Blackfish

Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

The 2013 documentary Blackfish focuses on the performing orca Tilikum, and the dangers of keeping the species in captivity. The documentary features archive footage and interviews with ex Seaworld trainers, marine biologists, and in one case, a diver who was involved in the capture of orca calves off the coast of Washington state in the 1970s.

The film includes facts about the orca species in order for the viewer (who may not know a lot about them) to understand the atrocities captive orcas have had to be a part of. As a brief overview for the sake of this blog post:

• Orcas live in pods with their families their whole lives
• They are sexually mature at around 15 years of age, and mothers calve around once every five years until age 40
• The average lifespan for a wild bull orca is between 40-50 years, a wild female 80 years and upwards (the matriarch of J-pod off the coast of Washington is estimated to be 102 years old)
• “Resident” pods eat fish, while “transient” pods eat mammals such as baleen whales, seals, dolphins, and sometimes birds. One female is known to take on Great White Sharks for fun
• Each pod speaks a different dialect – when orca from different pods are placed together in captivity they cannot communicate with each other, and form their own dialect
• 100% of captive male orca will have a collapsed dorsal fin, less than 1% of wild males will suffer a collapsed fin
• Orca societies are matriarchal, meaning that it is a female-run species. Males are often shunned to the outside of the pod when moving, and have obviously have plenty of space to swim away from an attack
• Orca calves learn hunting behaviours from the rest of the pod as they grow
• Orca are spiritual creatures to Native American and First People of Canada, especially on the west coast, and it is from them that their nickname “blackfish” comes
• Four people have been killed by orca in captivity, and although there are some recorded attacks on people by wild orca, no one has been killed by one in the wild
• They are the largest member of the dolphin family, and are toothed whales
• Their most common nickname is “killer whale”
• Seaworld often breed their females too young (as young as 7 years old), and have often inbred orca, as well as creating a resident/transient hybrid – something that would never occur in the wild

Tilikum is the largest orca in captivity, measuring 6.9m long, weighing 12,000lbs, with 2.1m pectoral fins, and a 2.0 tall dorsal fin that is collapsed to his left side.

Tilikum was captured in his home waters of Iceland when he was two years old, and taken to Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, where he was housed with two adult females. Orcas live in matriarchal societies, and in captivity it is no different – Tilikum was bullied, chased, and raked by the two females, and was often kept in a darkened tank. To train the three orca for performing, they were fed when they performed behaviours correctly and had food withheld when they didn't. In 1991, marine biology student Keltie Byrne slipped and fell into the orca tank, where she was attacked by the three orca and killed; it took several hours for her body to be recovered from the whales. After this, Sealand was shut down and Tilkum moved to Seaworld Orlando, where he has remained ever since.

Tilikum has been involved in a further two deaths since his arrival at Seaworld Orlando. Daniel Dukes was found naked draped over Tilikum's back with his penis missing. It is unknown if Tilikum actually killed Dukes or whether he had drowned, but he had waited until the park closed and went into Tilikum's tank to have a swim. The most popularised death that Tilikum was involved in is that of Dawn Brancheau, a senior trainer at Seaworld, who was killed during a “Dine With Shamu” event. They moved him into the medical pen where he released her body. Dawn suffered many injuries in the attack, including drowning, scalping, a severed spinal cord, and her left arm detatched from her body, among many others. Tilikum was stopped from performing for around a year after the incident, and new regulations stemming from a court case means that the trainers are not allowed to perform “water work” with him (swimming with him, riding him, etc), and are not allowed to massage him by hand any more.

Tilikum is often kept separate from the other whales as he has been raked by them many times, but is often seen with his grandson Trua. Tilikum is the most successful sire in captivity – he has 21 offspring, 11 of which are still alive. However, the orca are bred via artificial insemination, which means Tilikum is masturbated by hand in order to gain a sperm sample.

Many of these points on Tilikum's life are raised and explored throughout the course of Blackfish, as well as the consequences of keeping these highly intelligent animals in captivity. It also includes the lies Seaworld tell the public, including the life span of the orca, as captive animals have a shorter lifespan than wild animals. Many members of staff are seen on hidden camera telling the public that orca lifespans are 30 years - “more than in the wild” - and that the orca live longer in captivity as “it must be because of the veterinary care they receive”.

The film includes footage of attacks upon the trainers, even by captive born orca, showing that it is not necessarily the trauma from being taken from the wild that could drive these animals to attack. Several attacks are shown, including a trainer being dragged and held underwater by Kasatka (the dominant female of Seaworld San Diego) – he escaped with a broken ankle; a trainer being dragged into the water by Orkid (another SWSD orca – the attack only stopped when another trainer opened the gate to Kasatka's pen, as she is the dominant orca, Orkid let the trainer go, and she escaped with a severely broken arm); a trainer riding on one orca's back as another jumps and lands on top of him; and footage of what happened in the “Dine with Shamu” event on the day Dawn died. Footage of Dawn's death is not featured, however, two 911 call recordings from the day are featured, as well as details from Dawn's autopsy report.

The use of eyewitness testimonies, especially regarding the death of Keltie Byrne, are emotive (the two eyewitnesses say that she screamed “I don't want to die!” as the orca attacked her), as is the account of the diver who helped capture orca calves (“I've been a part of a revolution and two changes of Presidents in Central and South America. I've seen some things that are hard to believe. But this was the worst thing that I've ever done, is hunt that whale.”). The use of ex-trainers and marine biologists hold validity to the claims that Seaworld and other aquariums and zoos that hold cetaceans do treat their animals badly. The finals scenes when the ex-trainers went orca watching in the wild was particularly moving.

This film is a must-watch for anyone who has an interest in sea life, the treatment of animals, and anyone who has been or is considering going to Seaworld, and the emotive footage and speech about how the orca are treated seems sure to change people's minds. There is no doubt that the trainers love the animals even if they are misled (“I know a lot about training animals, I don't know much about killer whales”). The film provides a good case to suggest that captivity is the driving factor behind the attacks on humans, and is very detrimental to both their physical and mental health.    

"If you were in a bathtub for 25 years, don't you think you'd get a little psychotic?"

Click here to watch the trailer.