“Blackfish”: The Expose on SeaWorld’s Orcas by Vivian Bermudez

Source: Google Images
Source: Google Images

Blackfish: A 90-minute documentary currently making rounds all around the world after exposing the treatment that  8,000 pound orcas, or “killer whales,” endure at the hands of SeaWorld.

It goes back to the origins of Tilikum, the orca who in August of 2010 killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau through blunt force, which caused scalping, a severed spinal cord and drowning.

The documentary touches on the capturing of baby orcas, separating them from their mothers and putting them in tiny pools. Blackfish also reveals the misinformation SeaWorld has been giving the public about the orcas’ lifespan and the flopped dorsal fins and incidents trainers have had with Tilikum and other whales.

The dangers of keeping the species captive are also discussed.

Blackfish consists of testimonies from former SeaWorld trainers from both San Diego and Orlando, professionals on orcas and witnesses of incidents with Tilikum. SeaWorld refused to participate in the documentary and later claimed that the information in the documentary was false.

SeaWorld Entertainment told CNN, “Blackfish … is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy …. [T]he film paints a distorted picture that withholds …key facts about SeaWorld – among them…that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research.”

In light of this documentary, many SeaWorld goers have begun to boycott SeaWorld and have further spread awareness of the documentary. Eventually, it was settled that trainers could not share the pool with the orcas rather interact through a net. Tilikum still performs during the finale of the “One Ocean” Show.

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