Orcas in captivity face premature death, “In the wild they have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years—their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 for females. The median age of orcas in captivity is only 9, and orcas at SeaWorld rarely make it even to the average life expectancy of their wild cousins.”(SeaWorld oh Hurt) Orcas need to swim up to a hundred miles each day but in the parks they are only confined to a tiny pool and forced to swim in the same space their entire life. Being in such small spaces, light has been shed on the fighting between killer whales. “Orcas who are not compatible are forced to live in tight quarters together. The resulting anxiety and tension cause fights between orcas.
This helps with buoyancy and balance. When they breathe-only through their nostrils, they can exchange 90% of the air in their lungs with each breath, compared to a human who only exchanges about 10% of their air. They may need to breathe every 30 seconds during strenuous activity but can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes. Their muscles lack the density of myoglobin (muscle hemoglobin) that is typical of other diving mammals. This trait contributes to their relatively short (8-15 minute) and shallow (10-20 feet) dives compared to seals and dolphins, however they do swim like dolphins and seals in a dorsoventral fashion as opposed to side to
They feed primarily on salmon and travel in pods of 15-30 individuals. The pods are matriarchal and it is typical for the offspring to spend their entire lives with their mothers. The dorsal fins of residents are rounded with a sharp angle on the trailing edge. (Ford, Ellis, & Balcomb, 1994) Transient Pods Transient orcas travel in much smaller groups; a pod usually has no more than 5-7 individual members. The home range of transients is much harder to define than that of the residents.
The Northern Snakehead can survive up to four days out of water and can grow up to 33 inches long. The species has been nicknamed “Frankenfish” due to its shark-like teeth and aggressiveness. It was first introduced in a pond in Crofton, Maryland in June 2002. Researchers believe the species ended up in the U.S. due to uncaring disposal of aquarium pets. Other researchers think some people were trying to breed Snakeheads as they bring a large amount of money in some areas.
Companies have deposited their waste in the lake, which has caused the lake to be shut down because humans are getting sick and even dying from the polluted waters. Viruses, pathogens, chemicals and toxins are all part of this pollution, which affects recreation, jobs, and habitats of animals. Fishermen have not spent money fishing for sport due to the drastic reduction of the salmon population at Lake Huron. Recreational hours at the lake have also seen a drastic decrease. This devastation affects a majority of the U.S. being one of our largest sources of fresh water, and will only continue to deplete, as companies carelessly dump their waste into the lake.
Only by a process of trial and error the aquarium came to the conclusion that Orcas have a very specific diet consisting of only some fish and other marine mammals. In Seaworld on April 17th 2014 it was discovered that when one Orca is placed with a foreign Orca, the foreign Orca is able to learn the language of the other orca, (CBS8, 2014) something that was not found out from Orcas in the wild. These are only a few examples of how aquariums and parks such as SeaWorld have contributed to our knowledge of Orcas. With this new found knowledge, over the last 50 years, scientists and marine experts have been able to better help endangered Orcas in the wild.
The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) and the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) are excellent examples of how reproductive systems, strategies and behaviours have adapted differently in avian and reptilian organisms. The Alligator Snapping Turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world, and lives in freshwater areas in south-eastern regions of the United States. As the Alligator Snapping Turtle spends the majority of time in the water, with turtles able to stay submerged for 40 – 50 minutes at a time, generally only nesting female turtles will venture on land. These turtles prefer habitat with submerged cover and thermoregulate using different water depths to accommodate for changes in temperature. The habitat of the Greater Flamingo, on the other hand, is made up of large estuarine lagoons, saline lakes, mud flats, sandy islands and mangrove swamps.
With over 1m wild alligators in Florida versus a human population of 17m humans, there’s lots of opportunity for conflict. The beasts can grow to 12ft and their lethargic appearance has misled many a startled holidaymaker, within a flash they can snap their jaws and even run up to 30m.p.h. There are actually Gator Hunters operating in Florida to deal with the problematic reptiles. Obviously the animals know no boundaries but they do not seek human attacks and they usually try to avoid us, however sometimes things go wrong. Pestering, tormenting and throwing food to gators is usually the root cause.
The populations are becoming so hard to find that fisheries are now catching the fish in estuaries, a place where the juveniles grow. There is also no ban on fishing them during certain seasons. This leads to the capture of pregnant females, and of juveniles. The population has declined so much that many fisheries have gone out of business. The reason I don’t think that the consumption from predators is why the population is declining so rapidly is the fact that these predators have been hunting these fish for hundreds of years.
Several incidents have been reported over the past years that make people question the continued captivity of orcas. Some of these incidents include, failed pregnancies, illnesses, premature deaths and sometimes even attacks on trainers or human beings. Over the past few years aggression towards the orca trainers has increased rapidly. Many feel that this is due to the unnatural environment they have been placed in. When comparing orcas held in captivity to orcas that are able to live freely, their behaviors have vast differences.