Their Story; Kasatka.

Picture from www.seaworldcares.com

     My name is Kasatka, I was born in 1976 and captured off the coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978, with my pod-mate Katina. I lived in SeaWorld San Diego with Katina from 1976 to 1984 until we were separated and she was shipped to SeaWorld Orlando. I have been imprisoned in SeaWorld San Diego for four decades (and shipped between the other SeaWorld parks 14 times in 8 years) and am forced to perform upwards of eight shows a day. I have been known to show aggression toward my trainers. In 1993 I tried to bite my trainer Ken Peters and again in 1999. On November 30, 2006, I grabbed Ken Peters again and dragged him underwater twice. He sustained minor injuries. 

     I have been bred multiple times since living in SeaWorld and I have given birth to 4 calves. I am a grandmother or great-grandmother to eight other SeaWorld orcas. My first calf was Takara, she was born on July 9, 1991. Her mating partner (also her father) Kotar died when Takara was only 3 years old after a pool gate closed on his head and fractured his skull. In the wild mothers and their calves live together for their life, Takara and I were separated when she was 12 years old. In 2001 I gave birth to Nakai. Nakai was the first orca to be bred with Tilikum's sperm. I tried to protect him but Nakai was kept in a small concrete tank with incompatible orcas. In 2012 Nakai lost a chunk of his jaw after being attacked by other orcas in the tank. On December 21, 2004, I gave birth to my third calf Kalia after mating with Keet. Lastly, on Valentine's Day 2013, I gave birth to Makani after being inseminated with Kshamenk who lives alone in Argentina at Mundo Marino. 

     In 2008 I was diagnosed with pneumonia but still, was inseminated in 2011 with my fourth calf. I suffered endlessly with pneumonia until my euthanization on August 15, 2017. I was the third orca and the sixth marine mammal to die at one of the parks in that year.

Rest In Peace Kasatka

History Of Cetacean Captivity

     Since Blackfish came out in 2013 there has been a lot of backlash toward Seaworld (and rightfully so.) But cetacean captivity goes way beyond Seaworld and sometimes I think we can forget that. There are other marine parks all around the world exploiting these creatures for human entertainment. We are going to take a deeper look at the history of cetacean captivity, how it started and why. To further understand how to help empty the tanks, maybe we need to understand history.

     Cetacean captivity has been around far longer than any marine park will admit. In order to admit to this secret, these parks would be discrediting themselves, hiding the violent acts behind their past. Capturing cetaceans started all the way back in the 1860s and 70's when beluga whales and dolphins were captured to be shipped to marine parks across the US and Europe. Marine Studios, now known as Marineland Of Florida was the first park to house a captive bottlenose dolphin in 1974. This dolphin was the first captive-born ever.

     The 1960s is when whaling blew up as there were little laws protecting the capture of wild marine life. Between 1970 and 1971 ten orcas were captured off the coast of Puget Sound, Washington state. Five of these captured whales were sent to Seaworld, one (Lolita) was sent to Miami seaquarium and the rest were sent off to various parks around the states. All the captives besides Lolita died prematurely. For 15 years after, 307 whales were captured, 13 died during the capture process and 55 were sent to aquariums.

     In 1969 the Taiji dolphin drives also began. These dolphins are wrangled into a small cove where the best looking ones are captured and sent to marine parks while the others are brutally murdered for food. However, it is now illegal to send wild-caught dolphins into the U.S.

     In the mid-1970s people began questioning the ethics behind the captive industry. In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was set in place as an effort to protect animals from the live capture industry. But in 1994 the industry found a way around this law stating that if the captured is used for education or conservation purposes then they can breed without legal repercussions.

     In 1976 Washington state banned the capture of wild orcas within their state. However, Seaworld pioneers the captive and captive breeding industry, they opposed this legislation in Washington state and made it once again, internationally legal to capture whales and sell them into captivity. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species can regulate the trade of cetaceans but most cetaceans being captured are not on the "endangered species" list, their trade can not and will not be controlled.

     In 1992 the federal government blocked the trade of Taiji dolphins from being sent to Six Flags Discovery Park. In 1993, three Pacific White-Sided dolphins where captured off the coast of California and this capture set off a lot of controversy making these three dolphins the last US caught captives. This leads now into the problem of the captive breeding industry. However, in other parts of the world the capture and captivity industry is booming and marine parks are looking to expand outside of the US where people are less likely to care about marine captivity.

Article about Seaworlds opposition on legislature
Source for timeline

Orca Facts;

     Orcas are easily the most magical creature of the sea, there is so much we can learn about Orcas and before I begin my new monthly posts "Lost Freedom" I want everyone to understand fully what Orcas are, how they live and their way of life when free in the sea.

Basics. 
       Orcas are often called Killer Whales they get this name from being the top apex predator of the sea. However "Killer Whales" are actually part of the dolphin family and get their name from the fisherman who witnessed them kill whales larger than they are. Orcas have never been documented to hurt a human being in the wild. Orcas are known for their large dorsal fin and black-and-white coloring.

Habitat.
     The orca has a wide range of living spaces, they live in oceans close to coastal countries. Orcas will live in any climate from the equator all the way to the poles. The orca pod will never stay in the same area very long so it is very hard to document their movements. An orca can swim up to 33mph and travel 99 miles in a day.

Behavior. 
     Orcas live in pods, they are very social animals, most pods have up to 40 members. There are two different types of pods. The resident pod and the transient pods. Resident pods are less aggressive and like to fish. While transient pods are aggressive and work together in groups to take down large prey. Members of the pod will also help take care of the young, often females will help the mother orca care for her calf. Orcas use echolocation (location of objects reflected by sound) to talk among themselves.

Diet. 
     The orca is at the top of the predatory chain so they will prey on anything under them. Orcas will mostly feed on sea birds, squid, octopus, sea turtles, sharks, stingrays, seal, sea lions, and fish. The only exception is the river dolphins and manatees. The orca may beach itself on land to catch a seal or use techniques in big groups to catch prey. Orcas are actually very picky eaters and once their pod decides what they eat as a family they won't switch their diet.

Offspring.
     A female orca will give birth every three to ten years to one calf at a time. The pregnancy of a female orca will last around 17 months and an orca calf is born at about 8 feet and around 353 pounds. Calves will nurse for 5 to 10 seconds multiple times in an hour. Orcas will live for 50-100 years.

Sleep.
     Orcas have to remain conscious of sleep, unlike humans. The orca does not breathe automatically so they need to make the conscious decision to breathe. If an orca were to sleep like a human they would suffocate and drown because they are not present to make the choice. Orcas will only allow one part of their brain to sleep at a time, while the other half stays awake to breathe. They will only close one eye when they sleep. When an orca is asleep they will swim very slow and very close to the surface.

Threats. 
     Orcas face many threats such as fishing net entanglement, encounters with toxic waste, pollution ingestion, and boat collisions. In parts of the world, the orca is still endangered of whaling where they will be targeted to be killed for food or captured for captivity.

Illness and death. 
     The lifespan of an orca is dictated on a few factors, one being habitat. If the orca is living in a highly-populated area then they can be struck by boats, ingest pollution, be separated from their pods which leads to stress and essentially death. Their diet is another factor, are they eating healthy or contaminated food, and is the food an abundant source for them or is it too sparse leading them to malnutrition? The level of endangerment is another factor in orca deaths. If the pod is sparse and has fewer males to mate with, that can cause the eventual death of the pod. Whaling activities is another large reason for orca deaths as they are often killed for food or sold to captivity where they die sooner than expected. It is very rarely seen that an orca will die of illness in the wild unless it is genetic.

Conservation status.
      The orca population is unknown.