Guide to my Orca Series

Two orcas swimming with mountains in the background.
Image courtesy of Pixabay on Pexels (CC0)

Here is a guide to my Series on Orcas:

 

Orcas swimming with sunsetFor the Love of Orcas: Introduction to the series, resources, and an overview of killer whales.

 

 

 

Orca performance at SeaWorld Orlando

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Truths Revealed: Introduction to Orca captivity and marine amusement parks, as well as the resources I used.

 

 

 

Baby orca and mother at Marineland Antibes

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Family Destruction: This article covers how captivity destroys the family structures of orca families, especially with mother-calf separations.

 

 

 

"Orkid" at SeaWorld San Diego

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Orca Health: The overall health of orcas living in captivity and how their small habitats contribute to health problems.

 

 

 

Hugo and Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium in the early 1970s.

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Hugo and Lolita: This article features the stories of two orcas at the Miami Seaquarium, Hugo (deceased) and Lolita. Lolita has been the lone orca at this marine amusement park for years, and many call for her retirement.

 

 

Kiska, a lone orca swimming in a tank with people watching through a glass window, at Marineland. Canada, 2011

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Kiska and Kshamenk: The story of two other lonely orcas. Kiska resides as the sole orca at Marineland Niagara Falls. Kshamenk lives as the lone orca at Mundo Marino in Argentina.

 

 

 

A baby orca with two adults, jumping out of a pool during a performance.

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Wild Captures: This article tells the history of whale captures for the purpose of captivity, laws and regulations regarding captures, and how the marine amusement park model grew.

 

 

 

Two orca swimming in an aquarium tank.The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Around the World: The marine amusement park may be changing on the western side of the world, but on the eastern side it is a growing industry.

 

 

 

Animal trainer riding an orca at the Sea World attraction in Orlando, Florida.

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, SeaWorld Then: SeaWorld’s history of capture, captivity, the Shamu brand, breeding, exploitation of orcas, and trainer incidents and deaths.

 

 

 

Orca performance at SeaWorld San Diego, taken from the top area of the arena.

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, SeaWorld Today: SeaWorld’s evolution since the previous article, in the last decade, and what the park is doing today to improve its conservation efforts, orca captivity, and their future potential.

 

 

 

Orca swimming inside of a lightbulb

The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, Final Thoughts: My final thoughts on the issues of captivity, SeaWorld and marine amusement parks, Morgan the Orca, and the future.

 

 

 

An orca through round viewing glass at the Detroit Zoo. The Whale Sanctuary Project: Overview of The Whale Sanctuary Project, which will provide retired captive cetaceans a place to live under human care, in a more natural environment. This will hopefully end the argument of marine amusement parks that captive cetaceans are better off remaining captive.

 

 

Keiko the orca at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.What They Learned From Keiko, the Star of Free Willy: An overview of Keiko’s story, a captive orca who went from sick and likely to die to movie star to free orca swimming in the open ocean.

 

 

 

Image of Lolita/Tokitae jumping out of the water at the Miami Seaquarium.

Update on Tokitae/Lolita: Article updating the status of Tokitae/Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium.

 

 

 

 

Kiska swimming in her tank, blue water surrounding her. Kiska Died Alone: Sadly, Kiska at Marineland Canada/Niagara Falls died in March 2023. She was the only orca at the park and lived a sad and lonely life.