HSUS SAYS DEATH AT SEA WORLD DEMONSTRATES HAZARDS OF KEEPING WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
WASHINGTON, DC (July 6, 1999) - The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization with over seven million members and constituents, says the discovery of a human body in a whale pool at Sea World in Orlando this morning demonstrates why whales should not be held in captivity.
"The fact that a Sea World patron was able to gain access to the whale pools after the park was closed demonstrates that Sea World does not provide enough security for whales and visitors alike and that Sea World's programs are not properly educating spectators about the wild nature of these five-ton animals," said Naomi Rose, Ph.D., marine mammal scientist for The HSUS and an expert on marine mammals in captivity.
"Early reports indicate that Sea World employees were aware that a man had been seen around the whale pools frequently in recent days. This should have been a warning sign," continued Rose. "Sea World and all marine parks should have security officers posted around the whale pools while the park is closed to prevent this kind of tragedy." A Sea World employee reportedly found the body of a 27-year-old male this morning. He was in the pool that held Sea World Orlando's only male orca of breeding age. The whale, Tillicum, weighs 11,000 pounds and was transferred to Sea World from a park in Canada after a trainer there was killed by Tillicum and two other orcas.
"The whale would have recognized that this man was not one of his trainers," concluded Rose. "Orcas are highly intelligent animals with a complicated social structure.
They are also large, strong, wild animals. Putting orcas in captivity creates an environment in which boredom is often the norm, and a reaction to a novel 'object' in the tank is to be expected. This important safety message is not communicated to Sea World's audiences, who are told that the animals are friendly and enjoy being around humans. This man obviously believed what he heard at Sea World."
Weeki-Watchee's Loss
Was Lolita's Gain:
A Visit with Laura Singer, Dolphin Girl
A Visit with Laura Singer, Dolphin Girl
pictures by Laura Singer
I was watching an episode of Dateline
(July 28, 1999) which offered an update on the "Free Willy"
star Keiko the Killer whale. The big question is: will he ever
be ready enough to release? You may recall the dedicated investments
of time and money to move the 20 year old bull from a small tank
in Mexico City to a large salt-water tank in Oregon, and then
to a sea pen in Iceland. If he proves unable to make the move
to freedom from there, he will be taken care of in his relative
dotage for the rest of his life.
A similar happier fate is being sought for Lolita the Killer whale who lives at Miami Seaquarium. Though her odds at repatriation are better than Keiko's, there are more obstacles between Lolita and freedom. Her owner has no reason or inclination to sell or give her up. She anchors Arthur Hertz's business and is, by most accounts, a very agreeable and sweet animal. (They're not all like that. See sidebar for a story of a whale gone mad: Tillikum the serial Killer whale, with two human deaths on his rap sheet.)
In May I attended a peaceful demonstration (report in June issue) outside the Miami Seaquarium, which consisted mostly of fans of the Free Lolita campaign. On the other side of the barricade were several police officers and one lone curious party: Laura Singer.
She was given a mixed reception by the demonstrators. She was a dolphin trainer, formerly a Seaquarium employee, One Of Them. Some thought she was there to "infiltrate" the group. (God knows what that would gain anyone. We were barely organized and mostly independent-acting.) I saw that she had pictures in an album of Lolita as a small calf, and could see in an instant that she was someone who was concerned with Lolita's well-being. Laura referred to Lolita as Toki, short for Tokitae, the name given her when she was first captured. Laura had no evil business agenda, she wasn't sent by her former boss on a chump's errand. She just wanted to make sure we knew what we were proposing for Lolita future. We wanted to make sure she knew what WE were proposing for Lolita's future.
There were surprising exchanges of information on both sides. Laura had been unaware that Lolita's family was likely to be still swimming around in Puget Sound after 30 years.
What happens is that we only know what we know. If I have never followed killer whales in the wild, watched their familles, and followed their feeding patterns than I don't know they do any of that. If I only know them in captivity, I know they eat from a bucket, eat cut fish, jump and splash and have droopy dorsal fins. That would be normal.
The Tokitae Foundation, dedicated to securing Lolita's freedom, discovered through some of Laura's old documents, that the Miami Seaquarium tank that Lolita and four white-sided dolphins occupy all year around may be 10 feet deep rather than 12, which is the legal minimum. With such information, Lolita could be sprung on a technicality. Laura revisited the Miami Seaquarium in July, and things looked different to her. Lolita is a full-grown adult, and years have passed, but the show is much the same.
I viewed the show just 7 days ago and it was a waste of a killer whale's time. I was there with 2 other trainers, both who had worked with her. A statement was made, Toki is sweet. No matter what she has been through, she is still kind and has a loving personality. We all left after the show. Happy to have been a part of such a wonderful animal and sad that it has come to this.
Laura Singer's career spans the short history of the display of captive marine mammals. A champion synchronized swimmer looking for a job in college (and thinking that the work at the Seaquarium would be similar to that of the Weeki Watchee mermaid shows) , Laura began working with the "Flipper" dolphins, animals used in the popular television show of the early 60's. She also worked for Ocean World in Fort Lauderdale for a year.
I became the first woman to do High Jump shows in the area. Couldn't do it at Seaquarium, they were too male dominated back then.
This policy to have only men trainers working with the Killer whales Lolita and Hugo at Miami Seaquarium meant that Laura's contact with Lolita, at least, was of a different nature.
I gave her the daily support and companionship, but not "training " on the formal level...food reward etc. I was involved in the baby-sitting of her. I gave her the kindness that the men didn't. I gave her the touch and support they didn't. That's why I swam with my animals and we had fun and they didn't back then. They fed and left. I stayed and petted her, talked to her, and calmed her. I spent hours just laying on the deck with an outstretched had and kind words with a soft touch. A formal trainer I was but, of the Dolphins.
Differences between dolphin and Killer whales would be apparent to anyone who sees them. The issues regarding proper zookeeping of marine mammals are usually lumped into one category, but obviously Lolita, even as a 6-year-old calf, was big. The personality differences also would be apparent to someone who works with both.
The difference in the whales and the dolphins is that the whale is afraid of nothing. You can introduce any prop to them and they just take it in their stride. The dolphins freak out and then you must slowly bring a new item to them. The whale seems to learn faster because they don t have the fear to hold them back. Both are wonderful.
The animals can be dangerous in the unnatural confines of a concrete tank. Hugo, captured with Lolita, was aggressive and didn't take well to captivity, so trainers avoided contact with him. He died after 12 years in captivity in 1980. Often, too their natural behaviors distill into peculiar habits.
Toki plays with a full wet suit as her toy. Maybe this was a similar situation: I had a Flipper that had a little boat, a small dingy, that was hers. To do a show we had to take it out. A diver tried to take it out one day as the story goes, during the Flipper days, and instead of walking back he swam back across the lagoon. Kathy, who was Flipper, waited until he was halfway across and then rammed him. She broke his ribs. They can be very possessive of "things." Another dolphin had a diving flipper. This was before the time of them floating so it would sink out of sight at the Flipper set. Soapy would just take that old flipper all around with him. Sometimes it was very embarrassing how he would go upside down with an erection and there was his flipper.
Industries evolve, public sentiment evolves, ethics evolve. What seemed an acceptable practice thirty years ago now seems at least antiquated, and a worst cruel. A campaign to save "Free Willy" star Keiko has turned its focus to other whales. In the wild they might have many years ahead of them, family, offspring, a life. A retirement unlike any other.
I think everyone that worked with her would vote for retirement if it didn't mean losing their job too. She has jumped enough, and splashed enough. As for Toki, I would quit and find another boss that would appreciate my years of service and the income I produce. Also I would like to see her 401K and on her plan for retirement! Too bad we can't find her an attorney to take on her case.
There is an emerging interest at major law schools including Rutgers, now offering courses in animal rights issues. Retirement is sort of a human concept, sometimes applied to draft horses and seeing-eye dogs who have outlived their line of work. Certainly Lolita's decades of service have earned her something. Lolita's former trainers were of mixed opinions on her future. Keep Lolita where she is until she dies? Retire her to a bigger tank closer to her birthplace? Retire her to a sea pen and give her the chance at freedom?
They were mixed as to what should or could be done. Like me, they didn't understand the options. I wasn't aware that her family was found and a seapen was available as well as food for life. We did agree on one thing, the show was a waste of time not doing any education. Just another Circus act.
Knowing Lolita's future rides on Keiko's success in Iceland, what are the behavioral obstacles for retirement?
I am sure that he will react like the Dolphins who are released, they tend to stay close to the food source although they do roam some. I feel he will stay close to his pen if given the chance to leave. Remember gating is a learned behavior. They will have to teach him to leave and return. It is not natural for them or dolphins to go through anything. In the wild if they go into anything, they could drown, like going into a cave. It isn't a natural event. We all like our comfort zone, food, protection, etc. He is no different. I don't perceive him bolting to join a herd. Only through time if ever.
Keiko is a different animal, male, taken from the wild at a much younger age, and from Iceland where less is known about him. Both Laura and I viewed the Dateline segment on his progress, and he seems to be mildly disinterested in hunting and feeding himself. It seemed to me that since they still hand feed him frozen fish, his taste for live fish hasn't developed, and so he has no desire to catch something he doesn't want to eat. Laura saw the same thing.
He is so conditioned to eating after that whistle, he needs to be fed live salmon and without the whistle.
The little animal Baby Dee was very young when caught. She
should have still been nursing. She was force fed to keep her alive and became used to eating in a stretcher and being force fed. I noticed it and decided to hand hold her, insert the fish, and push her away so she could get use to eating on her own and swallowing. Sounds weird, but it happened. She did OK after that. We don't realize what we do to condition animals or people to strange things. It is easy and inadvertent, but we have to stand back or have someone from the outside see our mistakes sometimes.
Simple problems and thoughtful, compassionate solutions... there's no shortage of good intention toward captive marine mammals like Lolita and Keiko, and no shortage of informed opinion. Consolidating these things to a good end is the task at hand, and with people like Laura Singer to take a stand for their well-being, we're one step closer to doing the right thing.