The Impact of Captivity on Orcas
As seen in Blackfish, the impact of captivity on Orcas is horrific. We looked deeper into the scientific aspect of this issue, examining the physical and behavioral impact captivity had on these creatures.
Orcas are known to be incredibly intelligent, empathetic and social creatures who have natural migration patterns that span the entire globe. As such, their confinement to small tanks and isolation is hypothesized to have very negative impacts on them, both physically and psychologically. We reviewed a number of sources and studies looking at the physical and behavioral changes in orcas kept in captivity, which indeed point to captivity having a very negative impact.