Animalspeak: Blackfish may spell the end of captivity for orcas

A man in his late 20s sat still in the empty theater, staring at the empty screen. The film documentary Blackfish had ended some 10 minutes earlier. I approached him to ask if everything was okay.

“I can’t seem to move on,” Jeff Diaz says. “The documentary really disturbed me. I didn’t know horrible things were happening to the whales and dolphins in the ocean parks,” he muttered, admitting that he was in tears for most of the movie.

Diaz was not the only one feeling this way. Outside, students and other viewers of the film had similar reactions. Many admitted that the movie was “upsetting” and “depressing”. Others were angry at the cruelty that the marine mammals are subjected to in the captivity industry.
    
"Blackfish" is a documentary that investigates the treatment of captive orcas or killer whales in Seaworld in Orlando, Florida. It also shows how captivity triggers uncontrollable and aggressive behavior.
 
The documentary, which was shown at the UP Film Center on Aug. 28, drew in a crowd of about 1,000 people for the afternoon and evening shows.

The free screening was jointly organized by the UP Department of Journalism and Earth Island Institute.

In the movie, filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite probes the killing of animal trainer Dawn Brancheau by Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity. Tilikum was taken from his home waters in Iceland and separated from his family at the age of two. Now more than 30 years old, he weighs 12,500 lbs and measures 22 feet in length.
 
Cowperthwaite was able to obtain graphic footage of the violent captures and viewers cringe at the sight of baby whales forcibly taken from their mothers. Particularly distressing are the vocalizations that both mothers and babies make when separated from each other.

The young cetaceans are then kept in tanks where space is limited as they swim around all day. In the case of Tilikum, he was even attacked and bullied by female orcas in the same tank.

In the wild, orcas stay with their families all their life and swim up to 100 miles a day. They eat sharks, squids, sea lions, octopus, baleen whales, dolphins and more than a hundred species of fish. Scientists have counted about 140 different species of fish that make up the orca diet.

The realization that captivity does not do justice to this highly-intelligent mammal led several American performers to cancel their scheduled acts at Seaworld early this year. Many had to do so due to fan pressure.

At least 13 celebrities, among them Ewan McGregor, Russell Brand, Matt Damon, Josh Groban, have spoken out against Seaworld and the captivity industry.

As a result of the screenings, Seaworld Orlando suffered losses worth 6.1 million dollars or 1% of the revenues. According to the Seaworld Entertainment financial report for the second quarter of 2014, “during the first half of 2014, the company generated revenue of $617.4 million, a decrease of $32.5 million or 5% compared to the same period in 2013”.

In a blog she wrote for CNN.com, Cowperthwaite reveals her hopes for captive whales: she wants them to retire from daily performances and just live like orcas in a sea sanctuary where their health and needs can still be monitored. The captive whales have lost their hunting skills and years of captivity have taken their toll on their physical and mental health.

It has actually been done before. Keiko, the orca from the 1993 hit movie "Free Willy", was released back in his native waters in Iceland in 2000. Keiko lived in captivity for more than 20 years until producers of the movie received at least 500,000 calls and letters from children, concerned citizens and environmentalists all demanding that the whale be set free.

Keiko eventually died from pneumonia in the fjords of Norway a few years after his release.  

Although the Keiko project cost millions of dollars, the producers believe it was all worth it. Keiko suffered from multiple health problems when he was living in captivity.

So can Tilikum and other performing orcas be released back into the wild? Keiko proved that it can be done. With help from the public, the money was raised for his release and the rest is history.

So is this the beginning of the end for the captivity industry? I certainly hope so. A special formation in the brain of whales has led scientists to believe that these marine mammals are more emotionally evolved than humans. And "Blackfish" gives much evidence of this.  — JDS, GMA News