Orca Whales are a highly social species of aquatic mammal. In the wild, orcas live, on average, 50 to 60 years, although some have lived to be over 100 years old. However, in captivity, orcas only live 15 years, on average.

Why Captivity Kills

In the wild, an orca whale can travel over 100 miles a day, and dive around 200 feet deep. The largest tank where captive orcas are held is just 180 feet long and 90 feet wide, with a depth of up to 36 feet. In comparison to the ocean, that tank is like a bathtub to an orca.

Bathtub Sized Tanks

A whale in the ocean

Six whales in captivity

The following video is of Lolita, an orca whale living in the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita was taken from the ocean in 1970, and is currently the oldest known whale in captivity. Look at the size of her compared to the size of her tank.

Lolita

Health Reasons

A Dorsal fin is the fin on the back of the whale. In the wild, only 1% of male orcas suffer from Dorsal fin collapse. However, 100% of male orcas in captivity has collapsed Dorsal fins

Killer Whales?

Orcas are often called by another name: Killer Whales. However, there are no documented cases of wild orcas killing humans. But, since the 1980's, there have been four documented cases of orca whales killing their trainers, and countless other injuries to trainers.

Tilikum, a whale that has killed 2 people

Boredom

Orcas in the wild have lots of interaction with other whales. They also have to hunt, and take care of their family. Without  these things, whales become extremely bored. They begin swimming laps around the tank or "logging", which means resting on the bottom of the pool.

Social Problems

In the wild, orca whales are very social animals, but they choose which pod of whales they want to live with. In captivity, they are forced to live with whales they may not get along with or can not communicate with. This leads to fights and loneliness.

A pod of wild whales