I have swum with Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas and have seen how beautiful and strong they truly are first hand. Sharks are a vital part to every ecosystem they are in and currently being killed at a rate that they cannot reproduce at. Alpha predators are a necessary component of eco-systems because they keep the populations of every trophic level below them in check. You can compare an eco-system to a skyscraper; you need every single part so the entire building does not fall apart. Sharks have the task of killing the wounded, old, and sick fish in schools to keep the stocks of fish healthy and plentiful.
The events following this attack prove that there is an issue with these whales in captivity. The police report on the attack on Dawn first claimed that she slipped or “fell” into the pool, when she was actually pulled in by the whale. The lies told to the public clearly showed an issue with aggression. Not only did they lie once, they continued to change the story. After saying she slipped and fell, they then said that the whale grabbed her ponytail.
Marine parks in the country like SeaWorld, have orcas in tanks that they live in captivity. They use most of the killer whales for their performances in the pool. We all know that orcas are social, and intelligent creatures, that live in the oceans of the earth. We also know that many scientist are trying to study these animals in captivity where they are in tankes. I think Killer Whales should not be in captivity because, of the injures they can get in their tanks, how they get stressed out and they are better in the wild.
The documentary “Blackfish” focused on killer whales in captivity, specifically Tilikum; a wild orca who was caught and exposed to captivity and its environment which eventually lead him to violently turn on his trainers at SeaWorld and even took some of their lives. This documentary examines how the difference from living in sea life to captivity can cause these whales and orcas to live up to their names. Blackfish discusses and argues how life in captivity for these whales is cruel and dangerous, not only for the whales but for their trainers as well. The information throughout this documentary was all painful to watch in my view, but it also had a positive approach.
There have been multiple incidents at SeaWorld when killer whales have attacked people. The most popular killer whale attack is the death of Dawn Brancheau by Tilikum, the largest male orca captive at SeaWorld Orlando. This was just one out of three deaths that Tilikum was involved in. He also played a part in the deaths of trainer, Keltie Lee Byrne, and park visitor Daniel Dukes. An autopsy completed by Dr. Joshua Stephany, a medical examiner, determined the injuries Brancheau had sustained after Tilikum had pulled her into the pool.
How can anyone look at the whale crying and think that is morality because it is not. Whale ate one of the trainers. Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of 3 individuals, including a top killer whale trainer, Dawn Brancheau. Blackfish shows the devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. They knew Tilikum was dangerous because in his profile information it states, “Sometimes lunging toward control trainer” 70 plus killer whale trainer accidents but no one talks about them.
Since these marine mammal trainers are expected to train the killer whales in the water it can be very dangerous. From the film, “We don’t speak whale. We don’t speak tiger. We don’t speak monkey.” This informs the audience that wild animals such as these whales are unpredictable.
(Blackfish). Killer whales in the wild are aggressive towards each other just as they are to humans, in 1989 an accident involving two whales: Kandu and Corky resulted in Kandu bleeding to death. (Kirby 2) this would have never happened if the whales had the enough space they needed to separate from each other. Contrastingly, killer whales in the wild are more peaceful toward each other and humans. There is only one accident of an orca biting someone in the wild.
These whales are friendly in the wild and it’s been reported of them saving humans and interacting with them, as “to this day, there is no record of an orca doing any harm to any humans in the wild” (Wise). Orcas actions could not be more different in captivity. In all, violence has become a common yet horrific scene in aquatic parks. The real horror is between these captured creatures. Orcas with different backgrounds and dialects are placed together without much thought about how this could affect them.
The Great White Shark The Great White Sharks, known mostly because of their white underbellies, are one of the most powerful aquatic animals in the world. They can swim at about 25 Miles Per Hour (40 Kilometers per hour) because of their strong muscles and forceful tails. In addition to that, male Great Whites can grow around 11.5 to 13.1 feet long, while females can grow from 14.8 to 16.4 feet long. This paper will demonstrate how Great White Sharks are an important part of their ecosystem, how their diets work and will adequately describe their habitats. As predators in their ecosystem, Great White sharks help maintain the coral reefs and seagrass habitats.
The shark represents man vs nature throughout the whole story up until the end. From the very beginning of both the film and novel, it starts off looking through the shark’s perspective. The novel’s intro gives some exposition about sharks, including one important definition about anoxia: “Once, if ever, it stopped, it would sink to the bottom of the ocean and die of anoxia” (Benchley 3). This definition not only acts as exposition, but also foreshadows how the shark eventually dies in the end of the novel. After the expository phase of both the movie and novel, the shark attacks its first victim--a drunk woman named Crissy.
Although the orca can be found in both in the open ocean and in the coastal waters, they primarily inhabit the continental shelf’s in the water less than 200 meters deep. In the cold water area is the most distribution limited by the seasonal pack ice. The killer whale is the top carnivore consumer on the food web. Killer whales may be large in size and appetite, but they still act on instinct and have no desire to kill intentionally. The killer whale is also a very playful and intelligent creature like most dolphins are, therefore they do not deserve the name killer whale.
Whale sharks like to hang out together and eat together. Now you know about whale sharks.
The separation of non-endangered species will not deter whalers from hunting any whale in sight. These activities are widely documented and filmed for the world to see. Further, “people hunted whales for their oil to fuel lamps and candles, to lubricate machinery and to make margarine, lipsticks and other products.
Wildlife Conservation is often seen as a bad thing, but if you look at it from my perspective, then it is actually a good thing. People think of it as holding wild animals captive, but we are actually protecting them from poachers. The purpose of Wildlife Conservation is to protect the animals in danger, which I am in agreement 110%. Other people argue that we shouldn’t have conservations, but they don’t know the harm that can happen to unprotected animals.
