SeaWorld: End To Captive Breeding Program

     On March 17, 2016, SeaWorld announced that they will be phasing out Shamu Shows and ending their captive breeding program, this will be the last generation. These whales will live out the rest of their lives in their concrete habitats, with a new "natural encounter" show. 

    "SeaWorld has not collected an Orca from the wild in almost 40 years, and the vast majority of our orcas were born under human care. These orcas have never lived in the wild and could not survive in oceans that include environmental concerns such as pollution and other man-made threats."  - https://seaworldcares.com/en/Future/Last-Generation/

     Just a few short weeks after SeaWorld announced their end to the captive breeding program, CEO Joel Manby came out with a statement that shocked everyone. Basically. The decision to stop breeding wasn't for the welfare of the animals but because of money.

    "We understand some customers are upset and you may feel betrayed, but in a simple way, the data and trends showed it was either a SeaWorld without whales or a world without SeaWorld, we are an organization that needs to have cash flow to [succeed] and unfortunately, the trends were not in our favor."- https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-breeding-ban-reason-1702760044.html

     
     If SeaWorld was interested in the welfare of their animals they would have allowed them to be sent to sea sanctuaries. SeaWorld has also claimed that putting captive-bred Orcas in the wild would be even worse than dropping them in the middle of the ocean. 

     SeaWorld doesn't care about their animals. 

   

Their Story; Shamu.

Picture from www.orcahome.de

      I am starting a series here called "Their Story;" I will be sharing with you the tragic story of every whale that has been captured and forced to perform for many places including SeaWorld. I wanted to start this series off with the original Shamu, she started a sickening trend in the entertainment industry and her story, as well as the others, needs to be shared. 

     My name is Shamu, nobody knows when I was born, only when I died. I was captured in Puget Sound, Washington in October of 1965. Very soon after I was captured I was sent to a Seattle Public Aquarium where I met Namu, Namu and I didn't get along very well so they sold me to SeaWorld San Diego in December 1965. I was forced to perform every day for 7 years before I got to retire. 

     I was retired for bad behavior. I bit on the legs and hips of one of the employees because I wasn't used to my trainer not wearing a wet suit. I attacked people in the past as well because they weren't wearing wet suits and that confused me. I showed a lot of erratic behavior during shows and they didn't know I was sick. Five months after I was retired as a performer I passed away in August 1971. 

www.shamudictionary.tumblr.com

www.fineartamerica.com

Rest In Peace Shamu

5 Facts You Want/Need To Know about the Orca;

imgur.com

     The Orcinus Orca whale is one of the most majestic creatures in all of the sea. Education about Orcas is my number one priority, I believe in the safety and conservation of these animals so here's a few facts that you want/need to know about these beautiful marine mammals. 

     1. Orca whales will live up to 50-80 years in the ocean, females lasting 20 years longer than males.

          - 1B. Orcas in captivity very rarely make it past 20 years old. 

     2. Orcas are known as the "Killer Whale" because they are at the very top of the food chain being an apex predator. 

          - 2B. Orcas are not hunted by any other mammal besides humans. 

               - 2C. Orcas are not truly killer, there has never been a record of an Orca killing a human in the wild. 

     3. Orcas use "echolocation" to prey on food and to navigate the large abyss. 

          - Echolocation: A psychological process for locating distant or invisible objects using sound waves reflected back to the emitter. - www.merriam-webster.com

     

     4. Orcas are part of the dolphin family. 

          - 4B. In rare instances, an Orca can mate with a Bottlenose Dolphin and give birth to a hybrid dolphin known as a Wholphin. 

     5. Orcas live in pods, each pod has its own unique sound and ways to communicate. 

          - 5B. Pods will sometimes work together forcing much fish into one area and take turns feeding. 

               -5C. Pods consist of 5-30 whales, some even combining to over 100. 

                    - 5D. Pods establish hierarchies and are always led by females. 

#OrcaWeek

     July 18-22 is Orca Week. This week is dedicated to all the whales being held in captivity at SeaWorld and other Seaquariums around the world. I thought this week would be the perfect time to launch this blog "over-whale-ming." This blog is dedicated to Tilikum, one of SeaWorld's captive whales. 

     I will cover topics ranging from SeaWorld to the documentary Blackfish and beyond. I am very passionate about marine life in general so occasionally you may find posts about other marine life or marine life-based subjects. I am so happy to be starting up this project, I hope I can make a difference in at least one whale's life. 

     The above picture is a formation of names I have compiled from lists of Orcas who are currently being held in or have deceased in captivity. Typing these names into the generator was overwhelming. Some of these whales haven't seen their pods in years, some have passed away in brutal ways and some have no clue that there is a whole other world waiting for them. These lovely creatures don't belong in a concrete bathtub. Please help them. 

Links that could help these whales get back home; at least into Sea Sanctuaries: 

• Pledge to not attend Marine parks; http://www.seaworldslaves.com/#!takethepledge/d6mzt
• Urge SeaWorld to send Orcas to Sea Sanctuaries;  https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2945 
• Watch the documentary "Blackfish" on Netflix and get educated; https://www.netflix.com/search/blackfi?jbv=70267802&jbp=0&jbr=0