his best points comes when he's talking about how SeaWorld enthusiasts decry those who suggest people should whale-watch instead of go to SeaWorld as "elitist" because not everyone can afford to go whale-whatching. Kirby actually does the math, and brings up the very good point that it's far more expensive to go to SeaWorld. Another point he counters is that people won't care about these animals if they don't see them in person. He brings up the counter-example of dinosaurs. Humpback whales would also be apt.)
This whole book reminded me (as so many things do) of a Firefly quote: "They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are." The orcas at SeaWorld aren't orcas inside; they've forgotten. Release and reintroduction may not always be possible or wise, but somehow we have got to get them closer to the sky, and the sea.
July 9, 2012
Death at SeaWorld is by far one of the best books I have ever read. I've been very active in the anti-captivity movement in the last six months. I've been highly anticipating Kirby's book for many obvious reasons but more so to have a deeper in-depth knowledge of what goes on "behind the scenes" at entertainment parks like SeaWorld. My suspicions of these places were not only confirmed by Kirby but I was also shocked at some of the events that have gone on in the past that I had no knowledge of before reading this book.
I could not put the book down and simply did not want it to end. I loved following the journeys of each individual featured in the book. I was ecstatic to learn about wild Orca's through Naomi Rose's life. I yearn to see what Naomi has in her lifetime and have complete respect for all her work. I enjoyed reading about the SeaWorld trainers and their daily interactions. At times I found myself wincing at the mere thought of having to accomplish the daily "tasks" that are expected of a SeaWorld "trainer". Lastly, I could not get enough of the OSHA investigation and the people who were deeply involved. The book is thrilling and thorough with accounts of people who worked incredibly hard to improve the lives of trainers and Killer Whales at SeaWorld after the devastating loss of Dawn Brancheau.
I found myself at times, laughing out loud, crying in utter sadness and also completely disgusted with the practices of the people involved in Orca captivity. David has done a fantastic job of breaking down complicated events so that a person, who is perhaps not as involved as I, could understand thoroughly. Not only is this book the first of it's kind, I am hopeful that the general public will start questioning places like SeaWorld and how they operate their business.
This book is going to challenge the way that people look at SeaWorld and other "entertainment" parks across the world. Perhaps for some it may encourage them to become involved and demand a change in practice and procedures. I loved every minute of reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller but also enjoys retaining knowledge at the same time. You will not regret reading this book! My hat's off to Kirby, he's done, yet again, a beyond-excellent job with this book.
I could not put the book down and simply did not want it to end. I loved following the journeys of each individual featured in the book. I was ecstatic to learn about wild Orca's through Naomi Rose's life. I yearn to see what Naomi has in her lifetime and have complete respect for all her work. I enjoyed reading about the SeaWorld trainers and their daily interactions. At times I found myself wincing at the mere thought of having to accomplish the daily "tasks" that are expected of a SeaWorld "trainer". Lastly, I could not get enough of the OSHA investigation and the people who were deeply involved. The book is thrilling and thorough with accounts of people who worked incredibly hard to improve the lives of trainers and Killer Whales at SeaWorld after the devastating loss of Dawn Brancheau.
I found myself at times, laughing out loud, crying in utter sadness and also completely disgusted with the practices of the people involved in Orca captivity. David has done a fantastic job of breaking down complicated events so that a person, who is perhaps not as involved as I, could understand thoroughly. Not only is this book the first of it's kind, I am hopeful that the general public will start questioning places like SeaWorld and how they operate their business.
This book is going to challenge the way that people look at SeaWorld and other "entertainment" parks across the world. Perhaps for some it may encourage them to become involved and demand a change in practice and procedures. I loved every minute of reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller but also enjoys retaining knowledge at the same time. You will not regret reading this book! My hat's off to Kirby, he's done, yet again, a beyond-excellent job with this book.
September 30, 2018
Death at SeaWorld is a hard book to rate. There is no doubt this book is jam-packed with information about whales, both their lives in the wild and how they fare in captivity (spoiler alert: they fare poorly). It also provides more details about various injuries and deaths at marine parks than you're likely to find anywhere else, and is probably the most comprehensive account of the battle between OSHA and SeaWorld that's been written to date. It is, in fact, a perfect, depressing microcosm of the ways large corporations can buy off politicians in order to remain essentially unregulated, regardless of the stakes. The writing is pretty corny but entertaining and accessible. If you're interested in this topic, you shouldn't hesitate to read Death at SeaWorld.
Still, this book could've been better. Kirby focuses on a few people of interest in telling this story—some SeaWorld trainers and especially Naomi Rose, a marine biologist who works for the Humane Society. These were all interesting people, and I can see why Kirby thought they would be a good way into all of the information he wanted to impart, but really this book doubles as a bio of Naomi Rose, and I don't know that anyone needed or wanted that. We didn't need to know about every move she made in college and grad school, for instance, or the details of her wedding. In addition to feeling superfluous, this focus on Rose was limiting. For example, the book describes a congressional hearing featuring several panelists, all there to talk about the topic of whales in captivity. Kirby recounts this hearing as a showdown between Rose and a SeaWorld spokesperson, completely omitting anything the other panelists said. I would've liked to have known what the other panelists said! That's why I was there, for the information, not for the life and triumphs of Naomi Rose.
Beyond that, the aforementioned corny writing was frustrating. I don't need Kirby's contrived descriptions of everyone's appearance; if it was important to him for us to know what everyone looks like, why not include a photo section? That would have been way more interesting than his describing women as "older" and "matronly," talking about the "blond strands running down" one woman's back and other awkward turns of phrase, and constantly reminding us how pretty some of the young women are.
In any event, this is still worth reading, and I landed at 4 stars based on the book's sheer informativeness. I recommend following up with a viewing of Blackfish—I'd seen the movie before, but after spending a whole book with the trainers, it was fascinating to watch it again and see what they all actually looked like. Plus, they provided bits of info that weren't covered in Death at SeaWorld, such as their analyses of what actually happened on the day of Dawn Brancheau's death. Finally, if after all this you find you're really into cetaceans, I also recommend the documentaries The Cove and Racing Extinction for extra credit.
Still, this book could've been better. Kirby focuses on a few people of interest in telling this story—some SeaWorld trainers and especially Naomi Rose, a marine biologist who works for the Humane Society. These were all interesting people, and I can see why Kirby thought they would be a good way into all of the information he wanted to impart, but really this book doubles as a bio of Naomi Rose, and I don't know that anyone needed or wanted that. We didn't need to know about every move she made in college and grad school, for instance, or the details of her wedding. In addition to feeling superfluous, this focus on Rose was limiting. For example, the book describes a congressional hearing featuring several panelists, all there to talk about the topic of whales in captivity. Kirby recounts this hearing as a showdown between Rose and a SeaWorld spokesperson, completely omitting anything the other panelists said. I would've liked to have known what the other panelists said! That's why I was there, for the information, not for the life and triumphs of Naomi Rose.
Beyond that, the aforementioned corny writing was frustrating. I don't need Kirby's contrived descriptions of everyone's appearance; if it was important to him for us to know what everyone looks like, why not include a photo section? That would have been way more interesting than his describing women as "older" and "matronly," talking about the "blond strands running down" one woman's back and other awkward turns of phrase, and constantly reminding us how pretty some of the young women are.
In any event, this is still worth reading, and I landed at 4 stars based on the book's sheer informativeness. I recommend following up with a viewing of Blackfish—I'd seen the movie before, but after spending a whole book with the trainers, it was fascinating to watch it again and see what they all actually looked like. Plus, they provided bits of info that weren't covered in Death at SeaWorld, such as their analyses of what actually happened on the day of Dawn Brancheau's death. Finally, if after all this you find you're really into cetaceans, I also recommend the documentaries The Cove and Racing Extinction for extra credit.
August 16, 2019
Recently, I was in Tenerife on holiday and took my children to a local zoo – Loro Parque. I knew nothing about the zoo, but they had a Killer Whale show, similar to that in Sea World, which I recall seeing as a child visiting Florida – my earliest visit being in the 1970’s. I was profoundly uncomfortable with watching such a show now, and vaguely recalled reading of a trainer being killed at Sea World, which had led to them not being allowed in the water, as they had been in the past. Some brief internet searching led me to discover that a trainer had, indeed, also been killed at Loro Parque, and led me to this book.
This is an in-depth investigation into the death of Dawn Brancheau at Sea World in 2010, and how that event changed the debate of Orca’s in captivity. However, it begins with an earlier death, that of Keltie Lee Byrne, nineteen years before, and involving the same whale – Tilikum. Keltie Lee Byrne’s death was the first time anyone was killed by a captive killer whale, but Tilikum, astonishingly, would be responsible for two more deaths. The reasons for his aggressive behaviour – unheard of among Killer Whale’s in the wild, are explored here; along with the arguments against keeping Killer Whales in captivity and how these, very social, creatures live in the oceans.
Some of this book I found fascinating – especially about how orcas live in the wild. The way that male orcas, in particular, stay close to their mother’s throughout their lives, and how disruptive breaking up family groups is, was particularly interesting and moving to read about. I also found the statistics compelling; the way in which Killer Whales live so much longer in the wild, the unfulfilling lives they lead in captivity and the spurious argument that the Sea World show is ‘educational’ when, even as a child, I realised it was pure entertainment, was eye-opening. My only criticism of this book, was that there was too much reliance on Naomi Rose, an advocate for whales, who worked for the Humane Society in the United States. This was not her fault, but it did seem more like a biography, at times, and, possibly, she was just more open to telling her story to the author. That aside, this was a really interesting read and has made me determined never to take my children to such a show again, although I would love to take them whale watching, so they can see these magnificent creatures in their natural setting.
This is an in-depth investigation into the death of Dawn Brancheau at Sea World in 2010, and how that event changed the debate of Orca’s in captivity. However, it begins with an earlier death, that of Keltie Lee Byrne, nineteen years before, and involving the same whale – Tilikum. Keltie Lee Byrne’s death was the first time anyone was killed by a captive killer whale, but Tilikum, astonishingly, would be responsible for two more deaths. The reasons for his aggressive behaviour – unheard of among Killer Whale’s in the wild, are explored here; along with the arguments against keeping Killer Whales in captivity and how these, very social, creatures live in the oceans.
Some of this book I found fascinating – especially about how orcas live in the wild. The way that male orcas, in particular, stay close to their mother’s throughout their lives, and how disruptive breaking up family groups is, was particularly interesting and moving to read about. I also found the statistics compelling; the way in which Killer Whales live so much longer in the wild, the unfulfilling lives they lead in captivity and the spurious argument that the Sea World show is ‘educational’ when, even as a child, I realised it was pure entertainment, was eye-opening. My only criticism of this book, was that there was too much reliance on Naomi Rose, an advocate for whales, who worked for the Humane Society in the United States. This was not her fault, but it did seem more like a biography, at times, and, possibly, she was just more open to telling her story to the author. That aside, this was a really interesting read and has made me determined never to take my children to such a show again, although I would love to take them whale watching, so they can see these magnificent creatures in their natural setting.
December 15, 2013
I never knew I had an opinion on whale captivity. I was horrified at the death of the trainer at Sea World and believed it's just common sense not to hang out with killer whales. After watching the movie Blackfish recently, I was struck by the seemingly deep emotions experienced by the whales when they were captured, both by the pod members still at Sea and those taken away. I needed to know more. I know more now but this is a decidedly one sided picture as Sea World did not participate in Kirby' s interviews or information gathering. Kirby presents more than enough information on the subject with plenty of research and footnotes. I certainly don't have the answers, Kirby doesn't, and the many players he follows in the book unfortunately don't. But it's a great read for those who have an interest in more about the subject. I have been to Sea World, marvelled at the water shows and bought the souvenirs. I have the pictures. Now? Well, ignorance really is bliss.
Update: Sea World is appealing the ruling that they cannot have trainers in the water as the whales are basically unpredictable and suggesting their trainers fall under the same definition of professional sports, ie race car drivers or football players. Sea World says dancing whales and trainers in the water together are a must for the livelihood of Sea World. And the livelihood of trainers and orcas? Stay tuned.
Update: Sea World is appealing the ruling that they cannot have trainers in the water as the whales are basically unpredictable and suggesting their trainers fall under the same definition of professional sports, ie race car drivers or football players. Sea World says dancing whales and trainers in the water together are a must for the livelihood of Sea World. And the livelihood of trainers and orcas? Stay tuned.
September 25, 2012
I’m not sure what made me pick up this book. Maybe because it’s about Sea World and I live in San Diego. I’ve seen them rescue random marine animals and I also worked at Sea World a couple summers during college. Alas I’ve been sort of anti-Sea World lately for reasons I didn’t fully comprehend. This sure as hell explains it.
The author does an excellent job of winding a narrative through this non-fiction piece. It reads much like a story, or at least parts of it do. The science is fascinating and I don’t know how anyone could read this and not agree that orcas should not be kept in captivity. Some animals do fine in such surroundings (provided the proper care) and indeed even live longer. Not so with the “killer whales.” It is amazing to think a creature that normally travels 100 miles a day is confined to such a small place. I couldn’t live in Shamu Stadium the rest of my life and I’m a tad smaller than an orca.
The Shamu Show should be banned and I will not step foot in Sea World until it is…and I say that as someone who loved going there growing up, who worked there, who’s taken her children there. They do some good, which even the author acknowledges. Several times I’ve been jogging on the beach and have seen them rescue a sick sea lion. But orcas and the ridiculous (non-educational) shows are an entirely different story. These are highly social, highly intelligent creatures. They live their lives in families, not segregated from one another in separate pools. Sons travel beside their mothers forever. At Sea World the various “Baby Shamus” are stripped from the mother immediately. It’s no wonder the infant mortality rate is so high, why the lifespan is a fraction of the age as those in the wild, why so many females die shortly after having one of their calves stripped.
So either those who run Sea World are stupid or they believe their own hype: the ocean is scary and increasingly polluted, how else would the fine folks of America get to see these majestic creatures. First of all, as one character aptly pointed out, if cetaceans are affected by humans in the wild (pollution, loud boats, etc.), the solution is not captivity, it’s fixing the damned ocean! And I liked the stat about how it’s much cheaper to see the whales in the wild than pay for a day at Sea World.
Alas it’s about the bottom line. Even in court they’ve testified that “water work” is needed for the bottom line. All throughout the book those in charge constantly hide things, lie, cover up, and provide misleading data. I’m no animal rights activist. I’ll wear leather and eat meat all day long but it’s absolutely heartbreaking. These are truly intelligent, social creatures being made crazy by their imprisonment.
A healthy chunk of this takes place during the time I worked there. I remember the protesters but like all Sea World employees was given talking points (and healthy doses of Kool-Aid). This was when Free Willy came out and it was fascinating to learn the whole story behind Keiko.
This is a very important read, for anyone.
The author does an excellent job of winding a narrative through this non-fiction piece. It reads much like a story, or at least parts of it do. The science is fascinating and I don’t know how anyone could read this and not agree that orcas should not be kept in captivity. Some animals do fine in such surroundings (provided the proper care) and indeed even live longer. Not so with the “killer whales.” It is amazing to think a creature that normally travels 100 miles a day is confined to such a small place. I couldn’t live in Shamu Stadium the rest of my life and I’m a tad smaller than an orca.
The Shamu Show should be banned and I will not step foot in Sea World until it is…and I say that as someone who loved going there growing up, who worked there, who’s taken her children there. They do some good, which even the author acknowledges. Several times I’ve been jogging on the beach and have seen them rescue a sick sea lion. But orcas and the ridiculous (non-educational) shows are an entirely different story. These are highly social, highly intelligent creatures. They live their lives in families, not segregated from one another in separate pools. Sons travel beside their mothers forever. At Sea World the various “Baby Shamus” are stripped from the mother immediately. It’s no wonder the infant mortality rate is so high, why the lifespan is a fraction of the age as those in the wild, why so many females die shortly after having one of their calves stripped.
So either those who run Sea World are stupid or they believe their own hype: the ocean is scary and increasingly polluted, how else would the fine folks of America get to see these majestic creatures. First of all, as one character aptly pointed out, if cetaceans are affected by humans in the wild (pollution, loud boats, etc.), the solution is not captivity, it’s fixing the damned ocean! And I liked the stat about how it’s much cheaper to see the whales in the wild than pay for a day at Sea World.
Alas it’s about the bottom line. Even in court they’ve testified that “water work” is needed for the bottom line. All throughout the book those in charge constantly hide things, lie, cover up, and provide misleading data. I’m no animal rights activist. I’ll wear leather and eat meat all day long but it’s absolutely heartbreaking. These are truly intelligent, social creatures being made crazy by their imprisonment.
A healthy chunk of this takes place during the time I worked there. I remember the protesters but like all Sea World employees was given talking points (and healthy doses of Kool-Aid). This was when Free Willy came out and it was fascinating to learn the whole story behind Keiko.
This is a very important read, for anyone.
September 14, 2012
One of the most powerful books I have ever read and along with Unbroken, my favorite nonfiction read of the year. This book exposes the true corporate greed motivating Sea World as opposed to the science/ conservation image that they want the public to swallow hook, line, and sinker. Much like how Upton Sinclairs, The Jungle (another favorite of mine) exposed the seedy side of the meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, this book lays bare the Sea World behind the facade they put forth to the public so they will not know that their money is paying for the enslavement and torture of intelligent beings. When I first picked up the book I thought the title Death at Sea World referred to the death of popular Sea World trainer Dawn Brancheau but by the time I finished I realized that it could just as easily apply to all of the Orcas who have died at Sea World so that the public can get their entertainment fix and Sea World their money.
Before I started reading this book I was under the impression that this book mainly concerned the death of Dawn Brancheau. While it does address this incident it covers so much more. In the past it didn't even occur to me to think that Orca's should not be kept in captivity. I knew the rinky dink Miami Seaquarium by me was low caliber. The tanks were dirty and Lolita the whale looked sad in her undersized pool but didn't have any problem with Sea World. I had taken my daughter to Sea World when she was five and had a wonderful time. It looked clean and state of the art in technology. The performance pools for the whales were small but surely they must have huge tanks in the back where you can't see right? This was to be only one of many misconceptions I had exposed after reading this book. What I learned led me to completely change my mind and come to the conclusion that whales of any kind as well as dolphins should not be kept in captivity.
This book begins by telling the journey of two very different people who finally wind up at the same place, as champions for the Orca's that cannot speak for themselves. Naomi Rose is a scientist who studied Orca's in the wild for many years. After she finished school she was hired as the senior scientist for the Humane Society International. She did not start out against whale captivity but her many years of research in the field led her to believe that Sea World's assertion that whales live longer in the wild is incorrect. In fact Naomi studied and came to know the relatives of the very same whales being held in Sea World's tanks today. According to her not only do whales live longer in the wild, they exhibit almost none of the behaviors that they are forced to perform in shows. In contrast Jeff Ventre was a Sea World trainer. He took a job there under the impression that he would be involved in scientific research. He soon found out that there wasn't any science happening behind the scenes, it was all show business. He was making minimum wage while performing dangerous stunts that could potentially kill him. After watching numerous whales injure themselves and others and die he began to speak up at work which led to his eventual firing. He quickly came to the conclusion that the way Sea World was running it's whale program was disastrous for the whales as well as the the trainers.
The book goes on to document just how the whales are captured in the wild. Giant nets scoop them up. In one infamous incident, the whale round up at Penn Cove, eighty killer whales were caught in one net. This was the catch that netted Lolita who lives in Miami, the only whale still alive from that day. Many of her family were killed in the round up. Whales spend their entire lifetimes with their families. Calves stay with mothers for many years. This is an important fact that Sea World has tried to keep hidden from the public and even their own staff because the routinely break up families and force whales into artificial pods with sometimes disastrous results when the whales fight for dominance with their tank mates. Sea World also splits up mothers from babies before the baby is even two. One trainer recounted an agonizing night listening while a mother and baby cried and screamed for each other before they were split apart forever. Sea World also forcibly impregnates female whales much earlier than they would be in the wild and repeatedly. This causes stress on the mothers and babies. Some mothers do not survive the birth or die shortly after and some babies are never healthy and die young.
The book also goes into great detail about Keiko the whale who starred in Free Willy. Keiko was trapped in a tiny tank in Mexico and was becoming sickly. After the movie came out a bunch of support came through and plans were made to free him from Mexico and release him back into his pod in Norway. What I never knew was the extent that Sea World tried to get their hooks into him and block his release. Sea World was low on whale sperm and they needed Keiko for their breeding program since the public now frowned on capturing whales in the wild. In addition they had a vested interest in seeing the release plan fail because they didn't want anyone to get the idea that whales could be freed. Although they tried to block the plan, Keiko was released and died 17 months later, a fact they like to crow about. At lease Keiko got to experience the open ocean again and in fact swam over a thousand miles. How much his poor treatment in Mexico ultimately contributed to his demise is still debated. In any case Sea World used the incident as a further point in their case that the it would be cruel to release the Orca's in their care.
When Sea World soured on taking in Keiko because of his unsightly skin condition acquired in Mexico they set their sites on what would become the world's next most known whale Tilikum who was residing up in Canada. Another fact Sea World tried to keep under wraps was that Tilikum had killed his trainer Keltie Barnes which was why he was up for sale. Sea World was desperate to get breeding underway so they took him on even though they knew he was dangerous to humans. People who worked at Sea World were told that if they got in the pool with Tilikum they would come out a corpse. As for Keltie Barnes, everyone at Sea World liked to believe that her death was due to trainer error. In fact everyone who was injured by a whale was injured because of their own failing. It was never the whales fault because then Sea World would have to admit that it was too dangerous to work with them. So through the years many trainers were injured sometimes even in front of spectators. When uncomfortable questions were asked a whole host of lies and covers up were scripted to convince the public that the whales were just peachy and in fact liked captivity better than being free.
The years go by. Many whales die, some very young, and Tilikum makes human kill number two, a homeless man who snuck into his tank at night. Sea World seems to deflect this PR nightmare because no one seems to really care because he was a drifter and was trespassing anyway. The breeding program grows and is quite successful with Tilikum fathering many whales although inbreeding is becoming a bit of a problem. Sea World has some extra whales and they decide to lease/ sell four of them to a start up operation in Spain. Naomi Rose does what she can but fails to block the transfer. Lead trainer Dawn Brancheau goes over to Spain and helps set up the program along with some Sea World staff. While there she befriends a trainer named Alexis Martinez.
Then comes the day that Sea World has to finally face the music because Dawn Brancheau is killed by Tilikum. Sea World's trainer error story won't tread water this time because Dawn was too revered. Instead they try to put forth the idea that her ponytail floated in Tilikum's mouth instead of eye witness reports that saw him grab her by the arm and yank her in. Whatever the case Dawn has been killed violently and in front of the public. Sea World is facing negative exposure like never before. One of the the fall outs from Dawn's death is an OSHA investigation which Sea World blocks at very turn by making trainers unavailable for interviews and refusing to turn over requested documentation.
The book concludes with the big showdown in court between Sea World and OSHA in court. In the past Sea World has been able to pressure lawmakers into making investigations go away. They even got then California governor Arnold Swarzenegger to exert his political pressure to their advantage. This time if they hope to get their trainers back into the water with the whales they will have to go to court. PETA also throws their hat into the legal ring in an effort to free the whales now numbering in Spain. Things have gotten quite critical there because the whales tanks are falling apart and a whale named Keto has killed Dawn Brancheaus friend Alexis Martinez on Christmas Eve. That was another trainer death Sea World was desperate to cover up. Incredible! While the court case rages on scientists, journalists, former trainers, and animal activists unite to carry the fight on. They formed a group called super pod 2 and you can learn more about their mission here. https://sites.google.com/site/voiceof... It is quite clear that Sea World intends to carry on it's show while pushing for expansion into China. Whatever it takes to keep their bottom line and the death of a beloved trainer hasn't seemed to make so much as a dent in their business. Until the public says enough and affects the revenue stream of Sea World they will keep on keeping on. Thankfully the whales have champions like Naomi Rose who is a true hero and Jeff Ventre and many others who are dedicating their lives to free cetaceans from captivity.
No matter what your stance on the issue is I challenge everyone to read this book. It was incredibly eye opening. I hope that I get to see these animals in the wild where they belong in my lifetime. The best course of action would be for Sea World to suspend their breeding program and to move the whales that they have in captivity into sea pens where they can at least have room to swim. After their tireless efforts to ensure our entertainment it is at the very least what they deserve. Lolita's plight is of special concern to me since I live so close to her and her tank is the smallest. She is also isolated and this social, intelligent creature does not have the company of even one other whale. David Kirby's book has made me a convert. I hope to be able to join in in some of the work being done to free Lolita. This review is the longest I have ever written but this book saddened and enraged me. Even though my review is so long there is so much of the story I haven't even touched on. I urge everyone to read David Kirby's expose of the marine mammal display industry.
PS. Ever wonder why Sea World names all their Orcas Shamu? Because they don't want the public to know how often they kill "Shamu". The original Shamu only lived to be six years old! Shame on them.
Before I started reading this book I was under the impression that this book mainly concerned the death of Dawn Brancheau. While it does address this incident it covers so much more. In the past it didn't even occur to me to think that Orca's should not be kept in captivity. I knew the rinky dink Miami Seaquarium by me was low caliber. The tanks were dirty and Lolita the whale looked sad in her undersized pool but didn't have any problem with Sea World. I had taken my daughter to Sea World when she was five and had a wonderful time. It looked clean and state of the art in technology. The performance pools for the whales were small but surely they must have huge tanks in the back where you can't see right? This was to be only one of many misconceptions I had exposed after reading this book. What I learned led me to completely change my mind and come to the conclusion that whales of any kind as well as dolphins should not be kept in captivity.
This book begins by telling the journey of two very different people who finally wind up at the same place, as champions for the Orca's that cannot speak for themselves. Naomi Rose is a scientist who studied Orca's in the wild for many years. After she finished school she was hired as the senior scientist for the Humane Society International. She did not start out against whale captivity but her many years of research in the field led her to believe that Sea World's assertion that whales live longer in the wild is incorrect. In fact Naomi studied and came to know the relatives of the very same whales being held in Sea World's tanks today. According to her not only do whales live longer in the wild, they exhibit almost none of the behaviors that they are forced to perform in shows. In contrast Jeff Ventre was a Sea World trainer. He took a job there under the impression that he would be involved in scientific research. He soon found out that there wasn't any science happening behind the scenes, it was all show business. He was making minimum wage while performing dangerous stunts that could potentially kill him. After watching numerous whales injure themselves and others and die he began to speak up at work which led to his eventual firing. He quickly came to the conclusion that the way Sea World was running it's whale program was disastrous for the whales as well as the the trainers.
The book goes on to document just how the whales are captured in the wild. Giant nets scoop them up. In one infamous incident, the whale round up at Penn Cove, eighty killer whales were caught in one net. This was the catch that netted Lolita who lives in Miami, the only whale still alive from that day. Many of her family were killed in the round up. Whales spend their entire lifetimes with their families. Calves stay with mothers for many years. This is an important fact that Sea World has tried to keep hidden from the public and even their own staff because the routinely break up families and force whales into artificial pods with sometimes disastrous results when the whales fight for dominance with their tank mates. Sea World also splits up mothers from babies before the baby is even two. One trainer recounted an agonizing night listening while a mother and baby cried and screamed for each other before they were split apart forever. Sea World also forcibly impregnates female whales much earlier than they would be in the wild and repeatedly. This causes stress on the mothers and babies. Some mothers do not survive the birth or die shortly after and some babies are never healthy and die young.
The book also goes into great detail about Keiko the whale who starred in Free Willy. Keiko was trapped in a tiny tank in Mexico and was becoming sickly. After the movie came out a bunch of support came through and plans were made to free him from Mexico and release him back into his pod in Norway. What I never knew was the extent that Sea World tried to get their hooks into him and block his release. Sea World was low on whale sperm and they needed Keiko for their breeding program since the public now frowned on capturing whales in the wild. In addition they had a vested interest in seeing the release plan fail because they didn't want anyone to get the idea that whales could be freed. Although they tried to block the plan, Keiko was released and died 17 months later, a fact they like to crow about. At lease Keiko got to experience the open ocean again and in fact swam over a thousand miles. How much his poor treatment in Mexico ultimately contributed to his demise is still debated. In any case Sea World used the incident as a further point in their case that the it would be cruel to release the Orca's in their care.
When Sea World soured on taking in Keiko because of his unsightly skin condition acquired in Mexico they set their sites on what would become the world's next most known whale Tilikum who was residing up in Canada. Another fact Sea World tried to keep under wraps was that Tilikum had killed his trainer Keltie Barnes which was why he was up for sale. Sea World was desperate to get breeding underway so they took him on even though they knew he was dangerous to humans. People who worked at Sea World were told that if they got in the pool with Tilikum they would come out a corpse. As for Keltie Barnes, everyone at Sea World liked to believe that her death was due to trainer error. In fact everyone who was injured by a whale was injured because of their own failing. It was never the whales fault because then Sea World would have to admit that it was too dangerous to work with them. So through the years many trainers were injured sometimes even in front of spectators. When uncomfortable questions were asked a whole host of lies and covers up were scripted to convince the public that the whales were just peachy and in fact liked captivity better than being free.
The years go by. Many whales die, some very young, and Tilikum makes human kill number two, a homeless man who snuck into his tank at night. Sea World seems to deflect this PR nightmare because no one seems to really care because he was a drifter and was trespassing anyway. The breeding program grows and is quite successful with Tilikum fathering many whales although inbreeding is becoming a bit of a problem. Sea World has some extra whales and they decide to lease/ sell four of them to a start up operation in Spain. Naomi Rose does what she can but fails to block the transfer. Lead trainer Dawn Brancheau goes over to Spain and helps set up the program along with some Sea World staff. While there she befriends a trainer named Alexis Martinez.
Then comes the day that Sea World has to finally face the music because Dawn Brancheau is killed by Tilikum. Sea World's trainer error story won't tread water this time because Dawn was too revered. Instead they try to put forth the idea that her ponytail floated in Tilikum's mouth instead of eye witness reports that saw him grab her by the arm and yank her in. Whatever the case Dawn has been killed violently and in front of the public. Sea World is facing negative exposure like never before. One of the the fall outs from Dawn's death is an OSHA investigation which Sea World blocks at very turn by making trainers unavailable for interviews and refusing to turn over requested documentation.
The book concludes with the big showdown in court between Sea World and OSHA in court. In the past Sea World has been able to pressure lawmakers into making investigations go away. They even got then California governor Arnold Swarzenegger to exert his political pressure to their advantage. This time if they hope to get their trainers back into the water with the whales they will have to go to court. PETA also throws their hat into the legal ring in an effort to free the whales now numbering in Spain. Things have gotten quite critical there because the whales tanks are falling apart and a whale named Keto has killed Dawn Brancheaus friend Alexis Martinez on Christmas Eve. That was another trainer death Sea World was desperate to cover up. Incredible! While the court case rages on scientists, journalists, former trainers, and animal activists unite to carry the fight on. They formed a group called super pod 2 and you can learn more about their mission here. https://sites.google.com/site/voiceof... It is quite clear that Sea World intends to carry on it's show while pushing for expansion into China. Whatever it takes to keep their bottom line and the death of a beloved trainer hasn't seemed to make so much as a dent in their business. Until the public says enough and affects the revenue stream of Sea World they will keep on keeping on. Thankfully the whales have champions like Naomi Rose who is a true hero and Jeff Ventre and many others who are dedicating their lives to free cetaceans from captivity.
No matter what your stance on the issue is I challenge everyone to read this book. It was incredibly eye opening. I hope that I get to see these animals in the wild where they belong in my lifetime. The best course of action would be for Sea World to suspend their breeding program and to move the whales that they have in captivity into sea pens where they can at least have room to swim. After their tireless efforts to ensure our entertainment it is at the very least what they deserve. Lolita's plight is of special concern to me since I live so close to her and her tank is the smallest. She is also isolated and this social, intelligent creature does not have the company of even one other whale. David Kirby's book has made me a convert. I hope to be able to join in in some of the work being done to free Lolita. This review is the longest I have ever written but this book saddened and enraged me. Even though my review is so long there is so much of the story I haven't even touched on. I urge everyone to read David Kirby's expose of the marine mammal display industry.
PS. Ever wonder why Sea World names all their Orcas Shamu? Because they don't want the public to know how often they kill "Shamu". The original Shamu only lived to be six years old! Shame on them.
August 4, 2016
Several years ago I watched a National Geographic special on sea lions. I’ll never forget it. A little baby sea lion had just shed her fuzzy white fur and was starting to move around on the snow, when all of a sudden a giant killer whale cracked through the ice from below, leap up and grabbed her. The orca didn’t just kill the pup right away either. No instead both orcas tossed the baby seal back and forth between them on their rostrums like they were playing. The pup’s cries were heartbreaking as the horrified mama wobbled back and forth along the shoreline crying out in distress, powerless, watching her baby die.
According to Kirby, whale experts aren’t quite sure why killer whales do this. They suspect it’s to tenderize their food.
Yet this is what Tilikum and two female whales did to a 20-year old marine biology student, Keltie Byrne, back in 1991, when she slipped by the pool. The three whales bounced her around like a beach ball, dragging her under the water, pulling her back and forth. When she tried to escape on the side, she was pulled back in. Even after Byrne was dead, Tilikum didn’t want to give up his prize.
Nine years later, Tilikum would also kill Dawn Brancheau in a gruesome attack, which is the subject of an eye-opening documentary called Blackfish http://youtu.be/8OEjYquyjcg
After seeing Blackfish, I became fascinated with orcas. They are brilliantly clever. For example, orcas will trap salmon in craggy cliffs, patiently blocking the entrance with their rostrums, thus cutting off the salmon’s oxygen supply by depriving them of fresh sea water. This makes the salmon disoriented and they’ll just swim right toward the orca. Killer whales also know how to take out great white sharks by tipping them on their backs, which makes them immobile. Something humans didn’t really know until recently. Orcas will leap up onto the beach and jump, breaking the ice to catch sea lions. And bored, captive killer whales will leave bits and pieces of their half-eaten fish dinner floating on the water and wait for birds to swoop down so they can catch them.
Killer whales are also very social and family oriented. Male orcas will stay with their mother’s pod for life and help babysit. Family members assist mothers through childbirth, and if a whale is injured, orcas will stick by their side, helping them to float on the surface of the water so they don’t suffocate. What was even more surprising to me was that while orcas are all the same species, they are very different. They are separated by culture and language. Consequently, if you put three whales in a pool, they may not be able to speak to each other and may actually have some animosity toward each other.
One of my favorite parts of this book was about Dr. Paul Spong, a New Zealander, who had a life changing epiphany while working with orcas. He realized the depth of their intelligence when a female orca purposely did not select the lever that would have given her a fish. What could be her motive; just to mess with him? And then he saw a young orca dance to music, moving with the tempo and keeping time, demanding that he play him different kinds of music for him every day.
I know I am anthropologizing when I say this (which is a big no no) but damn they sure seem to have a lot in common with us.
Obviously, orcas are too smart to be pets. They need their families, their freedom and mental stimulation. Orcas communicate through sounds and sonar, so being placed into a cement pool is like sensory deprivation. Captive males’ dorsal fins always collapse in captivity. And all killer whales die much younger in a captivity than they would in the wild. It’s cruel to confine them to such small spaces.
One story made me cry. That is the story of Keiko (the star of Free Willy). Talk about a sweetie. Keiko was not like Tilikum. I believe Keiko truly liked humans. I say this because he was so gentle with them.
Picked up when he was still a baby, Keiko was raised around dolphins in a tank way too small for him and in water that was too warm, chlorinated, and filled with his own excrement. He developed a nasty skin disease. They said he would probably only live another six months. But after Free Willy, he became a celebrity. Everybody wanted to free him, and a huge expensive program began in the effort to train Keiko how to survive in the wild. In many ways I think the program succeeded. Keiko did learn how to catch his own food. But Keiko never bonded with other whale pods. Shy and unsure of himself, he stayed close to humans, going up to fishing boats, looking for handouts. When he was found beached up on the shore in Norway, having died from pneumonia, a big controversy erupted saying that setting Keiko free was cruel. Yet it doesn’t change the fact that when Keiko was moved to the big seawater aquarium in Oregon, he swam around, jumping out of the water and making all kinds of whale noises. Keiko did the same thing when he was put in the sea pen. Can you imagine what that must have been like for him? To spend almost all your life in a pool that was too small for you, and then to be back in the ocean. Yet his story makes me so sad, because I will always think of him as never having found his place in the world.
So now that you know my thoughts about whale captivity, you may wonder what I thought of Kirby’s book. The answer is mehhh
Yes Kirby has a plethora of interesting information, but he also included a plethora of boring dribble. He goes into exhaustive detail about the biographies of Dr. Naomi Rose and former SeaWorld trainer, Jeff Ventre. Who cares about what kind of music Dr. Rose was listening to when she drove up for her interview with The Humane Society. And why did Kirby have to tell me the color of every woman’s hair. Here I just wanted to read about whales, yet Kirby kept interrupting the good stuff with crap like this.
And while I knew this book would be one-sided, I didn’t think it would include things like Dr. Rose calling SeaWorld officials names. I’m sure that’s how she feels, but to me it ruined the book’s integrity. Not to mention, Jeff’s credibility was diminished when I found out he was fired from SeaWorld for being unsafe. It’s hard for me to jump on the SeaWorld bash train when Rose keeps calling them delusional.
This disappointed me, because to be honest, Kirby was preaching to the choir with me. I already thought that SeaWorld cared more about profit than the welfare of orcas or their trainers. I’m shocked at how little money trainers made, and I’m horrified with the way SeaWorld callously separated mothers from their babies, knowing full well how social orcas are. SeaWorld is more likely to build another gift shop than make the pools bigger. And if a whale was eating a trainer, I’m sure that SeaWorld would let him be eaten, rather than to take out their prize, breeder, cash cow. I’m glad to see that OSHA stepped in and slapped SeaWorld with a big ass fine after Dawn’s death. I know SeaWorld reduced the fine, but they still haven’t been able to lift the restrictions OSHA imposed on them or the stigma. SeaWorld will have to really go the extra mile for people to think highly of them again.
In conclusion, I think moving captive whales into sea pens would be the kindest alternative, but unfortunately I don’t see that happening. Meanwhile Tilikum is a lonely whale, stuck in a pool by himself. If I thought those whales were cruel tossing back and forth the sea lion, it is nothing compared to the cruelty of humans.
According to Kirby, whale experts aren’t quite sure why killer whales do this. They suspect it’s to tenderize their food.
Yet this is what Tilikum and two female whales did to a 20-year old marine biology student, Keltie Byrne, back in 1991, when she slipped by the pool. The three whales bounced her around like a beach ball, dragging her under the water, pulling her back and forth. When she tried to escape on the side, she was pulled back in. Even after Byrne was dead, Tilikum didn’t want to give up his prize.
Nine years later, Tilikum would also kill Dawn Brancheau in a gruesome attack, which is the subject of an eye-opening documentary called Blackfish http://youtu.be/8OEjYquyjcg
After seeing Blackfish, I became fascinated with orcas. They are brilliantly clever. For example, orcas will trap salmon in craggy cliffs, patiently blocking the entrance with their rostrums, thus cutting off the salmon’s oxygen supply by depriving them of fresh sea water. This makes the salmon disoriented and they’ll just swim right toward the orca. Killer whales also know how to take out great white sharks by tipping them on their backs, which makes them immobile. Something humans didn’t really know until recently. Orcas will leap up onto the beach and jump, breaking the ice to catch sea lions. And bored, captive killer whales will leave bits and pieces of their half-eaten fish dinner floating on the water and wait for birds to swoop down so they can catch them.
Killer whales are also very social and family oriented. Male orcas will stay with their mother’s pod for life and help babysit. Family members assist mothers through childbirth, and if a whale is injured, orcas will stick by their side, helping them to float on the surface of the water so they don’t suffocate. What was even more surprising to me was that while orcas are all the same species, they are very different. They are separated by culture and language. Consequently, if you put three whales in a pool, they may not be able to speak to each other and may actually have some animosity toward each other.
One of my favorite parts of this book was about Dr. Paul Spong, a New Zealander, who had a life changing epiphany while working with orcas. He realized the depth of their intelligence when a female orca purposely did not select the lever that would have given her a fish. What could be her motive; just to mess with him? And then he saw a young orca dance to music, moving with the tempo and keeping time, demanding that he play him different kinds of music for him every day.
I know I am anthropologizing when I say this (which is a big no no) but damn they sure seem to have a lot in common with us.
Obviously, orcas are too smart to be pets. They need their families, their freedom and mental stimulation. Orcas communicate through sounds and sonar, so being placed into a cement pool is like sensory deprivation. Captive males’ dorsal fins always collapse in captivity. And all killer whales die much younger in a captivity than they would in the wild. It’s cruel to confine them to such small spaces.
One story made me cry. That is the story of Keiko (the star of Free Willy). Talk about a sweetie. Keiko was not like Tilikum. I believe Keiko truly liked humans. I say this because he was so gentle with them.
Picked up when he was still a baby, Keiko was raised around dolphins in a tank way too small for him and in water that was too warm, chlorinated, and filled with his own excrement. He developed a nasty skin disease. They said he would probably only live another six months. But after Free Willy, he became a celebrity. Everybody wanted to free him, and a huge expensive program began in the effort to train Keiko how to survive in the wild. In many ways I think the program succeeded. Keiko did learn how to catch his own food. But Keiko never bonded with other whale pods. Shy and unsure of himself, he stayed close to humans, going up to fishing boats, looking for handouts. When he was found beached up on the shore in Norway, having died from pneumonia, a big controversy erupted saying that setting Keiko free was cruel. Yet it doesn’t change the fact that when Keiko was moved to the big seawater aquarium in Oregon, he swam around, jumping out of the water and making all kinds of whale noises. Keiko did the same thing when he was put in the sea pen. Can you imagine what that must have been like for him? To spend almost all your life in a pool that was too small for you, and then to be back in the ocean. Yet his story makes me so sad, because I will always think of him as never having found his place in the world.
So now that you know my thoughts about whale captivity, you may wonder what I thought of Kirby’s book. The answer is mehhh
Yes Kirby has a plethora of interesting information, but he also included a plethora of boring dribble. He goes into exhaustive detail about the biographies of Dr. Naomi Rose and former SeaWorld trainer, Jeff Ventre. Who cares about what kind of music Dr. Rose was listening to when she drove up for her interview with The Humane Society. And why did Kirby have to tell me the color of every woman’s hair. Here I just wanted to read about whales, yet Kirby kept interrupting the good stuff with crap like this.
And while I knew this book would be one-sided, I didn’t think it would include things like Dr. Rose calling SeaWorld officials names. I’m sure that’s how she feels, but to me it ruined the book’s integrity. Not to mention, Jeff’s credibility was diminished when I found out he was fired from SeaWorld for being unsafe. It’s hard for me to jump on the SeaWorld bash train when Rose keeps calling them delusional.
This disappointed me, because to be honest, Kirby was preaching to the choir with me. I already thought that SeaWorld cared more about profit than the welfare of orcas or their trainers. I’m shocked at how little money trainers made, and I’m horrified with the way SeaWorld callously separated mothers from their babies, knowing full well how social orcas are. SeaWorld is more likely to build another gift shop than make the pools bigger. And if a whale was eating a trainer, I’m sure that SeaWorld would let him be eaten, rather than to take out their prize, breeder, cash cow. I’m glad to see that OSHA stepped in and slapped SeaWorld with a big ass fine after Dawn’s death. I know SeaWorld reduced the fine, but they still haven’t been able to lift the restrictions OSHA imposed on them or the stigma. SeaWorld will have to really go the extra mile for people to think highly of them again.
In conclusion, I think moving captive whales into sea pens would be the kindest alternative, but unfortunately I don’t see that happening. Meanwhile Tilikum is a lonely whale, stuck in a pool by himself. If I thought those whales were cruel tossing back and forth the sea lion, it is nothing compared to the cruelty of humans.
January 15, 2017
Well, I guess the one thing I can say about this book is that it opened up a whole new world for me. Truthfully, I never gave whales much of a thought. Sure, I remember all the bumper stickers and such about “save the whales,” but I guess it just wasn’t something that was very relevant in my life. I did see the movie “Free Willy”, but to me it was just a movie, nothing more. I have never been to Sea World, and I may have seen a whale show only a couple of times at a smaller aquarium or zoo. Also, I had never heard any of the media coverage on trainers being killed or injured. So when I received this book from the Goodread’s giveaway for free I was surprised. I didn’t remember signing up for it, but maybe I did and thought it would be something different. Reluctantly, I started reading.
What really struck me with this book is the intelligence of whales, and their family structure. I found that part of the book the most interesting. The author went in depth covering whales in the wild and in captivity. I learned more than I ever thought I would know, and I was really fascinated with it. I have come to the conclusion that I think it is tragic to keep this huge mammals in captivity, to be kept in too small of enclosures and making them perform. The descriptions of the capture of taking a wild whale away from its family was so horrible; it seems like a type of animal slavery. This was a very thought provoking book.
I have lost any desire I ever had to go to Sea World, but now there is nothing more that I would like to do than see these magnificent creatures in the wild. That is something to put on my bucket list.
I won this book through the Goodread's First Reads program.
What really struck me with this book is the intelligence of whales, and their family structure. I found that part of the book the most interesting. The author went in depth covering whales in the wild and in captivity. I learned more than I ever thought I would know, and I was really fascinated with it. I have come to the conclusion that I think it is tragic to keep this huge mammals in captivity, to be kept in too small of enclosures and making them perform. The descriptions of the capture of taking a wild whale away from its family was so horrible; it seems like a type of animal slavery. This was a very thought provoking book.
I have lost any desire I ever had to go to Sea World, but now there is nothing more that I would like to do than see these magnificent creatures in the wild. That is something to put on my bucket list.
I won this book through the Goodread's First Reads program.
September 13, 2015
Our relationship to the animals around us is a tenuous one. As the earth’s top predators what responsibility do we have to other species? I remember going to Seaworld in California many years ago and watching in awe as the orcas performed their tricks. I would be less enthralled today after what we have learned over the years regarding the natural habitat of the orcas compared to the cramped and unnatural living quarters of those in captivity.
Tilikum had been captured as a baby off Iceland (note that the Icelandic orcas have a different culture than those off British Columbia and different diet, the ones in B.C. feeding on fish, the others on mammals. Some have even been known to drown baleen whales in order to eat their fins.) He was kept in a small tank for several years with two dominant females (orcas are primarily matriarchal) and often tormented by them. It was just a matter of time before Tilikum became what we might call psychotic and unpredictable.
One of the themes brought out in this book is the natural antipathy between those who believe zoos are the best way to see and learn about animals and those who think that keeping animals of high intelligence, and there is no doubt that whales and apes have very high intelligence, is not only unworthy of humans but detrimental to the animals themselves and that the only way to study and learn about them is in the wild where the animals can behave normally. There was even some speculation that emerged from the hearings after Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau that institutions like Sea World and zoos have a vested interest in subtly portraying the dangers of nature. Indeed one of Sea World’s major arguments for not returning their killer whales back to the wild was that they were safer penned up. This argument morphs over into a more general one that nature is dangerous for humans as well so come see the animals in the zoo, please, where you won’t get hurt (and by the way buy a few t-shirts, mugs and pizza while you are there.)
There had been four deaths in the pools from interplay with orcas. Many others have been injured, several quite severely. The hearings in Congress that ultimately resulted following Dawn’s death had to answer two vital questions: “ 1. Is captivity in an amusement park good for orcas: Is this the appropriate venue for killer whales to be held, and does it somehow benefit wild orcas and their ocean habitat, as the industry claims? 2. Is orca captivity good for society: Is it safe for trainers and truly educational for a public that pays to watch the whales perform what critics say are animal tricks akin to circus acts? Not surprisingly, people who support SeaWorld and other marine-themed entertainment parks (pro-caps in the lingo of this particular argument) answer affirmatively.”
There is little doubt these large animals are fascinating creatures with a sophisticated culture. Lots of information here on that. While the author’s sympathies clearly lie with those wishing to study animals in the wild, he does a good job of presenting both sides of the issue although he does focus primarily on those people like Naomi Rose, an orca expert and her evolution into anti-Seaworld activist.
One can sympathize with the Zoo proponents but that sympathy tends to waver in the face of their use of euphemisms and obfuscation in an attempt to make animal life at Sea World appear as “happy” as possible. As the great muckraker Upton Sinclair put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Tilikum had been captured as a baby off Iceland (note that the Icelandic orcas have a different culture than those off British Columbia and different diet, the ones in B.C. feeding on fish, the others on mammals. Some have even been known to drown baleen whales in order to eat their fins.) He was kept in a small tank for several years with two dominant females (orcas are primarily matriarchal) and often tormented by them. It was just a matter of time before Tilikum became what we might call psychotic and unpredictable.
One of the themes brought out in this book is the natural antipathy between those who believe zoos are the best way to see and learn about animals and those who think that keeping animals of high intelligence, and there is no doubt that whales and apes have very high intelligence, is not only unworthy of humans but detrimental to the animals themselves and that the only way to study and learn about them is in the wild where the animals can behave normally. There was even some speculation that emerged from the hearings after Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau that institutions like Sea World and zoos have a vested interest in subtly portraying the dangers of nature. Indeed one of Sea World’s major arguments for not returning their killer whales back to the wild was that they were safer penned up. This argument morphs over into a more general one that nature is dangerous for humans as well so come see the animals in the zoo, please, where you won’t get hurt (and by the way buy a few t-shirts, mugs and pizza while you are there.)
There had been four deaths in the pools from interplay with orcas. Many others have been injured, several quite severely. The hearings in Congress that ultimately resulted following Dawn’s death had to answer two vital questions: “ 1. Is captivity in an amusement park good for orcas: Is this the appropriate venue for killer whales to be held, and does it somehow benefit wild orcas and their ocean habitat, as the industry claims? 2. Is orca captivity good for society: Is it safe for trainers and truly educational for a public that pays to watch the whales perform what critics say are animal tricks akin to circus acts? Not surprisingly, people who support SeaWorld and other marine-themed entertainment parks (pro-caps in the lingo of this particular argument) answer affirmatively.”
There is little doubt these large animals are fascinating creatures with a sophisticated culture. Lots of information here on that. While the author’s sympathies clearly lie with those wishing to study animals in the wild, he does a good job of presenting both sides of the issue although he does focus primarily on those people like Naomi Rose, an orca expert and her evolution into anti-Seaworld activist.
One can sympathize with the Zoo proponents but that sympathy tends to waver in the face of their use of euphemisms and obfuscation in an attempt to make animal life at Sea World appear as “happy” as possible. As the great muckraker Upton Sinclair put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
January 14, 2015
With the wide-spread recognition of the docufilm Blackfish and The Cove, this book goes into more of the scientific background and debate surrounding cetaceans in captivity. Vast research has been done with scientists, experts, eyewitnesses, and ex-marine park trainers to uncover the truth surrounding the multi-million pound industry that abuses these animals for financial gain. It exposes cover ups and shocking treatment and suffering that fuels the greed behind this industry. Sickening, heartbreaking, and a must-read. Read the real story of Shamu and others. No one has the right to inprison highly-intelligent wild animals in tanks the size of bath tubs. They require space and freedom and swim around 100 miles per day in the wild. They are highly social and require their family groups: just like humans, but often they are either isolated or kept with non-resident cetaceans who they are bullied and attacked by due to their hierarchical social structure. Subjected to too much stressful stimulus (sun/blaring music/people, etc),. They are controlled and coerced by withholding food in order to perform for "entertainment". They are masturbated for breeding purposes, have their teeth drilled to pulps which subjects them to infection. They bash their heads against concrete tanks or bars which to my mind is suicide. They would rather die than be subjected to the abuse they currently endure. The world needs to be educating on what these highly sentient animals are suffering. Thank you David Kirby for raising awareness.
September 28, 2012
I highly recommend this book. I grew up with season passes to SeaWorld in absolute awe of these creatures assuming that SeaWorld was truly a proponent of killer whale conservation and education. In all the years I went to SeaWorld I knew truly nothing about how these whales lived in the wild or what their lives were like in and out of captivity....or more importantly, how many were acquired. SeaWorld is in the business of entertainment. I no longer believe they have the whales best interests at heart. What I learned of Orcas in this book makes me have an all new respect for them....and sadness for those in captivity. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in learning about the truth of life in captivity for these beautiful sentient family-oriented beings. My eyes are finally open.
July 3, 2012
I didn't expect to like this book - which came to me via Goodreads' firstreads program. I put off reading it, wondering what I'd been thinking. I knew it would be depressing. And it's long.
I skipped the introduction, going straight to the prologue. (Why would a book need both an introduction and a prologue?) And I was hooked. It began with a young trainer in British Columbia dying as three killer whales dragged her underwater, roughed her up, and drowned her.
This provides for suspense throughout the book, because you know that one of those three whales, Tillicum, will kill two other people in SeaWorld Orlando.
Death at Sea World is the compelling story of the young biologist Naomi Rose, and how she spent a decade studying whales in the wild, in particular killer whales, orcas. She learned from the best on the Northwest coast of Canada, just west of Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. She wrote her PhD dissertation building upon her mentor's work in sociobiology and the orca experts' already published observations of the whales in the wild. Her dissertation was on male killer whales' place in killer whale cultures - subdominant to the females.
Orca society, just like human society, is built around the nuclear family... except with orcas, mom is in charge. Her sons stay with her as long as she lives. They babysit their younger siblings for her, and they work out their excess testosterone with games not that different from football.
The oldest mom observed, "Granny," was about 85 at the last time I came across her. (I'm about four-fifths through.) She's going strong.
So there's the nature part of the book, where there's actually a lot to learn about whales.
The second big chunk of the book is following Jeff, a "trainer" at SeaWorld. He starts out loving SeaWorld, but it gradually dawning on him that the orcas are suffering just as you would suffer if aliens stole you from your home, confined you in too small a space, and fed you when you did tricks for a crowd. The past decade's revelation of girls kidnapped and confined like that isn't too different.
A third chunk of the book is following the orcas themselves, in particular Keiko, of Free Willy fame, his horrible treatment and the games that were played in trying to free him.
Naomi is hired by the Humane Society of the United States, a mainstream group that is vilified by SeaWorld because their stance is that it's not appropriate to keep orcas in such small pens, ripped away from their families and forced to perform for crowds. Orcas are too intelligent - they understand that they're captives. They are self-aware, and become psychotic with sorrow and boredom.
I skipped the introduction, going straight to the prologue. (Why would a book need both an introduction and a prologue?) And I was hooked. It began with a young trainer in British Columbia dying as three killer whales dragged her underwater, roughed her up, and drowned her.
This provides for suspense throughout the book, because you know that one of those three whales, Tillicum, will kill two other people in SeaWorld Orlando.
Death at Sea World is the compelling story of the young biologist Naomi Rose, and how she spent a decade studying whales in the wild, in particular killer whales, orcas. She learned from the best on the Northwest coast of Canada, just west of Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. She wrote her PhD dissertation building upon her mentor's work in sociobiology and the orca experts' already published observations of the whales in the wild. Her dissertation was on male killer whales' place in killer whale cultures - subdominant to the females.
Orca society, just like human society, is built around the nuclear family... except with orcas, mom is in charge. Her sons stay with her as long as she lives. They babysit their younger siblings for her, and they work out their excess testosterone with games not that different from football.
The oldest mom observed, "Granny," was about 85 at the last time I came across her. (I'm about four-fifths through.) She's going strong.
So there's the nature part of the book, where there's actually a lot to learn about whales.
The second big chunk of the book is following Jeff, a "trainer" at SeaWorld. He starts out loving SeaWorld, but it gradually dawning on him that the orcas are suffering just as you would suffer if aliens stole you from your home, confined you in too small a space, and fed you when you did tricks for a crowd. The past decade's revelation of girls kidnapped and confined like that isn't too different.
A third chunk of the book is following the orcas themselves, in particular Keiko, of Free Willy fame, his horrible treatment and the games that were played in trying to free him.
Naomi is hired by the Humane Society of the United States, a mainstream group that is vilified by SeaWorld because their stance is that it's not appropriate to keep orcas in such small pens, ripped away from their families and forced to perform for crowds. Orcas are too intelligent - they understand that they're captives. They are self-aware, and become psychotic with sorrow and boredom.
July 3, 2012
Through changing perceptions and the examination of procedures at one of America's premier marine mammal entertainment parks, David Kirby's Death at SeaWorld, seeks to answer several questions. Does captivity benefit wild orcas as the captive industry claims, and is it a truly educational experience for the paying public? More importantly Kirby queries, is keeping orcas in captivity safe for trainers?
Kirby systematically punctures the veneer cleverly melded by a savvy SeaWorld public relations department, until the answers are revealed with startling clarity. Cover ups, undocumented incidents of trainer injuries and whale deaths, are consistently dumbed down for the public and in some cases, not even acknowledged at all.
Death at SeaWorld is a 'read it and weep' exposé of shocking connotations. The reader is cleverly and artfully guided by the author through a complicated 'mess-story' that for years now, has been wracked by controversy and confounded by opposing points of view. But this is the quiet strength of the book.
Far, far louder, screaming in fact, is the realization that trained orcas in parks bear little resemblance to their counterparts in the wild. Learned behaviors in artificial environments could not be more different, despite the company mantra that captivity for orcas is "educational" for the public. One only has to look at "the wildly popular raspberries," Kirby writes, "when whales make farting noises from their blowhole;" there could not be a more perfect example of how anomalous these animals have become.
Death at Seaworld is a comprehensive book that astutely gathers the material that matters, then delivers it with a profound punch. Kirby's knockout format is articulate and mind-blowing. This riveting read is not one that will easily be dismissed. By the book's conclusion, the author's revelations, make it virtually unconscionable for any person with a smattering of compassion for these majestic creatures, to ever visit a marine mammal entertainment facility again.
Kirby systematically punctures the veneer cleverly melded by a savvy SeaWorld public relations department, until the answers are revealed with startling clarity. Cover ups, undocumented incidents of trainer injuries and whale deaths, are consistently dumbed down for the public and in some cases, not even acknowledged at all.
Death at SeaWorld is a 'read it and weep' exposé of shocking connotations. The reader is cleverly and artfully guided by the author through a complicated 'mess-story' that for years now, has been wracked by controversy and confounded by opposing points of view. But this is the quiet strength of the book.
Far, far louder, screaming in fact, is the realization that trained orcas in parks bear little resemblance to their counterparts in the wild. Learned behaviors in artificial environments could not be more different, despite the company mantra that captivity for orcas is "educational" for the public. One only has to look at "the wildly popular raspberries," Kirby writes, "when whales make farting noises from their blowhole;" there could not be a more perfect example of how anomalous these animals have become.
Death at Seaworld is a comprehensive book that astutely gathers the material that matters, then delivers it with a profound punch. Kirby's knockout format is articulate and mind-blowing. This riveting read is not one that will easily be dismissed. By the book's conclusion, the author's revelations, make it virtually unconscionable for any person with a smattering of compassion for these majestic creatures, to ever visit a marine mammal entertainment facility again.
July 20, 2014
'Death at Seaworld' is a fascinating and meticulously researched work that centres upon the death of a killer whale trainer at the U.S. theme park in 2010. However the work also takes on the entire history of the captivity of these whales, as well as research undertaken in the wild.
What you get to read may be argued as one-sided as it argues strictly against the captivity of killer whales, but with the evidence presented, there is no other conclusion that could be reached. It does essentially come down to animals performing under extreme duress for the pleasure of humans to bring in dollars.
There is a lot of focus on policy and politics about marine mammals in the U.S., but it never gets bogged down in too much detail, and the people who played a part in these affairs are well-drawn and interesting people in their own right.
An interesting section looks at the plight of Keiko, the star of the 'Free Willy' movie. Keiko was hired from a Mexican animal park to star in the movie. The conditions that he was in were dismal with a very small concrete tank, that was so shallow that his pectoral fins always touched the bottom and had lesions on them. The tale of his journey being an experimental re-release into the wild is a wonderful and enlightening story.
I guess what also sets this work apart from the usual anti-captivity arguments is that it is strictly about killer whales. The author does make an argument for captivity of certain species for educational and conservationist purposes. He is not a die-hard anti-this anti-that person. The argument put forward is strictly about this species and it's conditions and treatment in captivity.
So if you are a bit of a zoological nut check this book out. I highly recommend it.
What you get to read may be argued as one-sided as it argues strictly against the captivity of killer whales, but with the evidence presented, there is no other conclusion that could be reached. It does essentially come down to animals performing under extreme duress for the pleasure of humans to bring in dollars.
There is a lot of focus on policy and politics about marine mammals in the U.S., but it never gets bogged down in too much detail, and the people who played a part in these affairs are well-drawn and interesting people in their own right.
An interesting section looks at the plight of Keiko, the star of the 'Free Willy' movie. Keiko was hired from a Mexican animal park to star in the movie. The conditions that he was in were dismal with a very small concrete tank, that was so shallow that his pectoral fins always touched the bottom and had lesions on them. The tale of his journey being an experimental re-release into the wild is a wonderful and enlightening story.
I guess what also sets this work apart from the usual anti-captivity arguments is that it is strictly about killer whales. The author does make an argument for captivity of certain species for educational and conservationist purposes. He is not a die-hard anti-this anti-that person. The argument put forward is strictly about this species and it's conditions and treatment in captivity.
So if you are a bit of a zoological nut check this book out. I highly recommend it.
December 18, 2012
wow. just .... wow. An eye opening book, both about the marine entertainment world, about what captivity does to whales, and about orcas in the wild.
I will never again look at whales the same way, and I will probably never again pay to support whales in captivity for entertainment. I highly highly recommend this book for any animal lover, or for anyone who simply wants to learn more about a fascinating topic. Well written, scientifically rich, and moving without being sappy. maybe 'compelling' is a better word. Anyhow, go out and get it!
Merged review:
Wow. just .... wow. An eye opening book, both about the marine entertainment world, about what captivity does to whales, and about orcas in the wild.I will never again look at whales the same way, and I will probably never again pay to support whales in captivity for entertainment. I highly highly recommend this book for any animal lover, or for anyone who simply wants to learn more about a fascinating topic. Well written, scientifically rich, and moving without being sappy. maybe 'compelling' is a better word. Anyhow, go out and get it
I will never again look at whales the same way, and I will probably never again pay to support whales in captivity for entertainment. I highly highly recommend this book for any animal lover, or for anyone who simply wants to learn more about a fascinating topic. Well written, scientifically rich, and moving without being sappy. maybe 'compelling' is a better word. Anyhow, go out and get it!
Merged review:
Wow. just .... wow. An eye opening book, both about the marine entertainment world, about what captivity does to whales, and about orcas in the wild.I will never again look at whales the same way, and I will probably never again pay to support whales in captivity for entertainment. I highly highly recommend this book for any animal lover, or for anyone who simply wants to learn more about a fascinating topic. Well written, scientifically rich, and moving without being sappy. maybe 'compelling' is a better word. Anyhow, go out and get it
September 21, 2013
also file under "enraging"
I went to see Blackfish last week, then this book caught my eye on a cart, and I had to take it home. I spent all day yesterday reading it. Apart from doing laundry, I couldn't tear myself away from it.
Kirby's prose is really readable, although it could have been tightened up, and sometimes he sacrifices good old reporting to try to heighten the story and he doesn't need to - all those conversations he recreated could have just been reported like an interview, which is probably how he got them. And he's a little too fond of using "ironically".
That doesn't really matter, because the history of killer whales, the things that real scientists have learned about them, and their history of capture and captivity at places like SeaWorld, is fascinating. And, for the latter, a grotesque tragedy. I think the worst part is seeing "the Alliance" (ha ha, could you make up a more ominous sounding name?) throws its political weight around and lies, over and over again, when it doesn't have to. How many millions of dollars do orcas make for SeaWorld? It could afford to at least acknowledge their real life spans and needs, and try to act accordingly when designing their living spaces and thinking about their social lives. But time after time, it acts spoiled, greedy, and bratty, and through its actions shows that it sees the whales as a money-making circus act. This covers almost all of the history of orca-capturing from the late 60s til the present day, and includes the full story of Keiko (free Willy), which I hadn't really followed, and the injury and deaths of SeaWorld trainers, as well as following the story of Dr. Naomi Rose, who works for the national Humane Society. I highly recommend reading this and enraging yourself as well.
It's interesting to compare what Kirby describes and where his descriptions don't follow what is shown in the "Blackfish" documentary. For example, on p. 275 he covers an incident where 2 orcas pull a trainer into the pool and her arm is broken. Kirby says that after she got out of the pool "soon her arm throbbed with pain and Tamaree learned it was badly fractured." If you watch the documentary they have footage of this, and when she gets out of the pool, her forearm is bent like the top of an umbrella. I'm pretty sure she didn't have to "learn" it was fractured.
Kirby also falls prey to some of the same emotion-fueled arguing that leads him down strange pathways, such as this sentence: "[After Dawn Brancheau's death, the world] wanted to know why such an intelligent creature would commit such a brutal act". Intelligence does not preclude brutality.
Overall, though, it's possible to cut through the emotion. Kirby is obviously biased, but it's hard not to be.
I went to see Blackfish last week, then this book caught my eye on a cart, and I had to take it home. I spent all day yesterday reading it. Apart from doing laundry, I couldn't tear myself away from it.
Kirby's prose is really readable, although it could have been tightened up, and sometimes he sacrifices good old reporting to try to heighten the story and he doesn't need to - all those conversations he recreated could have just been reported like an interview, which is probably how he got them. And he's a little too fond of using "ironically".
That doesn't really matter, because the history of killer whales, the things that real scientists have learned about them, and their history of capture and captivity at places like SeaWorld, is fascinating. And, for the latter, a grotesque tragedy. I think the worst part is seeing "the Alliance" (ha ha, could you make up a more ominous sounding name?) throws its political weight around and lies, over and over again, when it doesn't have to. How many millions of dollars do orcas make for SeaWorld? It could afford to at least acknowledge their real life spans and needs, and try to act accordingly when designing their living spaces and thinking about their social lives. But time after time, it acts spoiled, greedy, and bratty, and through its actions shows that it sees the whales as a money-making circus act. This covers almost all of the history of orca-capturing from the late 60s til the present day, and includes the full story of Keiko (free Willy), which I hadn't really followed, and the injury and deaths of SeaWorld trainers, as well as following the story of Dr. Naomi Rose, who works for the national Humane Society. I highly recommend reading this and enraging yourself as well.
It's interesting to compare what Kirby describes and where his descriptions don't follow what is shown in the "Blackfish" documentary. For example, on p. 275 he covers an incident where 2 orcas pull a trainer into the pool and her arm is broken. Kirby says that after she got out of the pool "soon her arm throbbed with pain and Tamaree learned it was badly fractured." If you watch the documentary they have footage of this, and when she gets out of the pool, her forearm is bent like the top of an umbrella. I'm pretty sure she didn't have to "learn" it was fractured.
Kirby also falls prey to some of the same emotion-fueled arguing that leads him down strange pathways, such as this sentence: "[After Dawn Brancheau's death, the world] wanted to know why such an intelligent creature would commit such a brutal act". Intelligence does not preclude brutality.
Overall, though, it's possible to cut through the emotion. Kirby is obviously biased, but it's hard not to be.
September 30, 2014
When I found this book on the shelf, I assumed the title, Death at Sea World, referred to the people who were killed by the orca at Sea World. But really, the title is a double-entendre, as it becomes very clear that orcas are dying at Sea World, too. Kirby's book isn't just about these deaths. By the time I had finished the first third of this book, I had learned a great deal about orcas, their sense of community, language and devotion. I had always thought it a shame to have such a large, powerful creature confined in a swimming pool, but I had never imagined the sensory and social deprivation the orcas suffered. I never imagined they would have such an enormous, well-developed brain. I had always suspected that Tillicum killed with intent, but I had never suspected his psychotic break could have been caused by trauma in his infancy and adolescence.
Kirby's book sent me searching the web for articles and videos. The documentary, Blackfish, includes much of the same information and interviews with the same people. It is great to put faces to the names from the book and to learn more details about the orca round-ups of the west coast, where Sea World's first orcas were captured.
It's a great book. I haven't read anything that has moved me to action like this book has.
Kirby's book sent me searching the web for articles and videos. The documentary, Blackfish, includes much of the same information and interviews with the same people. It is great to put faces to the names from the book and to learn more details about the orca round-ups of the west coast, where Sea World's first orcas were captured.
It's a great book. I haven't read anything that has moved me to action like this book has.
September 8, 2012
I’ll admit it: I’ve been to marine mammal theme parks. As a preschooler and again in 4th grade, my family visited the now fairly infamous Marineland of Ontario while vacationing at Niagara Falls. And at age 12, I spent a day at the now defunct SeaWorld of Ohio. I reacted to my SeaWorld experience in the manner of many 12-year-old girls: I was absolutely awed by the majestic whales and dolphins, and left the park proclaiming that I wished to work there some day. I wasn’t terribly ignorant of animal welfare issues, either: by that time I was a vegetarian, and I knew about the evils of fur and cosmetics testing on animals. But if you would have suggested to me then that there was a problem with SeaWorld, I would have been completely dumbfounded. In all, the only downer I experienced at SeaWorld was my mom spilling an enormous cup of Orange Crush on my gleaming white Keds.
Nowadays, I know my old rosy view of the marine mammal park industry is as outdated as those Keds. David Kirby’s new book, Death at SeaWorld, brings the many ethical and safety issues with the industry into sharp relief, and it is my hope that other former SeaWorld fans will reconsider their values. Like Kirby’s other book examining a pressing animal issue, Animal Factory, Death at SeaWorld is intelligently written, thoroughly researched, and very disquieting. The author isn’t completely critical of SeaWorld and its ilk. He reminds us that the public display industry should be credited for changing our attitude toward killer whales from contempt to admiration and even affection, a view I happen to agree with. (At one point in time, killer whales were routinely slaughtered by fishermen for being “game hogs.”) However, it is clear that the good PR orcas gained as a species in the early days of captivity can no longer be justified:
According to [orca expert] Naomi [Rose], [SeaWorld] implied that fishermen would return to shooting orcas “if these animals were no longer held in captivity as ‘ambassadors.’ This is absurd; the public has amply demonstrated that the whale is now institutionalized as deserving of our protection.”
Kirby traces the early days of SeaWorld and orca captivity, which involves much blood in the water. The first orca captures were accidental, but entrepreneurs quickly saw the moneymaking potential in trained whales. Writes Kirby, a massive effort to trap more orcas began, and an industry was born. He describes the way wild-caught killer whales are forcibly separated from their mother and pod, an extremely traumatic experience for some of the world’s most family-bonded mammals. Once one whale was captured, the rest of the pod would stay near the distressed animal, making it easier to catch them all. Some whales died during capture, a spectacle that didn’t offer good PR for the fledgling industry. After a debacle off the coast of Washington in which dead whales washed ashore,
SeaWorld would have to look elsewhere for new animals. It promptly dispatched [orca catcher] Don Goldsberry on a worldwide tour in search of promising hunting grounds. He selected Iceland—the whales were plentiful and the government was cooperative. In October of 1976, SeaWorld had its first killer whale flown in from the island nation.
The risk of death for orcas didn’t end if they survived capture. While many species of animals do live longer in zoos than in the wild, orcas are not one of them. The original Namu got entangled in the sea pen net he continually rammed himself into and died.
The great Shamu—the iconic star whose trademarked name would live on forever—passed away on August 29, 1971, after six years in captivity. She was only about nine years old—as opposed to the fifty-to-eighty-year life expectancy of wild female orcas.
SeaWorld partially handles the high rate of death for captive orcas by underestimating the animals’ natural life spans: Plenty of evidence showed that SeaWorld’s thirty-year estimate was way off the mark, but park officials simply chose to ignore it—at least publicly., Kirby writes. However, even this lowball estimate doesn’t mesh with the actual lifespans of most captive orcas:
SeaWorld spokesman Dave Koontz said captive orcas “routinely live into their thirty and forties.” … “They DO NOT routinely live into their 30s and 40s,” [The Orca Project] wrote. Of the 41 captive orcas still alive, only 2 had reached age forty and 3 had reached thirty. More than 150 died before those ages.
A perhaps more successful way in which the deaths of captive whales are brushed aside is the fact that it is often quite difficult for the audience to tell one killer whale from another, and “character names” rather than actual names are used to publically identify animals.
Stage names are used for most animals so, when an animal dies, the character can live on. … “It’s a great technique for keeping people unaware of just how many animals die,” [Naomi Rose] said, adding that, during the previous nineteen years, on average one orca died each year at SeaWorld’s parks combined.
For example, when a SeaWorld orca named Kahana’s death was reported by the press,
Kahana was given a cold and businesslike sendoff: “Shamu has not died. Shamu will never die,” [SeaWorld Texas PR director] McCullough said. “It just happens to be one of the whales who portrays one of three roles at any given time.
Interestingly, when a captive whale dies, much of the remains are sent to a rendering plant to be turned into fertilizer and pet food.
The performing whale industry’s business decisions can seem utterly cruel when they impact highly social, familial orcas. Whales can be transferred between SeaWorld parks and also to marine parks in other parts of the world.
When “Baby Shamu” was removed from mother for transport to another park: “Katina was never a vocal whale, but that night [trainer] Carol listened in sorrow as the distraught mother remained immobile in a corner of the pool, emitting wretched cries into the night. … The bitter moaning reminded her of when [orca whale] Gundrun had first been shipped to SeaWorld from an aquarium in the Netherlands, in November of 1987. Carol was still a tour guide back then, but Gundrun’s haunting distress calls could be heard emanating from Shamu Stadium for weeks.
And of course, unlike the efforts made by many zoos to replicate species’ natural habitats, captive orcas and dolphins do not get the same consideration. Their barren tanks are easier to clean, but critics charge their featurelessness adds to the animals’ stress. More attention seems to be paid to customers’ environments than the whales’ living spaces:
The tank was still empty, its harsh and hard-edged sides exposed to the Florida heat. The juxtaposition was striking: the ocher-colored boulders and scenic shrubbery were placed there above the water surface solely for the esthetic enjoyment of paying guests, and to make them “feel” as if SeaWorld’s animals lived in a world quite reminiscent of their natural habitat.
Of course, the reason marine theme parks are currently an issue of great public controversy is because in 2010, a male orca named Tilikum viciously killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld Orlando. In the fallout from this tragedy, it was revealed that Tilikum had killed humans twice before, including an incident at the now defunct SeaLand of the Pacific which was, as the author describes, hauntingly similar to the animal’s later attack upon Brancheau. Tilikum’s removal from SeaLand was fraught with warnings from the National Marine Fisheries Service that steps must be taken so another human death would not occur. SeaWorld crafted a set of rules that applied only to Tilikum, knowing how dangerous he could be.
Why would Tilly kill? Despite SeaWorld’s cuddly image of Shamu, orcas are in actuality the “wolves of the sea,” the ocean’s top predator. Killer whales have been observed playing with seals in a harsh and relentless fashion before finally consuming their meal. And while killer whales’ place on the food chain can’t be ignored when assessing their aggressive behavior, some aspects of Tilikum’s life in particular may have also contributed to his dangerous status.
In a harrowing chapter titled “Capture,” Kirby recounts Tilikum’s removal from his pod and family in Iceland at age 2, looking at capture through the whale’s eyes. After his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum was housed in night quarters with two aggressive and dominant females, who would bite and torment him.
While killer whales are relentless predators of seals, penguins, fish, and other cetaceans, wild killer whales do not show interest in preying upon humans. Yet in captivity, the animals’ natural behavior seems to be upended:
Whether a whale’s behavior was normal or not could be somewhat subjective. But it was a fact that no killer whale had ever been reported to have killed a human in the wild, or even seriously attacked a human in the wild, and no killer whale had ever been known to have been killed in a fight with another killer whale. All three of those things had happened in captivity. … [Orca expert] Naomi [Rose] believed there was something abnormal about the close proximity of life in a pool, putting strange animals together in a confined space with nowhere to run—and then throwing people into the mix—could clearly be dangerous.
Attacks are nothing new at SeaWorld. In 1971, the original “Shamu” attacked a Sea World secretary who attempted to ride the whale around the pool in a cheesy PR piece for local news stations. The footage was captured by news cameras, and it is chilling.
Breeding loans send SeaWorld whales to other marine parks around the world. Shortly after Dawn Brancheau’s death in the US, a SeaWorld “loaner whale” killed a trainer in the Canary Islands.
Interestingly, SeaWorld has over-emphasized the danger wild orcas pose to humans, which seems strange at first until you consider they were going for the angle that orcas in captivity and in the ocean are equally dangerous.
Whatever the park’s official line, the result of the 2010 Tilikum attack was definitely not a good one for SeaWorld, PR-wise.
Dawn’s death also upended the dynamics of the captivity debate. The worldwide notice it precipitated prompted people around the world to take a second look at SeaWorld and consider, perhaps for the first time, what life might be like for killer whales outside the ocean. … Suddenly, killer whales were part of the national conversation, and much of that discussion was firmly centered on captivity. No attack by a captive orca had ever prompted such serious questions about captivity. … Tough questions were now being asked by a national media that had, until now, uncritically celebrated SeaWorld for more than a generation.
Meanwhile, former trainers were also coming forward with charges there really isn’t much scientific research going on at SeaWorld that will help wild orcas, criticisms about the safety of the park’s trainer policies and animal welfare (“They have to comply with our program in order to get that food in the morning,” said one), and released an internal employee memo of verboten, negative-sounding, or controversial words and phrases trainers must not use with the public.
As with factory farming and just about every other animal welfare issue, much of America was just now learning of an issue that had animal protection advocates concerned for many years prior. Like the American Kennel Club, which claims to be the “dogs’ champion” while all the while fighting even the most modest legislation designed to prevent cruelty and neglect toward dogs, SeaWorld doesn’t walk their talk legislatively when it comes to conservation and animal welfare.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was up for congressional reauthorization. SeaWorld and other aquatic theme parks were already working hard behind the scenes to gut the landmark law by softening or removing provisions regulating the export of animals, minimum standards on animal welfare, and requirements for education and conservation programs in order to display marine mammals.
The Humane Society of the US, which employs the aforementioned orca expert Naomi Rose, has been one of the principal organizations criticizing the marine mammal theme park lobby. When the MMPA renewal was up for debate,
Many in the media treated the showdown like a clash of Titans, though Naomi knew that HSUS and its little captive-whale campaign were going to be thoroughly outgunned, outspent, and outlawyered by the other side.
Just how “outgunned” the HSUS and other animal welfare groups are when it comes to animal industry was recently memorably illustrated by the blog Counting Animals. I urge you to look at and ponder it next time you hear an industry rep gnashing their teeth about how “moneyed” the HSUS is. As is usually the case when industry goes against nonprofits, the outcome of this fight was that in the end, SeaWorld and its allies “got almost everything they wanted on the captivity provisions of the bill; HSUS and its allies lost almost everything.” And while SeaWorld attacked the HSUS’s figures on captive killer whale mortality,
[Naomi Rose’s] source for captivity data was a US government publication, which in turn got its information from the industry. If anything Murru was trashing science that his own company had helped to compile.
Before the Tilikum tragedy, the world’s most famous killer whale was undoubtedly Keiko, the star of the 1993 film “Free Willy,” who was found to be languishing and near death in a Mexican theme park. As hunters hate “Bambi” and the fur industry hates “101 Dalmatians,” SeaWorld hated “Free Willy.” (Perhaps they shouldn’t have—I can’t tell you how many families I know who made the trip to SeaWorld after their kids begged to “go see Willy.”) The HSUS had a large stake in rescuing Keiko and prepping him for release. When Keiko died in semi-freedom, Immediately, the critics began circling in, accusing Naomi, HSUS, and the entire campaign of “murdering” Keiko. However, as Naomi Rose pointed out, [Keiko] lived longer than almost any other male orca has in captivity. He lived at least as long as most male orcas do in the wild. Critics who routinely excuse the early deaths at SeaWorld failed to consider that perhaps Keiko had simply reached the end of his natural lifespan.
Despite his behavior, Tilikum won’t have to worry about being freed or retired to a sea pen or even destroyed (the extreme right-wing American Family Association wanted Tilikum stoned to death for his “sin” of being a killer whale). That’s because Tilly is far too valuable as SeaWorld’s few remaining sources for new “Baby Shamus.” Tilikum is currently SeaWorld’s only breeding male. And just as the livestock industry has all but eliminated the traditional method of placing male and female together in the same pen, Tilikum is also bred like livestock. Yes, SeaWorld has pioneered the use of artificial insemination for whales, and the bull whale is actually manually stimulated by trainers for fluid collection. (I’ve before made the statement that if you’re like 99.9% of people and are disturbed by sexual contact between animals and humans, maybe you should look at your diet—in light of SeaWorld’s breeding program, maybe you should look at your entertainment choices as well.) Anyway, SeaWorld’s frequent claims that if their animals weren’t happy, they wouldn’t mate (Rose’s response is “Prison inmates ha[ve] sex with each other, but that d[oesn’t] mean they [are] ‘happy.’”) is sort of a moot point in light of this information regarding their breeding program.
Like artificial insemination for whales, much of SeaWorld’s research is based around keeping and propagating whales for entertainment purposes, not conserving them in the wild. While some captive whale studies on physiology and respiration have indeed contributed to basic knowledge about orcas, SeaWorld’s claim that most of the information scientists know about killer whales is thanks to the theme park is foolish and demonstrably false.
In short, critics charge that captivity is dangerous and deadly for both orca whales and people, and should be ended, and I and many other readers of this book will agree.
[Naomi Rose] noted that fewer than two hundred killer whales had ever been held in captivity, and of those, about two dozen had injured or killed their trainers. “That’s more than a ten percent accident rate. If a brand of can opener had that kind of accident rate, it would be pulled from the shelves. So I think the risks absolutely outweigh the benefits.”
Rose has made an intelligent point, but her employer, the Humane Society of the US, needs to listen to its own press releases. The HSUS has gradually ventured into breed advocacy on behalf of fighting breeds of dogs—that is, opposing any and all regulations on fighting breeds and even supporting the re-homing of pit bull terriers who have been specifically bred and raised for dogfighting. The HSUS would be well advised to consider that the pit bull and closely related breeds are some of the only domestic dogs with the strength and tenacity to do to human beings what Tilikum did to his trainer: that is, scalping and limb amputation. Very few people will ever come in contact with a rampaging captive killer whale, in 2011 alone 31 Americans were mauled to death by dogs. Yet no recalls for canine "can openers", either. Something to think about, HSUS.
Not surprisingly, SeaWorld had its defenders coming out in full force after the Tilikum tragedy. Jack Hanna is the unjustifiably beloved animal expert who can always be counted upon to defend animal industries in the media—including those as pointlessly wasteful as the sport shooting of tiny mourning doves. Once again, Hanna’s claims didn’t hold up to scrutiny:
[Jack] Hanna was claiming that it was easier and cheaper to go visit SeaWorld than to experience killer whales in the wild. Not necessarily. Adults were paying $81.99 for a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, plus $73.99 for each child. In contrast, in the Pacific Northwest, the Victoria Clipper company ran all-day cruises from Seattle4 to the San Juan Islands, including a full two and a half hours dedicated to killer whale watching (as opposed to the half-hour Shamu show), narrated by a certified naturalist, for $70 per adult. Children under twelve sailed for free. A family of four could spend $312 for a day at SeaWorld, or less than half that amount, $140, on a Clipper boat.
Read the conclusion of my review here: http://valuetimeblog.wordpress.com/20...
Nowadays, I know my old rosy view of the marine mammal park industry is as outdated as those Keds. David Kirby’s new book, Death at SeaWorld, brings the many ethical and safety issues with the industry into sharp relief, and it is my hope that other former SeaWorld fans will reconsider their values. Like Kirby’s other book examining a pressing animal issue, Animal Factory, Death at SeaWorld is intelligently written, thoroughly researched, and very disquieting. The author isn’t completely critical of SeaWorld and its ilk. He reminds us that the public display industry should be credited for changing our attitude toward killer whales from contempt to admiration and even affection, a view I happen to agree with. (At one point in time, killer whales were routinely slaughtered by fishermen for being “game hogs.”) However, it is clear that the good PR orcas gained as a species in the early days of captivity can no longer be justified:
According to [orca expert] Naomi [Rose], [SeaWorld] implied that fishermen would return to shooting orcas “if these animals were no longer held in captivity as ‘ambassadors.’ This is absurd; the public has amply demonstrated that the whale is now institutionalized as deserving of our protection.”
Kirby traces the early days of SeaWorld and orca captivity, which involves much blood in the water. The first orca captures were accidental, but entrepreneurs quickly saw the moneymaking potential in trained whales. Writes Kirby, a massive effort to trap more orcas began, and an industry was born. He describes the way wild-caught killer whales are forcibly separated from their mother and pod, an extremely traumatic experience for some of the world’s most family-bonded mammals. Once one whale was captured, the rest of the pod would stay near the distressed animal, making it easier to catch them all. Some whales died during capture, a spectacle that didn’t offer good PR for the fledgling industry. After a debacle off the coast of Washington in which dead whales washed ashore,
SeaWorld would have to look elsewhere for new animals. It promptly dispatched [orca catcher] Don Goldsberry on a worldwide tour in search of promising hunting grounds. He selected Iceland—the whales were plentiful and the government was cooperative. In October of 1976, SeaWorld had its first killer whale flown in from the island nation.
The risk of death for orcas didn’t end if they survived capture. While many species of animals do live longer in zoos than in the wild, orcas are not one of them. The original Namu got entangled in the sea pen net he continually rammed himself into and died.
The great Shamu—the iconic star whose trademarked name would live on forever—passed away on August 29, 1971, after six years in captivity. She was only about nine years old—as opposed to the fifty-to-eighty-year life expectancy of wild female orcas.
SeaWorld partially handles the high rate of death for captive orcas by underestimating the animals’ natural life spans: Plenty of evidence showed that SeaWorld’s thirty-year estimate was way off the mark, but park officials simply chose to ignore it—at least publicly., Kirby writes. However, even this lowball estimate doesn’t mesh with the actual lifespans of most captive orcas:
SeaWorld spokesman Dave Koontz said captive orcas “routinely live into their thirty and forties.” … “They DO NOT routinely live into their 30s and 40s,” [The Orca Project] wrote. Of the 41 captive orcas still alive, only 2 had reached age forty and 3 had reached thirty. More than 150 died before those ages.
A perhaps more successful way in which the deaths of captive whales are brushed aside is the fact that it is often quite difficult for the audience to tell one killer whale from another, and “character names” rather than actual names are used to publically identify animals.
Stage names are used for most animals so, when an animal dies, the character can live on. … “It’s a great technique for keeping people unaware of just how many animals die,” [Naomi Rose] said, adding that, during the previous nineteen years, on average one orca died each year at SeaWorld’s parks combined.
For example, when a SeaWorld orca named Kahana’s death was reported by the press,
Kahana was given a cold and businesslike sendoff: “Shamu has not died. Shamu will never die,” [SeaWorld Texas PR director] McCullough said. “It just happens to be one of the whales who portrays one of three roles at any given time.
Interestingly, when a captive whale dies, much of the remains are sent to a rendering plant to be turned into fertilizer and pet food.
The performing whale industry’s business decisions can seem utterly cruel when they impact highly social, familial orcas. Whales can be transferred between SeaWorld parks and also to marine parks in other parts of the world.
When “Baby Shamu” was removed from mother for transport to another park: “Katina was never a vocal whale, but that night [trainer] Carol listened in sorrow as the distraught mother remained immobile in a corner of the pool, emitting wretched cries into the night. … The bitter moaning reminded her of when [orca whale] Gundrun had first been shipped to SeaWorld from an aquarium in the Netherlands, in November of 1987. Carol was still a tour guide back then, but Gundrun’s haunting distress calls could be heard emanating from Shamu Stadium for weeks.
And of course, unlike the efforts made by many zoos to replicate species’ natural habitats, captive orcas and dolphins do not get the same consideration. Their barren tanks are easier to clean, but critics charge their featurelessness adds to the animals’ stress. More attention seems to be paid to customers’ environments than the whales’ living spaces:
The tank was still empty, its harsh and hard-edged sides exposed to the Florida heat. The juxtaposition was striking: the ocher-colored boulders and scenic shrubbery were placed there above the water surface solely for the esthetic enjoyment of paying guests, and to make them “feel” as if SeaWorld’s animals lived in a world quite reminiscent of their natural habitat.
Of course, the reason marine theme parks are currently an issue of great public controversy is because in 2010, a male orca named Tilikum viciously killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld Orlando. In the fallout from this tragedy, it was revealed that Tilikum had killed humans twice before, including an incident at the now defunct SeaLand of the Pacific which was, as the author describes, hauntingly similar to the animal’s later attack upon Brancheau. Tilikum’s removal from SeaLand was fraught with warnings from the National Marine Fisheries Service that steps must be taken so another human death would not occur. SeaWorld crafted a set of rules that applied only to Tilikum, knowing how dangerous he could be.
Why would Tilly kill? Despite SeaWorld’s cuddly image of Shamu, orcas are in actuality the “wolves of the sea,” the ocean’s top predator. Killer whales have been observed playing with seals in a harsh and relentless fashion before finally consuming their meal. And while killer whales’ place on the food chain can’t be ignored when assessing their aggressive behavior, some aspects of Tilikum’s life in particular may have also contributed to his dangerous status.
In a harrowing chapter titled “Capture,” Kirby recounts Tilikum’s removal from his pod and family in Iceland at age 2, looking at capture through the whale’s eyes. After his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum was housed in night quarters with two aggressive and dominant females, who would bite and torment him.
While killer whales are relentless predators of seals, penguins, fish, and other cetaceans, wild killer whales do not show interest in preying upon humans. Yet in captivity, the animals’ natural behavior seems to be upended:
Whether a whale’s behavior was normal or not could be somewhat subjective. But it was a fact that no killer whale had ever been reported to have killed a human in the wild, or even seriously attacked a human in the wild, and no killer whale had ever been known to have been killed in a fight with another killer whale. All three of those things had happened in captivity. … [Orca expert] Naomi [Rose] believed there was something abnormal about the close proximity of life in a pool, putting strange animals together in a confined space with nowhere to run—and then throwing people into the mix—could clearly be dangerous.
Attacks are nothing new at SeaWorld. In 1971, the original “Shamu” attacked a Sea World secretary who attempted to ride the whale around the pool in a cheesy PR piece for local news stations. The footage was captured by news cameras, and it is chilling.
Breeding loans send SeaWorld whales to other marine parks around the world. Shortly after Dawn Brancheau’s death in the US, a SeaWorld “loaner whale” killed a trainer in the Canary Islands.
Interestingly, SeaWorld has over-emphasized the danger wild orcas pose to humans, which seems strange at first until you consider they were going for the angle that orcas in captivity and in the ocean are equally dangerous.
Whatever the park’s official line, the result of the 2010 Tilikum attack was definitely not a good one for SeaWorld, PR-wise.
Dawn’s death also upended the dynamics of the captivity debate. The worldwide notice it precipitated prompted people around the world to take a second look at SeaWorld and consider, perhaps for the first time, what life might be like for killer whales outside the ocean. … Suddenly, killer whales were part of the national conversation, and much of that discussion was firmly centered on captivity. No attack by a captive orca had ever prompted such serious questions about captivity. … Tough questions were now being asked by a national media that had, until now, uncritically celebrated SeaWorld for more than a generation.
Meanwhile, former trainers were also coming forward with charges there really isn’t much scientific research going on at SeaWorld that will help wild orcas, criticisms about the safety of the park’s trainer policies and animal welfare (“They have to comply with our program in order to get that food in the morning,” said one), and released an internal employee memo of verboten, negative-sounding, or controversial words and phrases trainers must not use with the public.
As with factory farming and just about every other animal welfare issue, much of America was just now learning of an issue that had animal protection advocates concerned for many years prior. Like the American Kennel Club, which claims to be the “dogs’ champion” while all the while fighting even the most modest legislation designed to prevent cruelty and neglect toward dogs, SeaWorld doesn’t walk their talk legislatively when it comes to conservation and animal welfare.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was up for congressional reauthorization. SeaWorld and other aquatic theme parks were already working hard behind the scenes to gut the landmark law by softening or removing provisions regulating the export of animals, minimum standards on animal welfare, and requirements for education and conservation programs in order to display marine mammals.
The Humane Society of the US, which employs the aforementioned orca expert Naomi Rose, has been one of the principal organizations criticizing the marine mammal theme park lobby. When the MMPA renewal was up for debate,
Many in the media treated the showdown like a clash of Titans, though Naomi knew that HSUS and its little captive-whale campaign were going to be thoroughly outgunned, outspent, and outlawyered by the other side.
Just how “outgunned” the HSUS and other animal welfare groups are when it comes to animal industry was recently memorably illustrated by the blog Counting Animals. I urge you to look at and ponder it next time you hear an industry rep gnashing their teeth about how “moneyed” the HSUS is. As is usually the case when industry goes against nonprofits, the outcome of this fight was that in the end, SeaWorld and its allies “got almost everything they wanted on the captivity provisions of the bill; HSUS and its allies lost almost everything.” And while SeaWorld attacked the HSUS’s figures on captive killer whale mortality,
[Naomi Rose’s] source for captivity data was a US government publication, which in turn got its information from the industry. If anything Murru was trashing science that his own company had helped to compile.
Before the Tilikum tragedy, the world’s most famous killer whale was undoubtedly Keiko, the star of the 1993 film “Free Willy,” who was found to be languishing and near death in a Mexican theme park. As hunters hate “Bambi” and the fur industry hates “101 Dalmatians,” SeaWorld hated “Free Willy.” (Perhaps they shouldn’t have—I can’t tell you how many families I know who made the trip to SeaWorld after their kids begged to “go see Willy.”) The HSUS had a large stake in rescuing Keiko and prepping him for release. When Keiko died in semi-freedom, Immediately, the critics began circling in, accusing Naomi, HSUS, and the entire campaign of “murdering” Keiko. However, as Naomi Rose pointed out, [Keiko] lived longer than almost any other male orca has in captivity. He lived at least as long as most male orcas do in the wild. Critics who routinely excuse the early deaths at SeaWorld failed to consider that perhaps Keiko had simply reached the end of his natural lifespan.
Despite his behavior, Tilikum won’t have to worry about being freed or retired to a sea pen or even destroyed (the extreme right-wing American Family Association wanted Tilikum stoned to death for his “sin” of being a killer whale). That’s because Tilly is far too valuable as SeaWorld’s few remaining sources for new “Baby Shamus.” Tilikum is currently SeaWorld’s only breeding male. And just as the livestock industry has all but eliminated the traditional method of placing male and female together in the same pen, Tilikum is also bred like livestock. Yes, SeaWorld has pioneered the use of artificial insemination for whales, and the bull whale is actually manually stimulated by trainers for fluid collection. (I’ve before made the statement that if you’re like 99.9% of people and are disturbed by sexual contact between animals and humans, maybe you should look at your diet—in light of SeaWorld’s breeding program, maybe you should look at your entertainment choices as well.) Anyway, SeaWorld’s frequent claims that if their animals weren’t happy, they wouldn’t mate (Rose’s response is “Prison inmates ha[ve] sex with each other, but that d[oesn’t] mean they [are] ‘happy.’”) is sort of a moot point in light of this information regarding their breeding program.
Like artificial insemination for whales, much of SeaWorld’s research is based around keeping and propagating whales for entertainment purposes, not conserving them in the wild. While some captive whale studies on physiology and respiration have indeed contributed to basic knowledge about orcas, SeaWorld’s claim that most of the information scientists know about killer whales is thanks to the theme park is foolish and demonstrably false.
In short, critics charge that captivity is dangerous and deadly for both orca whales and people, and should be ended, and I and many other readers of this book will agree.
[Naomi Rose] noted that fewer than two hundred killer whales had ever been held in captivity, and of those, about two dozen had injured or killed their trainers. “That’s more than a ten percent accident rate. If a brand of can opener had that kind of accident rate, it would be pulled from the shelves. So I think the risks absolutely outweigh the benefits.”
Rose has made an intelligent point, but her employer, the Humane Society of the US, needs to listen to its own press releases. The HSUS has gradually ventured into breed advocacy on behalf of fighting breeds of dogs—that is, opposing any and all regulations on fighting breeds and even supporting the re-homing of pit bull terriers who have been specifically bred and raised for dogfighting. The HSUS would be well advised to consider that the pit bull and closely related breeds are some of the only domestic dogs with the strength and tenacity to do to human beings what Tilikum did to his trainer: that is, scalping and limb amputation. Very few people will ever come in contact with a rampaging captive killer whale, in 2011 alone 31 Americans were mauled to death by dogs. Yet no recalls for canine "can openers", either. Something to think about, HSUS.
Not surprisingly, SeaWorld had its defenders coming out in full force after the Tilikum tragedy. Jack Hanna is the unjustifiably beloved animal expert who can always be counted upon to defend animal industries in the media—including those as pointlessly wasteful as the sport shooting of tiny mourning doves. Once again, Hanna’s claims didn’t hold up to scrutiny:
[Jack] Hanna was claiming that it was easier and cheaper to go visit SeaWorld than to experience killer whales in the wild. Not necessarily. Adults were paying $81.99 for a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, plus $73.99 for each child. In contrast, in the Pacific Northwest, the Victoria Clipper company ran all-day cruises from Seattle4 to the San Juan Islands, including a full two and a half hours dedicated to killer whale watching (as opposed to the half-hour Shamu show), narrated by a certified naturalist, for $70 per adult. Children under twelve sailed for free. A family of four could spend $312 for a day at SeaWorld, or less than half that amount, $140, on a Clipper boat.
Read the conclusion of my review here: http://valuetimeblog.wordpress.com/20...
May 4, 2015
Animal and environment lovers, prepare for heartbreak. The sense of grief and outrage that consumes me after finishing this book (and watching Blackfish, the associated documentary) is overwhelming. The fact that money has so obliterated any and all sense of humanity and compassion is profoundly disturbing, to say the least.
The argument, which has been raging for decades, revolves around the forced captivity and use of animals (particularly large, highly intelligent and social animals such as killer whales) in entertainment. SeaWorld, especially, has come under heavy fire during these discussions, the intensity of which increasing dramatically since the death of Dawn Brancheau in February 2010.
(For those who aren’t familiar with the incident: An experienced SeaWorld orca trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was pulled into the water and brutally killed (complete avulsion of scalp and arm, body covered in abrasions and contusions, broken bones, etc.) and held by orca Tilikum for over half an hour before her body could be pried from his mouth. Tilikum had been captive for most of his life, having been torn from his family when he was quite young, and had been involved in 2 other deaths during the course of his captivity. Many experts suspect Tilikum has sustained irreversible psychological damage from the abuses he has sustained which likely contributes to his aggressive and frustrated behavior with humans.)
Killer whales, or orcas, are astonishingly smart, social, and emotional creatures. They form intensely strong matrilineal family bonds that result in generations forming family pods, each with their own unique language and set of behavioral interactions. Offspring rarely leave their mother’s side and often spend their entire lives only feet away, traveling up to 100 miles each day foraging for food and playing in the depths of the ocean.
In addition, as I learned in Blackfish, scientists have discovered an area in orca brains that specifically processes emotion. This area is not found in humans and suggests that the orca’s capacity for feeling is quite extensive. All the more heartbreaking when you think about the destruction of family units by capturing young whales and forcing them to live in tiny, unstimulating tanks with unfamiliar whales (not even speaking the same language), and suboptimal care. Researchers studying orca vocalizations have identified cries specific to grief and special long-range calls exhibited by orcas frantically searching for family members that have been taken away.
Whether out of ignorance or brutal, money-motivated disregard, orcas are being held captive in environments that are killing them and endangering the humans who work with and around them. Consider the following:
“Of the 41 captive orcas still alive today, only 2 had reached age forty and 3 had reached thirty. More than 150 died before those ages. Put another way, of the more than 190 whales held in captivity since the 1960′s, only 5 so far had survived past the age of thirty– the mean age of longevity for males in the oceans.”
It’s been shown that wild male orcas can live into their 40′s and 50′s, while wild female orcas can live well into their 80′s. One of the most well known whales in the wild is a beautiful matriarch, still kicking at over 100. Whales in captivity regularly die in their adolescence, often of avoidable health problems caused and exacerbated by their captivity.
I’m no whale expert, but I suggest you read this book before dismissing these concerns or underestimating the gravity and inhumanity of the SeaWorld (and other companies) model of captivity-for-profit. A little digging and reading reveals a sickening, abusive world behind the happy-go-lucky slogan, and a suffering group of animals entirely undeserving of such outrageous abuse.
The argument, which has been raging for decades, revolves around the forced captivity and use of animals (particularly large, highly intelligent and social animals such as killer whales) in entertainment. SeaWorld, especially, has come under heavy fire during these discussions, the intensity of which increasing dramatically since the death of Dawn Brancheau in February 2010.
(For those who aren’t familiar with the incident: An experienced SeaWorld orca trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was pulled into the water and brutally killed (complete avulsion of scalp and arm, body covered in abrasions and contusions, broken bones, etc.) and held by orca Tilikum for over half an hour before her body could be pried from his mouth. Tilikum had been captive for most of his life, having been torn from his family when he was quite young, and had been involved in 2 other deaths during the course of his captivity. Many experts suspect Tilikum has sustained irreversible psychological damage from the abuses he has sustained which likely contributes to his aggressive and frustrated behavior with humans.)
Killer whales, or orcas, are astonishingly smart, social, and emotional creatures. They form intensely strong matrilineal family bonds that result in generations forming family pods, each with their own unique language and set of behavioral interactions. Offspring rarely leave their mother’s side and often spend their entire lives only feet away, traveling up to 100 miles each day foraging for food and playing in the depths of the ocean.
In addition, as I learned in Blackfish, scientists have discovered an area in orca brains that specifically processes emotion. This area is not found in humans and suggests that the orca’s capacity for feeling is quite extensive. All the more heartbreaking when you think about the destruction of family units by capturing young whales and forcing them to live in tiny, unstimulating tanks with unfamiliar whales (not even speaking the same language), and suboptimal care. Researchers studying orca vocalizations have identified cries specific to grief and special long-range calls exhibited by orcas frantically searching for family members that have been taken away.
Whether out of ignorance or brutal, money-motivated disregard, orcas are being held captive in environments that are killing them and endangering the humans who work with and around them. Consider the following:
“Of the 41 captive orcas still alive today, only 2 had reached age forty and 3 had reached thirty. More than 150 died before those ages. Put another way, of the more than 190 whales held in captivity since the 1960′s, only 5 so far had survived past the age of thirty– the mean age of longevity for males in the oceans.”
It’s been shown that wild male orcas can live into their 40′s and 50′s, while wild female orcas can live well into their 80′s. One of the most well known whales in the wild is a beautiful matriarch, still kicking at over 100. Whales in captivity regularly die in their adolescence, often of avoidable health problems caused and exacerbated by their captivity.
I’m no whale expert, but I suggest you read this book before dismissing these concerns or underestimating the gravity and inhumanity of the SeaWorld (and other companies) model of captivity-for-profit. A little digging and reading reveals a sickening, abusive world behind the happy-go-lucky slogan, and a suffering group of animals entirely undeserving of such outrageous abuse.
June 27, 2013
Great book, I learned a lot about killer whales, Shamu, SeaWorld and why people are opposed to holding these large mammals captive in a too small enclosure. Capturing such an intelligent mammal against their will, putting it in a much smaller enclosure, taking them from their family and society and making them perform for a bit of food until the day you die would cause any of us emotional distress and possible aggression towards ones captor. Their life expectancy is lower in captivity. The author presents and discusses both sides of the captivity issue intelligently. The background story of the woman who fights so hard to end this and the look at killer whales in their natural habitat is also interesting reading. The story of the woman's tragic death is something we read in all the newspapers just a few years ago but what most of us didn't know is that there were other deaths caused by killer whales before her. The arguments in favor of captivity put forth by Seaworld seemed rather shallow and more about entertainment for paying customers and not education and research. After reading the book I would agree that for the safety of both trainers and the whales, leave these large, intelligent, sometimes aggressive animals in their natural habitat and go on a whale watch.
July 19, 2012
SEAWORLD: WALMART of KILLER WHALES
While it's true that anti-captivity advocates embrace Death At SeaWorld and SeaWorld repudiates the book, oddly it's for the same reason: David Kirby, a well-respected journalist, tells the truth.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, owned by the private equity group Blackstone, is nothing more than a business chain like Walmart or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Their brand is killer whales, and regardless of the ethics or the science that says these animals shouldn't be held in captivity, SeaWorld is determined to go on with the show.
Unfortunately for SeaWorld, Kirby reveals their carefully crafted public relations magic to be smoke and mirrors. Their small pools are psych wards of medicated orcas and danger zones for humans.
Well written, well researched, and whale thought out, this is a must read for anyone who cares about the world we live in.
While it's true that anti-captivity advocates embrace Death At SeaWorld and SeaWorld repudiates the book, oddly it's for the same reason: David Kirby, a well-respected journalist, tells the truth.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, owned by the private equity group Blackstone, is nothing more than a business chain like Walmart or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Their brand is killer whales, and regardless of the ethics or the science that says these animals shouldn't be held in captivity, SeaWorld is determined to go on with the show.
Unfortunately for SeaWorld, Kirby reveals their carefully crafted public relations magic to be smoke and mirrors. Their small pools are psych wards of medicated orcas and danger zones for humans.
Well written, well researched, and whale thought out, this is a must read for anyone who cares about the world we live in.
July 31, 2013
One of the best books I have read. Everyone should pick up this book because its such an eye opener. It is very well written and interesting enough that you won't want to but it down. Prior to reading this book the documentary The Cove had put me off ever visiting Seaworld and/or other marine parks. After read this I will whole-heartily encourage others not to step foot in any Seaworld parks until they stop the shows and return eligible whales back to the sea. I remember when I was little I wanted to be a Seaworld trainer, I am so glad I had choose and alternate career choice. I rather be an advocate for these spectacular creatures then feel the need to swim with them.
Thank you David Kirby for writing this book.
Thank you David Kirby for writing this book.
July 2, 2012
Superb, simply superb. Kirby digs beneath SeaWorld's public relations spin and uncovers both a culture of entrenched cruelty and disregard for employee safety. Credit due for repeatedly trying to get SeaWorld's side of the story -- to no avail.
Kirby provides the scientific arguments against keeping these huge marine mammals in cramped tanks, but draws the reader into the emotional connection we should have with these keenly intelligent animals. It's such a thought-provoking read!
After reading this book, there's no way anyone could ever buy a ticket to a marine theme park again. The price to the orcas is far too high.
Kirby provides the scientific arguments against keeping these huge marine mammals in cramped tanks, but draws the reader into the emotional connection we should have with these keenly intelligent animals. It's such a thought-provoking read!
After reading this book, there's no way anyone could ever buy a ticket to a marine theme park again. The price to the orcas is far too high.
July 3, 2012
I went to SeaWorld as a kid, thinking I was learning about marine mammals, but I didn't learn anything about the way orcas and dolphins behave in the wild by watching them do silly tricks in captivity. After learning about all the death and exploitation, I never want to go back.
I'm not through the book yet--in fact I just started--but I can already tell that it's a factual, compelling read. And the title alone should be enough to convince everyone that SeaWorld is no fun for captive whales. I'm glad the message is getting out and I hope more people will finally take notice.
I'm not through the book yet--in fact I just started--but I can already tell that it's a factual, compelling read. And the title alone should be enough to convince everyone that SeaWorld is no fun for captive whales. I'm glad the message is getting out and I hope more people will finally take notice.
July 26, 2013
Slice this book in half and you've got all the information you're going to get from David Kirby's collection of accounts and arguments against captivity of whales. The rest was biography of a handful of people, which was not what I signed up for when I picked to read this book. I wanted to read about whales, not about Dr. Naomi Rose's time researching. Pages devoted to recounting people's histories bored me. Outside of his biographical narrative of the humans, most of his arguments were redundant. At least twice per chapter, or so it felt, Kirby felt it necessary to point out the drastic difference in life expectancy of wild vs captive orcas. There were also editing errors that seemed to have been missed in my ebook version as well. His writing left much to be desired.
There are good points raised in this book, so please don't think I support the captivity industry nor that I'm giving this book two of five stars for its stance. Unfortunately, it didn't present the pro-captivity side very well, which is somewhat understandable as SeaWorld didn't work with him, despite his requests. That said, was there really no one else to explain why they felt captivity was a good option for orcas? Had SeaWorld worked with him, the poorly represented argument would have stood as a testament that captivity is not a good thing.
Most of the information he presents is available online for free. Even some of the autopsies he cites are available as well as police reports/911 calls, and video of various incidents with the orcas. (Google "The Orca Project" and you'll have most, if not all the information presented in this book).
It's a shame that this book wasn't better, I was really hopeful.
There are good points raised in this book, so please don't think I support the captivity industry nor that I'm giving this book two of five stars for its stance. Unfortunately, it didn't present the pro-captivity side very well, which is somewhat understandable as SeaWorld didn't work with him, despite his requests. That said, was there really no one else to explain why they felt captivity was a good option for orcas? Had SeaWorld worked with him, the poorly represented argument would have stood as a testament that captivity is not a good thing.
Most of the information he presents is available online for free. Even some of the autopsies he cites are available as well as police reports/911 calls, and video of various incidents with the orcas. (Google "The Orca Project" and you'll have most, if not all the information presented in this book).
It's a shame that this book wasn't better, I was really hopeful.
June 16, 2021
Death at SeaWorld chronicles the rise (but sadly not the fall) of captive killer whale business, but does so with all the context necessary: the natural history of the orca, the beginning of wild orca research, the capture era, the release of Keiko (the star of Free Willy), the life of Tilikum, and finally, the titular death at SeaWorld and its outcome. David Kirby chose an interesting way to tell the story, switching between Naomi Rose (marine biologist) and Jeff Ventre's (former SeaWorld trainer) POVs.
The amount of work and research that went into writing this book is incredible. I enjoyed its narrative sort of style - that way, the story was told as smoothly as possible despite loads of facts and details about killer whales and captivity. And yet I think it was overdone; parts of it were unnecessary (like how Naomi Rose met her husband, or how she went on a road trip with her dad, or a quick biography and description of about any person that appeared throughout the book, however unimportant), making the book longer than it should have been. The book is exhaustive, yes, but also exhausting to read. Still, it's an important book to be out there.
It seems that some reviewers who gave Death at SeaWorld 1 star misinterpreted the facts presented here (at least the 1-star reviews I've read). I'm in no way pro-captivity, nor am I strictly against it (I do think wild animals shouldn't be captured and held for entertainment, but I'm also aware that in some cases captivity is inevitable). That being said, I found the release of Keiko problematic, same as I found problematic the practices employed by aquariums to use their whales in aquatic circuses and cashing that money instead of actually trying to educate the public about the plight of wild killer whales. Even with all the care these captive whales are given, the situation is far from acceptable on many levels. Yes, they are used to living in their pools and tanks, and it wouldn't be wise to simply release them as was done with Keiko. Which does not mean SeaWorld should keep breeding them in captivity (that doesn't help the wild whales one bit).
Again, the issue is complicated, and yet many opinions regarding this topic are one-sided. Some reviewers pointed out that the book is biased against captivity - well, yes, obviously. But others also said that the book is only one-sided. Well... no. If anything, Death at SeaWorld makes one see all the sides there are to captivity and decide for themselves how they feel about it.
Clearly, captivity has negative effects on killer whales. Separating calves from their mothers at a young age, or keeping together and breeding unrelated killer whales, sometimes of different ecotypes - that's already detrimental to the life quality of these orcas. And SeaWorld can say all they want about how they're doing it for the animals... no, they're doing it for the money. And money is always more important than the well-being of the killer whales. The argument that orcas in the wild face so many dangers while the captive ones have the best veterinary care, enough fish, etc., is ridiculous. That's got to be said. We can't just fence off wild animals and call it conservation. That's life in the wild. Killer whales can and will die there, sure, they can go hungry, they can get hurt. That's life. But they also get to travel for miles with their family pods, as they evolved to do. They adapted to life in the tanks (some better, some worse), but it's still unnatural to all of them, even the captive-bred ones.
I understand there is some value to captivity, and at the same time, I think it should be phased out, over time, because its main job is done: it helped transform the image of the killer whale. The times when these whales were shot at, feared, and hated are long gone, yet the show at SeaWorld and other marine parks featuring captive orcas goes on. It's time to focus on trying to save the habitats of wild orcas, with captive ones being retired from showbiz, perhaps in large sea-pens.
Death at SeaWorld, contrary to what some may say, is not so extreme as to dismiss the positive aspects of aquariums, or to call for releasing all captive cetaceans into the wild; it doesn't argue that aquariums should be closed down.
Further reading:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator
The Killer Whale Who Changed the World
Behind the Dolphin smile: One Man's Campaign to Protect the World's Dolphins
The amount of work and research that went into writing this book is incredible. I enjoyed its narrative sort of style - that way, the story was told as smoothly as possible despite loads of facts and details about killer whales and captivity. And yet I think it was overdone; parts of it were unnecessary (like how Naomi Rose met her husband, or how she went on a road trip with her dad, or a quick biography and description of about any person that appeared throughout the book, however unimportant), making the book longer than it should have been. The book is exhaustive, yes, but also exhausting to read. Still, it's an important book to be out there.
It seems that some reviewers who gave Death at SeaWorld 1 star misinterpreted the facts presented here (at least the 1-star reviews I've read). I'm in no way pro-captivity, nor am I strictly against it (I do think wild animals shouldn't be captured and held for entertainment, but I'm also aware that in some cases captivity is inevitable). That being said, I found the release of Keiko problematic, same as I found problematic the practices employed by aquariums to use their whales in aquatic circuses and cashing that money instead of actually trying to educate the public about the plight of wild killer whales. Even with all the care these captive whales are given, the situation is far from acceptable on many levels. Yes, they are used to living in their pools and tanks, and it wouldn't be wise to simply release them as was done with Keiko. Which does not mean SeaWorld should keep breeding them in captivity (that doesn't help the wild whales one bit).
Again, the issue is complicated, and yet many opinions regarding this topic are one-sided. Some reviewers pointed out that the book is biased against captivity - well, yes, obviously. But others also said that the book is only one-sided. Well... no. If anything, Death at SeaWorld makes one see all the sides there are to captivity and decide for themselves how they feel about it.
Clearly, captivity has negative effects on killer whales. Separating calves from their mothers at a young age, or keeping together and breeding unrelated killer whales, sometimes of different ecotypes - that's already detrimental to the life quality of these orcas. And SeaWorld can say all they want about how they're doing it for the animals... no, they're doing it for the money. And money is always more important than the well-being of the killer whales. The argument that orcas in the wild face so many dangers while the captive ones have the best veterinary care, enough fish, etc., is ridiculous. That's got to be said. We can't just fence off wild animals and call it conservation. That's life in the wild. Killer whales can and will die there, sure, they can go hungry, they can get hurt. That's life. But they also get to travel for miles with their family pods, as they evolved to do. They adapted to life in the tanks (some better, some worse), but it's still unnatural to all of them, even the captive-bred ones.
I understand there is some value to captivity, and at the same time, I think it should be phased out, over time, because its main job is done: it helped transform the image of the killer whale. The times when these whales were shot at, feared, and hated are long gone, yet the show at SeaWorld and other marine parks featuring captive orcas goes on. It's time to focus on trying to save the habitats of wild orcas, with captive ones being retired from showbiz, perhaps in large sea-pens.
Death at SeaWorld, contrary to what some may say, is not so extreme as to dismiss the positive aspects of aquariums, or to call for releasing all captive cetaceans into the wild; it doesn't argue that aquariums should be closed down.
Further reading:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator
The Killer Whale Who Changed the World
Behind the Dolphin smile: One Man's Campaign to Protect the World's Dolphins
August 29, 2013
It is hard for me to write when I feel so emotional about something like this. This book was all about the captivity of Killer Whales (orcas) and how this has effected them, and the people around them. Sea World has in its ownership right now among other whales, a Killer Whale named "Tilikum" aka "Tilly", that has been responsible for 3 "trainer" deaths so far. When I use quotes with the word "trainer" it is because these people are taught how to teach animal tricks...not anything else. The expert researchers in this book, especially Naomi and several other in the real world researchers in the world of Orcas are the people that hold all of the knowledge in my opinion. There are facts that Sea World chooses to ignore such as...there are resident orcas and there are transient orcas. These 2 groups of orcas do not get along, nor eat the same food. So, when you capture an orca, then throw it in a tiny pool with 2 other orcas, they may never "bond" and actually try to kill eachother.
As far as Sea World is concerned, I can only hope that eventually they realize the damage they are doing in keeping these animals in captivity. There is no way that we can build any captive pool that would properly house these giant mammals. They are depressed, they are miserable. These mammals are most likely smarter than we are. Their communication is based on acoustics that we don't even comprehend. They travel thousands of miles in the ocean. Their families stay together for life.
The description of what happens when a baby orca is captured was horrifying. The mother follows the boat until she is no longer able to swim. The baby and mother screaming and screaming until total exhaustion. Then this baby is dumped into a pool with no acoustics, basically NO stimulation, NO family, and usually 2 or 3 other orcas that dislike it, severely abuse it, and are miserable and depressed having gone through the exact same traumatic capture.
Oh, and Sea World is breeding these animals in captivity. Don't even get me started.
The best solution and idea mentioned in this book and one I fully support would be for Sea World to stop breeding in captivity. To work towards a sea pen (partial release) of all currently captive orcas. They can even make a ton of money I'm sure from people coming to see these animals. There is most likely no way they can be fully released into the wild, but they can have a measure of success with training them to recall back for food in the Sea Pen if they are unable to feed themselves in the wild. That is the right thing to do.
Using these beautiful animals for our pure "entertainment" is the wrong thing to do. We should begin to work towards phasing this out completely.
As far as Sea World is concerned, I can only hope that eventually they realize the damage they are doing in keeping these animals in captivity. There is no way that we can build any captive pool that would properly house these giant mammals. They are depressed, they are miserable. These mammals are most likely smarter than we are. Their communication is based on acoustics that we don't even comprehend. They travel thousands of miles in the ocean. Their families stay together for life.
The description of what happens when a baby orca is captured was horrifying. The mother follows the boat until she is no longer able to swim. The baby and mother screaming and screaming until total exhaustion. Then this baby is dumped into a pool with no acoustics, basically NO stimulation, NO family, and usually 2 or 3 other orcas that dislike it, severely abuse it, and are miserable and depressed having gone through the exact same traumatic capture.
Oh, and Sea World is breeding these animals in captivity. Don't even get me started.
The best solution and idea mentioned in this book and one I fully support would be for Sea World to stop breeding in captivity. To work towards a sea pen (partial release) of all currently captive orcas. They can even make a ton of money I'm sure from people coming to see these animals. There is most likely no way they can be fully released into the wild, but they can have a measure of success with training them to recall back for food in the Sea Pen if they are unable to feed themselves in the wild. That is the right thing to do.
Using these beautiful animals for our pure "entertainment" is the wrong thing to do. We should begin to work towards phasing this out completely.
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