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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQpGT1BgdX4&list=LLj214GubtynEfDseyy_z50Q&index=701

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Inside the killer whale matriarchy - Darren Croft

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The Salish Sea is one of the world's largest and biologically rich inland seas

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The Salish Sea's surface area is approximately 7000 square miles and is home to more then 8 million animals

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https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.guinnessworldrecords.com%2FImages%2Fkiller-whale-header_tcm25-576318.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.guinnessworldrecords.com%2Fnews%2F2019%2F6%2Fthe-animal-from-which-great-whites-flee-five-killer-records-held-by-orcas-576308&tbnid=7VLDSH-JZ3U35M&vet=12ahUKEwjSwKuLzKjuAhXCHTQIHeFMDGYQMygCegUIARDXAQ..i&docid=7yUWo7MTGpdRAM&w=1065&h=600&q=orca%20whale&hl=en&safe=active&ved=2ahUKEwjSwKuLzKjuAhXCHTQIHeFMDGYQMygCegUIARDXAQ

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/orcas-captivity-welfare/

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In January 2019, Kayla died. She was a 30-year-old killer whale living at SeaWorld Orlando. If she'd been living in the wild, she'd likely have lived into her 50s, and possibly as old as 80. Still, Kayla lived longer than any captive-born orca in history.

It's not clear what she died from (SeaWorld hasn't released the results of her necropsy, and by law is not required to), but her immediate cause of death may not tell us much anyway: Often orcas technically die of pneumonia or other opportunistic infections that take hold because the animal is already weak, shows a database of necropsy reports kept by the Orca Project Corp., a nonprofit organization made up of marine mammal experts that advocates against orcas in captivity.

Seventy orcas have been born in captivity around the world since 1977 (not counting another 30 that were stillborn or died in utero), according to records in two databases maintained by cetacean experts. Thirty-seven of them, including Kayla, are now dead. Only a handful of wild-caught orcas have lived past age 30. No captive-born orca yet has.

There are currently 59 orcas in captivity at sea parks and aquariums throughout the world. Some are wild-caught; some were born in captivity. A third of the world's captive orcas are in the United States, and all but one of those live at SeaWorld's three parks in Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio. Lolita, a 54-year-old orca who was captured in 1970 in the waters off Washington State, lives alone at the Miami Seaquarium, in a pool with an open-top roof that's less than twice the length of her body.

Another 10 wild-caught orcas are currently held in sea pens in the Russian far east while the government investigates their possible illegal capture. If they end up being sold to aquariums, likely in China, the global captive orca tally could jump to 69.

Whether it's humane to keep orcas in captivity is subject to vigorous debate. They are highly intelligent, social animals that are genetically built to live, migrate, and feed over great distances in the ocean. Orcas, whether wild-born or captive-bred, cannot thrive in captivity, says Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It's partly their sheer size. Orcas are massive animals that swim vast distances in the wild-40 miles a day on average-not just because they can, but because they need to, to forage for their varied diets and to exercise. They dive 100 to 500 feet, several times a day, every day.

"It's basic biology," Rose says. A captive-born orca that has never lived in the ocean still has the same innate drives, she says. "If you have evolved to move great distances to look for food and mates then you are adapted to that type of movement, whether you're a polar bear or an elephant or an orca," says Rose. "You put [orcas] in a box that is 150 feet long by 90 feet wide by 30 feet deep and you're basically turning them into a couch potato."

Rose explains that a primary indicator for whether a mammal will do well in captivity is how wide their range is in the wild. The broader their natural range, the less likely they are to thrive in confinement. This is the same reason some zoos have been phasing out elephant exhibits.

We can recreate terrestrial environments somewhat-like a savanna for example, she says-but we can't recreate an ocean. "Not one marine mammal is adapted to thrive in the world we've made for them in a concrete box," Rose says.

Those who study and work with captive dolphins (orcas are the world's biggest dolphin species) argue that it's not about space but about whether orcas are given enough enrichment and training to get adequate exercise and mental stimulation.

SIGNS OF SUFFERING

It's really difficult to prove what specifically shortens orcas' lifespans in pools, animal welfare specialists say. "The thing with captive orcas is that their health is largely shrouded in mystery," says Heather Rally, a marine mammal veterinarian at the PETA Foundation. Only people who are employed by a facility keeping orcas actually get close to them, and not much of that information is made public.

But it's clear, say welfare specialists, that captivity can compromise orcas' health. This is evident in killer whales' most vital body part: their teeth. A peer-reviewed 2017 study in the journal Archives of Oral Biology found that a quarter of all orcas in captivity in the U.S. have severe tooth damage. Seventy percent have at least some damage to their teeth. Some Orca populations in the wild also show wear and tear on their teeth, but it's symmetrical and happens gradually over decades, in contrast to the acute and irregular damage seen in captive orcas.

According to the study, the damage occurs largely because captive orcas persistently grind their teeth on tank walls, often to the point where the nerves are exposed. These ground-down spots remain as open cavities, highly susceptible to infection even if caretakers regularly flush them out with clean water.

This stress-induced behavior has been documented in scientific research since the late 1980s. Commonly called stereotypies-repetitive patterns of activity that have no obvious function-these behaviors, which often involve self-mutilation, are typical of captive animals that have little or no enrichment and live in too-small enclosures.

Orcas have the second largest brain of any animal on the planet. Like humans, their brains are highly developed in the areas of social intelligence, language and self-awareness. In the wild, orcas live in tight-knit family groups that share a sophisticated, unique culture that is passed down through generations, research has shown.

In captivity, orcas are kept in artificial social groups. A few captive orcas, like Lolita, live completely alone. Captive-born orcas are typically separated from their mothers at ages far younger than in the wild (male orcas often stay with their mothers for life), and are often transferred between facilities. Kayla was separated from her mother at 11 months old and moved between SeaWorld properties across the country four different times.

The stress of social disruption is compounded by the fact that orcas in captivity don't have the ability to escape conflict with other orcas, or to engage in natural swimming behaviors in pools.

In 2013, the documentary film Blackfish laid bare the psychological toll of captivity, through the story of a wild-caught orca named Tilikum who had killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando. The film included testimony from former SeaWorld trainers and cetacean specialists, who argued that Tilikum's stress directly led to his aggression towards humans (he'd previously killed another trainer at a non-SeaWorld park in British Columbia, Canada). Court records show that SeaWorld had documented, between 1988 and 2009, over 100 instances of their orcas being aggressive towards trainers. Eleven of those instances resulted in injury, and one in death. ( Read a Q&A with a former trainer who criticized SeaWorld for cruel treatment of orcas.)

Blackfish also included an interview with a former wild orca catcher, John Crowe, who described in detail the process of capturing juvenile orcas from the wild: the wails of babies trapped in the net, the distress of their family members that frantically crowded outside, and the fate of the babies that didn't survive the catch. Those young orcas' bodies were slit open, filled with rocks, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

A SEA CHANGE

The public reaction to Blackfish was swift and furious. Hundreds of thousands of outraged viewers signed petitions calling for SeaWorld to retire their orcas, or to shut down outright. Partner corporations like Southwest Airlines and the Miami Dolphins severed ties with SeaWorld. Attendance slipped, and its stock began a series of nosedives from which it's never fully recovered. ( Read more: How far will the Blackfish effect go?)

"We were a fringe campaign. Now we're mainstream. That happened overnight," says Rose, who has been advocating for captive orca welfare since the 1990s.

Animal advocacy groups had for years tried to take legal action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tasked with implementing the federal Animal Welfare Act, for failing to properly monitor the welfare of animals kept in captivity for entertainment. Efforts had never been successful says Jared Goodman, deputy general counsel for animal law at the PETA Foundation, who has participated in many of the lawsuits.

But in 2016, things began to change. California made it illegal to breed orcas in the state. Six months earlier, SeaWorld, which has a park in San Diego, announced that it would be ending its captive orca breeding program altogether, saying its current orcas will be the last generation to live at SeaWorld parks. Although 20 orcas and many other cetaceans continue to live and perform at its facilities, the company increasingly focuses its marketing on its amusement park rides.

At the federal level, Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, has repeatedly introduced a bill to phase out captive orca displays across the U.S. In Canada, a federal bill is poised to pass later this year that would ban all captive cetacean displays-not just orcas, but all dolphins, porpoises, and whales.

LOOKING FORWARD

But there's the remaining issue of what to do with the 22 orcas in captivity in the U.S. and Canada if federal legislation shuts down captive facilities, or if captive facilities like SeaWorld agree to go one step further and retire their current orcas altogether. None of these animals could be released into the wild-they have become dependent on being fed by humans.

The Whale Sanctuary project, led by a group of marine mammal scientists, veterinarians, policy experts, and engineers, aims to establish large seaside sanctuaries for retired or rescued cetaceans. The idea is that the animals would able to live in cordoned-off habitats in the ocean while still being cared for and fed by humans. The group has identified potential sites in British Columbia, Washington State, and Nova Scotia. The logistics of making a sanctuary a reality will be complex, says Heather Rally, who is on the organization's advisory board.

"We have sanctuaries for every other species," she says. Despite the challenges, "it's absolutely the time for a marine mammal sanctuary. It's long overdue."

The Whale Sanctuary Project hopes that they might eventually partner with SeaWorld in the rehabilitation process. SeaWorld opposes the concept of sea sanctuaries-referring to them as "sea cages," and saying that environmental hazards and a radically new habitat would likely cause tremendous stress to their orcas and do more harm than good. SeaWorld has removed from its website a 2016 statement detailing its opposition, but a company representative confirms to National Geographic that SeaWorld's position remains unchanged.

Although there appears to be some hope for the future of captive orcas in the West, in Russia and China, the captive marine mammal industry continues to grow. In Russia, the 10 recently-captured orcas languish in a small sea pen awaiting their fate. China now has 76 operational sea parks, with another 25 under construction. The vast majority of the cetaceans in captivity there were wild-caught and imported from Russia and Japan. ( Read: China's first orca breeding center sparks controversy.)

China "hasn't had their Blackfish moment," Rose says. But she is hopeful it will come, because she's seen it come before.

"You would not have written this story ten years ago," she says.

Editor's Note: This story originally stated that California's law prohibiting orca breeding was passed in 2016. It was 2017. The story has also been corrected to say that SeaWorld announced it was ending its breeding program six months before the bill was signed into law, not after. This story was updated to say that there are now 59 orcas in ocean parks worldwide, not 62. Lolita's age was also corrected. She is thought to be 54 years old, not 50. The story was also updated to clarify that Tilikum killed one trainer at SeaWorld and had previously killed another trainer at a non-SeaWorld facility in Canada. A caption has also been updated to clarify the lifespan of orcas, and information about enrichment in captivity has been added.

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Orcas don't do well in captivity. Here's why.

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In January 2019, Kayla died. She was a 30-year-old killer whale living at SeaWorld Orlando. If she'd been living in the wild, she'd likely have lived into her 50s, and possibly as old as 80. Still, Kayla lived longer than any captive-born orca in history.

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Orca's are technically Dolphin's

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https://www.seadocsociety.org/about-the-salish-sea

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The Salish Sea is one of the world's largest and biologically rich inland seas. Its name pays tribute to the first inhabitants of the region, the Coast Salish.

The Salish Sea is an inland sea that encompasses Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the waters off of Vancouver, BC. The area spans from Olympia, Washington in the south to the Campbell River, British Columbia in the north, and west to Neah Bay and includes the large cities of Seattle and Vancouver.

Some of the world's most successful businesses-Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, and Starbucks-are headquartered in the region in large part because of the high quality of life that this remarkable body of water offers their employees and customers.

SALISH SEA FACTS

Coastline length, including islands: 7,470 km

Total number of islands: 419

Total land area of islands: 3,660 square kilometers

Sea surface area: 16,925 square kilometers

Maximum depth: 650 meters

Total population: more than 8 million.

Number of different marine animals species estimated: 37 species of mammals, 172 species of birds, 253 species of fish, and more than 3,000 species of invertebrates (See Gaydos & Pearson 2011and Brown and Gaydos, 2011.)

Number of species listed as threatened, endangered or are candidates for listing: 113 (See Brown and Gaydos, 2011.)

Check out some of the biggest species in the biggest and oldest species in the Salish Sea.

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Salish Sea
Surface area | 18,000 km² (6,900 sq mi)
Average depth | 130 m (430 ft)
Max. depth | 670 m (2,200 ft)
Residence time | 110 days

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In the blink of an eye, profound and disturbing changes have occurred in the Salish Sea. Increasingly, the sea and its surrounding watersheds are challenged by an ever-growing list of threats. Ocean acidification, a burgeoning human population, increased marine shipping traffic, and unchecked waste water and sewage runoff are just a few of the immediate pressures that are endangering this jewel of an ecosystem.

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The institute offers a lot of information about the Salish Sea to WWU students and our wider community, as well.

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Sharing Science, Policy, and Ecosystem Learning Across the Salish Sea

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male orcas live 17 years and females live up to 29 years

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the salish sea is home to one of the few places that have the right climate for the killer whales to live in

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Life in the ocean is amazing! Cute and cuddly, creepy crawly, gigantic and microscopic - marine life comes in millions of shapes and size.

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New Aquariums and the Challenges They Face

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New Aquariums and the Challenges They Face

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Through the years, aquariums have done more of this work, becoming integral to conservation initiatives by studying specimens in captivity and funding field research to help maintain endangered species. Established public aquariums are conscious of their past role in marine degradation, and their captive-breeding initiatives, especially for popular species such as seahorses and clownfish, seek to decrease the impact of exhibit collecting on wild populations.
Read: How a landlocked aquarium gets its seawater
But these initiatives account for only a small number of the exhibits in large aquariums, and have not stopped debate about the impact of collecting on wild populations. Earlier this year, Moody Gardens, a Texas aquarium, collected a variety of fish from a popular snorkeling area in Palm Beach County, Florida, prompting public outcry. A legal battle in Hawaii has resulted in the closure of some reefs for collectors, but has shifted the impact of collecting to foreign reefs, which are not as well managed.

Creating an artificial underwater environment is still a technological and scientific challenge, with limited initial conservation value. Current aquariums took years to develop the resources required to perform effective conservation; new aquariums will not have the ability to develop these initiatives for years, if ever. If they fail, the extraction of marine riches, required for setup, goes to waste. While many of aquariums' earliest problems have been solved-we no longer see empty tanks-many new builds are doomed to failure, squandering monetary and natural resources in the process.

Architects and construction groups design aquariums, but aquarists must make the spaces functional. Often, aquariums' most popular exhibits, such as mammals or sharks, prove the trickiest to maintain. Keeping sharks in captivity sounds great, but doing so takes specialized knowledge. The Dubai Aquarium, one of the largest tanks in the world, experienced several shark casualties before opening in 2008. The aquarists eventually worked out the optimum number of species for the tank, but other aquariums struggled longer with these issues. The Jerusalem aquarium, a 30-tank, $28.5 million building originally set to open in May 2017, delayed its opening after the loss of many exotic fish and two sharks. Some aquariums continue to try to keep great whites in captivity, with limited success and an almost 100 percent mortality rate.

The stress of acquisition and maintenance often leads to financial struggle. Originally operated by the City of New York, the New York Aquarium has been managed and funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society (formerly the New York Zoological Society) since 1902 due to financial strain; the City continues to provide electricity and water, while the Wildlife Conservation Society pays for upkeep and exhibition acquisition. Other early aquariums had to develop similar cost-sharing measures between private organizations and taxpayers. In this century, the Denver aquarium, which opened to much fanfare in 1999, declared bankruptcy in 2002 because of defaults on building loans. (It was purchased by Landry's, a hospitality company, and reopened in 2003.) More recently, the newly opened Shreveport Aquarium has struggled with almost $500,000 in unpaid construction debt. Many of these spaces are subsidized by tax breaks and bonds, to be paid back when an aquarium becomes profitable. But too often, this goal is not realized. As economic-development projects, aquariums are risky.

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second director of the new york aquarium

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Through the years, aquariums have done more of this work, becoming integral to conservation initiatives by studying specimens in captivity and funding field research to help maintain endangered species. Established public aquariums are conscious of their past role in marine degradation, and their captive-breeding initiatives, especially for popular species such as seahorses and clownfish, seek to decrease the impact of exhibit collecting on wild populations.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/sea_life/

^^talks about sea/marine life

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The sea stretches from the channels of the Discovery Islands north of the Strait of Georgia to Budd Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. It is partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. Major port cities on the Salish Sea include Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham, Port Angeles and Victoria. Much of the coast is part of the Pacific Northwest megalopolis.

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Contrary to the friendly depictions offered up by ocean theme parks, the killer whale (also known as the orca or blackfish), is the most devastating predator to roam the open oceans. It can weigh up to 11 tons, hit top speeds of 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and sports a mouth full of three-inch long interlocking teeth. In addition to these more obvious physical adaptations, the orca's big brain-the second largest among ocean mammals-endows it with an intelligence unparalleled in an animal of its size.

To get a rough measure of animal smarts, scientists look at something called the encephalization quotient (EQ). EQ is the ratio of an animal's actual brain size compared to the expected brain size for an animal of its mass. Like other members of Delphinidae-the dolphin branch of the cetacean family tree-orcas rank high in EQ. They score about 2.5, which is significantly less than humans at about 7 and bottlenose dolphins at around 4, but higher than baleen whales who all score less than 1. In addition, orcas, like other whales, have a highly convoluted or "folded" brain as well as thick myelinated neurons, which are both equated with processing power.

Orca intelligence isn't unexpected given that it is a highly social animal that hunts in coordinated packs. Some of the smartest animals in the world-chimps, elephants, dogs, humans-are also highly social. As a result of their intelligence and sociability, killer whale pods have developed novel hunting strategies that are handed down through multiple generations. The techniques vary from region to region depending on available food items, but they are all are a testament to the killer whale's keen predatory intelligence and ingenuity.
1) The 'Wave Wash'
Works on: Seals
Seals are a favorite food item of orcas living around the Antarctic ice shelf. By perching on ice floes, seals stay just out of reach. However, killer whales have devised a clever way to dump the seals into the water. They charge the ice floe in tight formation, creating a huge wave front. Just before reaching the ice, they dive underneath, giving a last-second push to the wave with their tails. The resulting wall of water crashes over the ice floe and sweeps the seal off.
2) The 'Karate Chop'
Works on: Sharks
In a "Who's the Top Predator?" contest, the orca is the hands-down favorite over sharks. In fact, the great white, the largest predatory shark in the world, has only one natural enemy-the orca. But hunting sharks is a risky business for killer whales. Rows of razor sharp teeth can pierce even the thickest whale hide. Accordingly, the orca has developed an efficient way to dispatch these sharp-toothed snack items. Using its broad tail, the killer whale pushes the shark to the surface on a watery vortex. It then turns slightly and raise its tail high into the air, crashing it down on the shark's head. The next part is quite amazing: as though it has some knowledge of shark biology, the orca flips the shark over, sending into a stupor that scientists call "tonic immobility". Now paralyzed, the shark makes for an easy (and safe) meal.

Watch a video of the 'Karate Chop' being used by orcas off the coast of New Zealand:
3) The 'Carousel'
Works on: Fish
Small fish like herring aren't even a bite-size snack for killer whales, which makes chasing down individual fish not worth the effort. Orcas off the Norwegian coast don't let such inconveniences get in the way of a meal. Working together, they use a combination of air bubbles and belly flashes to herd schools of fish into a tight ball near the surface of the water. This churning "bait ball" resembles a rotating carousel, which may have given this method its name: "carousel feeding". The orcas slap the ball with their tails, stunning the fish, which makes them easier to gulp down by the mouthful.

Watch an animation of carousel feeding from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute that includes live sound recordings of the orcas communicating with each other:
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=126458&cl=94493&article=29066&tid=5122 4) The 'Pod Pin'
Works on: Narwhal
The NATURE episode Invasion of the Killer Whales shows orcas using a hunting strategy that had never been documented before on film. This could be due to the fact that killer whales have never had such easy access to a large group of narwhals - the prey animal featured. Narwhals are medium-sized toothed whales who gather to breed amidst Arctic pack ice. Historically, killer whales haven't been able to access their breeding grounds, but vanishing sea ice has changed that. In the film, killer whales chase down an entire pod of narwhal and then, in a formation similar to the 'Wave Wash', charge the pod, pinning the narwhal in shallow water. Carnage ensues.

Watch a clip of the incident from Invasion of the Killer Whales:
5) The 'Blowhole Block'
Works on: Larger whales
Orcas don't limit themselves to eating animals smaller than themselves. They've been observed attacking much larger cetaceans such as gray, humpback and even blue whales. Orcas are sometimes called the 'wolves of the sea' and like their terrestrial counterpart the gray wolf, they tend to single out young or weak individuals when hunting large prey. The attack follows a familiar pattern: the orcas take turns ramming, biting, and pulling on the whale's pectoral fins and generally wearing it down. Then they launch from the water onto the whale's back, trying to prevent its blowhole from breaching the surface of the water. After a chase that can go on for hours, the exhausted giant drowns. The orcas then go to work stripping the whale's most nutritious bits-its tongue and blubber-leaving the rest of the carcass for scavengers.

Watch orcas attack a female gray whale and her calf. (Warning: this footage may be distressing to some viewers):
6) The 'D-Day' (a.k.a. 'Storming the Beach')
Works on: Sea lions, elephant seals
Sea lions swimming off the Atlantic coast of South America probably breathe a little easier once they've made it back to the beach. After all, they seem to be safely out of reach of orcas lurking in deeper waters nearby. That false sense of security is quickly dashed when an orca charges the shore and snatches the sea lion, beaching itself in the process. The orca is the only whale known to purposely beach itself. It uses a flapping, hopping motion to shuffle its enormous body back into the water.

Watch a killer whale 'storm the beach':
References:
Marino L et al. (2007) Cetaceans Have Complex Brains for Complex Cognition. PLoS Biol 5(5): e139. Accessed at: http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139

Roth et al. (2005) Evolution of the brain and intelligence. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences Vol.9 No.5. Accessed at: http://www.subjectpool.com/ed_teach/y3project/Roth2005_TICS_brain_size_and_intelligence.pdf

Marino, L. Cetacean Brains: How Aquatic Are They? (2007) THE ANATOMICAL RECORD 290:694-700. Accessed at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.20530/pdf">http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.20530/pdf

"Pictured:The moment a whale delivers a deadly 'karate chop' blow to a killer shark" The Daily Mail website. Accessed November 26, 2014: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1231454/Killer-whales-Death-karate-chop-deadly-tactic-used-orcas-sharks.html#ixzz2pq6bNiAB

Montaigne, F. Mysteries of Killer Whales Uncovered in the Antarctic. Yale Environment 360 website. Accessed November 26, 2014: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/mysteries_of_killer_whales_uncovered_in_the_antarctic/2490/

The Speed of Animals website. Accessed November 26, 2014: http://www.speedofanimals.com/animals/killer_whale

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Contrary to the friendly depictions offered up by ocean theme parks, the killer whale (also known as the orca or blackfish), is the most devastating predator to roam the open oceans. It can weigh up to 11 tons, hit top speeds of 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and sports a mouth full of three-inch ...

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This article talks about ending breeding programs for captive Orca Whales.

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SeaWorld announced Thursday it will end its killer whale breeding programs and take a "new direction" amid changing social attitudes.

The company said the 24 orcas it currently has in three parks would be SeaWorld's last generation, a long awaited move following intense criticism from animal-rights campaigners over keeping the whales in captivity.

"SeaWorld has been listening and we're changing," the company said in a statement. "Society is changing and we're changing with it. SeaWorld is finding new ways to continue to deliver on our purpose to inspire all our guests to take action to protect wild animals and wild places."

Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld, wrote in an op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times that its existing whales would remain in captivity because setting them free in the wild was "not a wise option."

"Most of our orcas were born at SeaWorld, and those that were born in the wild have been in our parks for the majority of their lives," he wrote. "If we release them into the ocean, they will likely die."

Manby said the SeaWorld hasn't collected an orca from the wild in almost four decades and that this would be "the last generation of orcas in SeaWorld's care."

The 24 orcas SeaWorld currently has are at parks in California, Texas and Florida.

Last year, SeaWorld announced it was ending its orca shows - a move which drew muted praise from lawmakers and activists.

The company has been under pressure about its orcas since the 2013 release of the documentary "Blackfish," which argued that placing the whales in captivity made them violent, neurotic and decreased their life span.

Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute said SeaWorld's decision was "a monumental and important first step forward in achieving a more humane business model."

SeaWorld San Diego President John Reilly acknowledged that changing public attitudes about orcas led to the decision, and said SeaWorld needs to change as well.

"We love our whales, and so do many of our visitors at SeaWorld," Reilly said. "But we also know that whales have become a growing concern for many people."

The theme park was also feeling pressure from authorities. California's Coastal Commission last year approved a $100 million expansion at SeaWorld San Diego but only on the condition that it ended captive breeding at that facility - a ruling that CEO Manby at the time described as "inhumane."

Not everyone was pleased. Malena Marshall, a mother of six, said in San Diego Thursday that she was sad to hear orcas would no longer be a part of SeaWorld.

"I grew up in Ohio and there was a SeaWorld there when I was younger, and I have all these memories of going there and learning about the animals and kind of understanding how they affect people's lives and bring joy to people," Marshall said.

Wendy Ross also remembers seeing orcas at SeaWorld when she was younger and being "in awe" - but she now feels differently. Ross said she was thrilled to hear the shows and captivity would end.

"I've been to Alaska twice. I've seen them in the wild and it's fabulous to see them in their natural habitat, and they're just you know of these big large animals that should be free and be able to do what they do," Ross said.

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described Thursday's announcement as a "payoff" from its campaigns to change SeaWorld's policies.

However, it said: "Today is the day to stop breeding, not sometime later this year. SeaWorld must open its tanks to the oceans to allow the orcas it now holds captive to have some semblance of a life outside these prison tanks."

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Show's Over: SeaWorld to End Killer Whale Program

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SeaWorld announced Thursday it will end its killer whale breeding programs and take a "new direction" amid changing social attitudes. The company said the 24 orcas it currently has in three parks would be SeaWorld's last generation, a long awaited move following intense criticism from animal-rights campaigners over keeping the whales in captivity.

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Killer whales (also called orcas) are apex predators, meaning they are at the top of their food chain. They feed on fish and squid like other odontocetes (toothed whales) do, but will also target seals, sea birds and even whale species far bigger than themselves. Killer whales are also the only known predators of great white sharks.

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do the animals that have been in captivity still have natural instincts to do things such as hunt, migrate, things like that

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https://www.the-scientist.com/tag/marine-biology

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/marine-mammals-captivity

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Life in the wild

Life in captivity

The problem

What must life be like for these complex, gregarious, three-dimensional creatures who must live in a comparatively bland concrete enclosure? The parents or grandparents of most of the dolphins in captivity in the United States were captured from the wild. Some nations still capture and sell them.

At first look, a whale or dolphin show may seem exciting, even for the animals. But when you look past the show to the high mortality rates and stress-related causes of death in captive whales and dolphins, the effects of captivity suggest a far harsher reality. The public display of whales and dolphins in marine parks and aquariums is waning in Europe and Canada, but it is still common in the United States and is increasing in developing countries, particularly those in Asia.

Although seals and sea lions may breed readily in captivity, only a few species are held in numbers large enough to sustain a breeding population. Some species of whales and dolphins, on the other hand, do not breed well in captivity and some have never produced surviving offspring. Many of the captive dolphins and whales have shorter life expectancy than others of their species who still live in the wild.

The businesses that charge the public to see and interact with whales and dolphins in captivity contend that public display serves educational and conservation purposes. However, experience has proven that public display does not effectively educate the public who generally learn little of value about the animals that are on display in shows and swim-with facilities. Profit, not education, is the reason they are captive in zoos and aquariums. For a marine mammal, tanks are prisons. The monotonous, confined life of animals in captivity is a mere shadow of what life was like for them in the wild. The Humane Society of the United States believes that animals in bare tanks do not present a realistic image of natural behaviors or natural habitats. Marine mammals are best protected by cleaning up and protecting their habitats. Truly appreciating them means seeing them along the coast and in the rich ocean environment where they belong.

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Dolphins, whales and other marine mammals don't belong in tanks on public display

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Can marine life be successfully returned to the wild after captivity? What programs currently exist?

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Orcas have the most diverse diet of all cetaceans, eating anything from salmon to seals, whales and squid.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk1VdQxeTn4

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Killer Whales Playing with Their Prey | Trials Of Life | BBC Earth