Jenna's little "Marine" World

In order to get their messages going fourth, extremists, will use any form of propaganda in online videos, my space sites, computer-made images and so on to target their own audiences in which, many of them are children between the ages of 8-14 who have yet to know so much about cetaceans such as orcas, belugas and dolphins by learning about them captivity. These are some of the Myths, extremists will say in order to seek more followers.

Myth #1:Trainers know very little about wildlife or wild animals.

Reality: Believe it or now, trainers know so much about the animals that they work with from not only their biology, anatomy, and behavior(which it is updated many times throughout the years) but also, what extremists do NOT know about marine mammal trainers is that these people also know the animals so well from working with them for many years, that they have got to know their personalities, current backgrounds, and hierarchy roles in their own society. Trainers are not paid a lot, because much of the money that goes into a zoological marine park or aquarium goes to the daily needs that the animals depend on in captivity such as in veterinary care, restaurant-quality fish, enrichment and conservation research. Trainers do NOT just train animals to perform the behaviors that is commanded(they do not force them to do so in any way) but, they also observe them on all daily routines and record what the animals are up to and how they are interacting with other tank mates. as well. Trainers are also happy to answer any questions that guests or camp participants may have on the animals the trainers look out for everyday on a daily routine. Some trainers even answer emailed questions that internet goers may ask about the cetaceans in their care such as in how they might train them or what do they observe in the animals and even updates on what they may be up to now. In this case, trainers have the most busiest but risky careers in a zoological field.

Myth #2: Many captive dolphins and whales have nothing at all as far as toys, rocks, plants etc. Their lives are filled with boredom and sadness.

 
Reality: Many Captive cetaceans do have enrichment that can keep them distracted from human distraction or sometimes from other animals in their tank if they experience a bad day with them. Trainers often provide them with their favorite toys that they like to play with and behind the glass or above the bottom of the pools, they enjoy interacting with human guests. Sumar, an orca at SeaWorld is an example of an orca with an enrichment. His favorite toy is a waffle in which he enjoys playing with and is often very protective of. If another orca tries to take away his beloved waffle, then can experience an unwanted behavior but cannot be punished for. The Enrichment also improves behavior needed for future shows or training sessions. However in all cases, they enjoy they toys they like to play with before, between, and after shows.

Myth #3: Lolita is alone between shows and have nothing to do

Reality: Despite being the only orca at the Miami Seaquarium, Lolita(Tokitae) is not alone or neglected at all. Believe it or now, she has three dolphin companions whom she share her small stadium pool with and has the strong affection for her trainers. Lolita also interacts with human guests who view her from her tank walls and even has several toys that she enjoys playing with in between shows. So it sounds like while she has company in between shows, Lolita also has some toys that she likes to play with as well.

Myth #4: Orcas and other captive cetaceans are forced to live in little tanks that are so small for them that they can only do is swim in little circles.

 Reality: Some tanks are small, but they are sure not the size of little pet fish bowls we would see everyday at a pet shop. Most cetacean tanks are about the size of three Olympic-size swimming pools, which means they would be able to have plenty of space to move around their exhibits and they often mimic their natural habitat(Even though these exhibits may be very different from the ocean but expect they would not have to face the serious dangers of the ocean such as predators, pollution, starvation and global warming). Some cetaceans are kept in large sea pens that are mainly located at either zoological parks or at marine mammal research centers in which, they are their natural habitat because they are located at the ocean areas where the centers are. Take Shamu Stadium at SeaWorld San Diego for example, at 36 feet deep, 180 feet long, 90 feet wide, with the water volume of approximately 7 million gallons, the stadium is considered the one of the largest man-made killer whale habitats in the world with a water temperature of about 55 degrees. So it seems like these animals don't live in the fish-bowl sized tanks that extremists think.

You can learn more about the requirements for exhibit sizes for marine mammals in the "Marine Mammal Law" page under "Animal Welfare Act"

Myth #5: Many captive orcas have died simply because of life in captivity and they would live much longer in the wild.

 Reality: Yes like in nature, animals including cetaceans do die in zoological parks, NOT because of captivity, but from health conditions that can also be harm to them in the wild as well even though they can be treated for them with several different medications. The real reason behind the deaths of Nootka V* and Kandu VII's* calves was NOT from life in captivity, but the genetic conditions and physical weaknesses they inherited from their parents' pre-existing medical conditions that they had for several years themselves and the caretakers tried everything they could to keep those calves alive as possible but however, they were dealing with very weaker calves to start with. Just remember, more animals die out in the wild from the dangers they can face in their wild environments than life in the care of man. For example, the average lifespan for a bottlenose dolphin is usually around 20-25 years in the wild with the maximum being 30 years. They may live longer in zoological care likely because of the lack of predators in their man-made environments with the average being around 35-40 years with the maximum being 50 years or maybe more.

Myth #6: Animals go after their trainers because they want revenge from those who captured them and sperated them from their families

Reality: Like all wild animals, captive animals still have wild instincts in them and only %8 of all animal attacks in zoological parks were made by orcas or other captive cetaceans which is not that much at all because they have learned how to trust humans but can become dominant anytime as they please. Killer whale attacks on trainers are a form of showing natural dominance and unwanted behavior combined all together. Some attacks were so bittersweet that people still remember them to this day. As a result the parks may have to change their animal interaction program/show policies on all daily bases for several months to insure that another attack would not occur again. Most attacks may often occur when animals can become to playful/mischievous towards their handlers accidentally during not just shows, but also during daily training routines and medical procedures when the animals feel that they are not in the mood or just want to be with another trainer/tank mate. They are still left unpunished and are can rejoin their tank mates in shows in just a mater of a few days after the incident.

Myth #7: Food controls captive ceteceans. No show, No food, is often how many places work.

 Reality: Food dose NOT control an animal's behavior in captivity. Instead, the only way to insure the suitable needs for a captive marine mammal weather if it is in a show or training session of any kind is the enrichment and years of trust that it has for its handlers. Captive marine mammals are given the same amount of food before, in between and after shows/training sessions regardless of what behaviors they may present or show to their handlers. Extremists don't know about the training term reinforcement in which it is anything that the animal likes such as fish, or a rub-down-given when an animal completes an approximation or behavior successfully. It is almost impossible to control any animal, even a domesticated dog with food, it just can not work that way.

Myth #8: Orcas are forced to do stupid and unnatural tricks, such as rocket ride

 Reality: You can't for a 5,000 pound killer whale to perform in front of over 2,000 people everyday. Shows only take up 10% of an average captive cetacean's life and they are allowed to skip shows if they need to regardless of their own health. They don't do the same behavior all the time, they also learn new behaviors which are often performed in shows if the behaviors are successful enough to do so. These so-called "Tricks" are suppose to mimic some of the behaviors that wild cetaceans would present everyday in hunting, or in a playful nature. Extremists claim that an orca would never beach itself in wild, but yet there are dozens of images of them doing so in order to hunt down seals, penguins, and sea lions in off the coasts of South America and South Africa. Back to training of orcas in captivity, the term signal is when pairing a behavior with a word, touch, or hand cue that the animal learns to associate with that specific behavior, also know as a discriminative stimulus. As easy as it may look, training a killer whale or any marine mammal takes many years of training, and trust from their human handlers.

Myth #9: Hugo* killed Himself with hitting his head in the wall because he could not take with being in captivity for too long.

Reality: Hugo's* death was actually a combination of natural dominance, unwanted behavior and an accident all combined together to make it look like as if it Hugo* took his own life. Cetaceans, not even captive specimens commit suicide, his bittersweet death is still being exploited by hundreds of extremists just to seek sympathy for his presumed sister Lolita being the only orca at the Miami Seaquarium. Hugo* was a very tough orca to work with that like with Orkid and Kasatka at SeaWorld San Diego, only the most experience trainers would be allowed to work with him. There had been some cases where a wild dolphin has been known to have accidentally hit their heads on rock formations, or caused by aggression from other animals from different pods.  As much as it may look from description, whales do not commit suicide for any reason.

Myth #10: Lolita is getting major support for her freedom to the ocean from some major Hollywood heavy hitters.

Reality: As much Support as Lolita would get from these huge names in Hollywood, Free Lolita Activist only want to seek celebrity support for their political campaigns to release Lolita to her ancestral home only to glamorize their campaign messages to mainly children who endorse these celebrities so much that they would do anything to be like them and by endorsing these anti-orca captivity campaigns would cause them to force their friends, neighbors, classmates, teachers, or relatives to do the same thing and to "not visit these zoos and aquariums" that house cetacean collections. These children should have the right to know that they could learn from the people who work with marine mammals in zoological parks and they if they visit these parks, they can feel free to ask questions to trainers or members of the educational department about how the animals are cared for, their anatomy, biology, social structures, and how the trainers train them and so on and they would learn better about the animals they would encounter and not having to go around the internet or around town to spread anti-captivity propaganda around as if they were causing problems to their own community.