The killer whale keeps hitting the pool wall, and you say it's just playing?

Recently, at the Zhuhai Chimelong Spaceship, a tourist recorded a killer whale hitting the acrylic pool wall repeatedly in just 30 seconds . The child in the video said "it will break", but when the video recorder asked the staff, the staff said: The animal is playing.

The 4th second is a head strike, and the 18th second is a flank strike｜Sina Weibo: @Whale Conservation Alliance Assistant

But this is not play, nor is it a behavior that makes animals happy. On the contrary, as @Whale Conservation Alliance Assistant said, this is more like self-harm when animals deal with pain, anger, depression, and frustration . This behavior is not uncommon among captive killer whales. Hugo, a killer whale who previously lived in the Miami Seaquarium, frequently hit the pool walls and fences, and even broke an observation window. It eventually died of intracranial congestion and ruptured cerebral aneurysm, which was also likely caused by long-term hitting the pool walls.

Being kept in a small pool is tantamount to a long murder for killer whales.

Hugo, who frequently hit the pool wall, only lived to be 15 years old. This is a crane lifting the dead Hugo out of the aquarium｜Miami Seaquarium

Confining killer whales in small pools

A modern zoo that keeps animals in captivity needs to create an environment that mimics the animals' natural habitat as much as possible, meet the animals' physiological and psychological needs , and allow the animals to live healthily and exhibit natural behaviors. However, this basic requirement is completely contradictory to keeping killer whales in captivity:

1. The living environment of killer whales is the vast ocean, with reefs, beaches, and various marine plants and animals. Killer whales can have rich interactions with the changing environment. However, the breeding pools and performance pools we have seen are mostly bare pools , with no habitat creation and little environmental enrichment.

2. In the wild, killer whales can swim hundreds of kilometers a day and dive hundreds of meters deep. Such a large space requirement is difficult to meet in an oceanarium - even in a pool that meets strict standards, the captive environment is usually only one millionth the size of its natural habitat .

3. Killer whales are social animals with complex social structures and stable family relationships . It is difficult for an oceanarium to meet their social and other psychological needs.

The environment is difficult to meet the needs, and some oceanariums also require killer whales to perform . Under the double pressure, the stress level of killer whales in oceanariums is generally high, which directly leads to their worrying health . Many captive killer whales have skin diseases and other infection symptoms.

In the video, the dorsal fin of the killer whale in Chimelong was severely collapsed . This is very common in captive killer whales, but the incidence in the wild is less than 1%. Although there is no definite conclusion yet, researchers speculate that this may be related to factors such as stress caused by changes in eating habits, excessive temperatures, changes in activity and behavior.

The dorsal fin of this killer whale in Changlong collapsed in the video

The life span of captive killer whales is usually much shorter than that of killer whales in the wild. Most killer whales in the wild live between 40 and 60 years old, and some can live up to 80 years old; but the life span of captive killer whales is mostly only in their 20s . Weibo user @萌萌哒的杀鲸Daphne sorted out the data of captive killer whales in Japan. Most of these killer whales were young when they were captured, and their average life span in the aquarium was only 6 years. Only 8% of captive killer whales survived in the aquarium for more than 20 years.

Because their psychological needs cannot be met, captive killer whales often show abnormal aggression . In 1989, Kandu V, a killer whale at San Diego SeaWorld, attacked another killer whale, Corky, which resulted in a ruptured artery. Kandu eventually bled to death as the audience watched.

Cases of killer whales attacking keepers and spectators are not uncommon, and the extreme result of the development of aggression is murder. Although killer whales are also known as "killer whales" and are indeed beasts of the sea, there has never been a single case of a killer whale attacking a human to death in the wild - all murders have occurred in zoos and aquariums . Since 1991, a total of two killer whales have attacked and killed humans, both of which were captive killer whales in aquariums.

Tilikum was one of the killer whales. He spent 33 long years in the zoo, killed three people, and eventually died of a lung infection. The other one was Keto, a killer whale in the Parque del Loro in the Canary Islands, Spain. On Christmas Eve, he killed his trainer. | Milan Boers / flickr

Where do killer whales come from?

Captive killer whales harm not only the individual killer whales in captivity, but also the killer whale population in the wild.

Except for the babies born in captivity in recent years, Chimelong’s first nine killer whales were all captured from the wild in Russia’s Far East . The killer whales in Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, another institution in China that keeps killer whales in captivity, are also from Russia.

After the West Coast of the United States and Iceland banned the capture of killer whales, Russia became the only country in the world that still hunts captive killer whales for export . For the transient killer whales, which have a small family group, the capture of a few may affect the survival of the family. At present, the number of this transient killer whale population in the Far East is still unknown, and we cannot accurately assess the extent to which continued commercial whaling will have a negative impact on this population.

A mother killer whale with her calf in the wild, but once captured, killer whales need to be separated from their loved ones, leave their homes, and live alone in cement pools for the rest of their lives｜Christopher Michel / Wikimedia Commons

In the 1860s and 1970s, the west coast of the United States ushered in a large-scale commercial whaling craze, and whaling ships plundered about 40% of the southern resident killer whale population. Although these killer whales were able to take a short break after the ban was issued, such a small population could not face the huge survival pressure caused by the subsequent reduction in food, maritime traffic, pollution, etc. Today, this population has been listed as an endangered population by the United States and Canada.

When countries are banning captive killer whales

Killer whale captivity began in 1961. Two years later, the movie Flipper, which tells the story of dolphins, became a hit. The public flocked to the aquarium out of curiosity, and businesses also saw the huge business opportunities. At that time, at least 166 killer whales were captured on the west coast of the United States in the eastern North Atlantic alone (and many killer whales died during the wild capture process). By the 1970s, there were at least 36 aquariums in the UK alone that kept whales and dolphins in captivity. However, gradually, some people paid attention to the various problems of wild capture and captivity of whales and dolphins, and began to call for a ban on captive whales and dolphins and for the government to legislate to protect animal welfare.

In the early 1990s, the UK established the most stringent captive standards in the world at the time , requiring that the minimum diameter of the killer whale breeding pool should not be less than 15 meters and the depth should not be less than 12 meters. The volume of the pool for five killer whales must be greater than 12,000 cubic meters, and an additional 2,500 cubic meters must be added for each additional killer whale. The strict standards made it difficult for the oceanarium to meet the requirements, and the rapidly changing public opinion also made the venue renovation unprofitable.

The 1993 film Free Willy also drew public attention to the issue of captive cetaceans; after six years of sustained efforts, Willi's real self, Keiko, was released into the wild in 1999｜Wikimedia Commons

In 1993, the last whale and dolphin aquarium in the UK closed. Since then, more and more countries have stopped keeping whales and dolphins in captivity .

In 2013, the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a ban on captive whales and dolphins. But in the same year, Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom successively imported nine killer whales from Russia .

In 2016, the American aquarium SeaWorld announced the end of killer whale breeding and performances. In the same year, six killer whales entered Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park and Wuxi Changqiao Ocean Park. Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park even opened the curtain of killer whale performances in China in November 2018 under the name of "King Killer Whale Science Show".

Killer whale show at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. Killer whale stranding is often interpreted as a greeting to the audience, but this is actually their special hunting technique in the wild｜Qiuqiu

Currently, only seven countries in the world, namely China, Spain, the United States, Japan, France, Argentina and Russia, still keep killer whales in captivity ; moreover, only aquariums in China and Russia have been purchasing killer whales captured from the wild after 2010, totaling about 18.

Many countries have banned the captive breeding and performance of killer whales, or set extremely strict requirements for breeding conditions, making it almost impossible for aquariums to make profits from performances. But at the same time, the captive breeding and performance of killer whales in my country has quietly begun.

Killer whales and killer whale performances are often the focus of these venues' publicity | Oriental IC

In China, it is indeed legal to keep orcas in captivity or perform performances.

At present, there is no law in China that prohibits the captive keeping of whales and dolphins . As long as the captive keeping institution has the qualifications for captive keeping and properly handles the import, transportation, and breeding certificates, it can legally keep killer whales in the aquarium. As for performances, although the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued an "Opinion on Further Strengthening Zoo Management" in 2010, requiring the cessation of animal performances, it was not effectively implemented at the time and became a dead letter. Moreover, unlike zoos, domestic aquariums are managed by the Ministry of Agriculture instead of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and are not subject to this restriction.

Since it is impossible to restrict orca captivity through laws and regulations, the most powerful way to restrict orca captivity is public awareness . Fortunately, more and more people now understand the disadvantages of whale captivity and animal performances. Ten years ago, many people might have been excited about the opening of an oceanarium; but now, rejecting animal performances and paying attention to animal welfare and wildlife protection have become the consensus of more and more people.

If more people boycott, the captive breeding and performances of killer whales at the China Ocean Park may come to an end soon.

Even without whale and dolphin shows, aquariums can have a future

The essence of an oceanarium is also a kind of zoo. Although domestic commercial venues now overemphasize their entertainment function, the original intention of establishing a zoo should be protection, research and education .

In the autumn of 1930, members of the Chinese Science Society met in Qingdao. Cai Yuanpei and others proposed to build China's first oceanarium, the purpose of which was to study marine life. Without cetacean performances, future oceanariums may be able to use their technology and experience to provide support for the rescue of cetaceans and the artificial breeding of endangered cetaceans when there is scientific need (emphasis added) . The veterinarians of the Hong Kong Ocean Park are important members of the marine mammal rescue team. They have participated in the rescue of stranded cetaceans in the Pearl River Delta many times, and have been responsible for the autopsy and analysis of stranded dead cetaceans in Hong Kong for many years, accumulating very valuable data for the monitoring of wild cetacean populations in the Pearl River Estuary.

Hopefully breeding technology can be used to save endangered populations, rather than to breed more captive individuals | Chimelong

The introduction of new technologies will also bring hope for the captive breeding of whales and dolphins. The development of VR and AR technologies can allow visitors to have an immersive experience . We may be able to easily swim with humpback whales and watch killer whales peeking out from the gaps in the ice without disturbing the animals. These are scenes that cannot be seen in whale and dolphin performances. In 2017, the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco has begun to use AR technology to design the experience project "Arctic Explorer", which is very popular with tourists.

Some people believe that although there are disadvantages to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity, it can allow many people to come into contact with and get to know whales and dolphins, develop a love for them, and thus protect them. But in fact, conservation education is very lacking in these aquariums that keep whales and dolphins in captivity .

According to a survey by the China Whale Conservation Alliance, among the 24 whale and dolphin performances, only about 40% introduced some biological characteristics of whales and dolphins, and less than 30% mentioned the protection level of whales and dolphins. As for the survival of whales and dolphins in the wild and the threats they face, no venue mentioned it. What tourists are exposed to from the performances is just isolated behaviors that are stripped of their original ecology, and almost all of them are deliberately misinterpreted, which is not helpful at all to raise awareness of protection. Moreover, personal contact is not a necessary condition for generating love and willingness to protect . Many studies have shown that appropriate images, stories, etc. can also help to enhance the willingness to protect wild animals.

There are many cases of misinterpreting animal behavior in aquariums. For example, the "dolphin smile" is actually a visual effect caused by their bone structure. The white dolphin has a wound on its snout, but it still looks "smiling"｜23 China Whale Conservation Alliance

In aquariums that keep killer whales in captivity, killer whales are often the focus of their publicity to attract tourists. But are aquariums that keep killer whales in captivity good aquariums? Of course not, this instead exposes their lack of reverence for nature and life, and their lack of respect for science and animal welfare.

Even children can see that "it will break", so is the aquarium still deceiving itself?

Author: Birdman Taozhiyao

Editor: Calendar Girl, Mai Mai

Source of title image: Sina Weibo @Whale Conservation Alliance Assistant