Tilikum in worse condition

[AniaR]

Releasing captive whales doesn't work. They want to #emptythetanks and either overhaul the whole park to be more like an aquarium or put the whales in sea pens. That's what empty the tanks means. There isn't actually an effort to just throw them back to the wild.

[Mermaid Mystery]

isn't the release of Tilikum PETA's #freetilly movement the goal though? I'm pretty sure they want him in the wild with no idea what the consequences would be.


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[AniaR]

Hey I'm talking about activism groups not terrorists

I literally couldn't find what #freetilly means beyond this which is stupid : http://www.peta2.com/achievements/fr...world-mission/

So the mission is write it on your arm and earn points. Ok then.

While lots of things are tagged freetilly on the internet, that's the only official posting from the Peta website that comes up with your search.

The groups that have actually put in bids to try and buy SeaWorld ( like Rick OBarry and others) are all actual educated people and understand you can't just throw a whale back in the wild.

I honestly believe that whole idea just came out of the general masses seeing blackfish and the blackfish movie not being clear enough about solutions.

[Mermaid Mystery]

Hey I'm talking about activism groups not terrorists

HA! I know what you mean, they did a post about the zoo I am involved with and I was mortified!
I'm glad educated people are trying to buy Seaworld, I hope they keep the trainers not for entertainment purposes, but for enrichment. I'd hate to see most human interaction lost, that wouldn't be great for the whales.


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[Mermaid Galene]

PETA has pulled some really stupid "release the captives" pranks that harmed animals horrifically. A local branch in Minnesota broke into an egg factory and released a large group of chickens a few years ago. Conditions there were indeed awful, but PETA just opened the cages and shooed all the hens outside. Most of them scrambled in a panic out onto the highway and were mowed down by traffic. Others died of fear and stress. As Raina said, animal welfare advocates who actually know something about animal welfare would not suggest releasing any captive born or captive-acclimated animal into the wild without a lengthy reeducation period. Even with "how to be wild" training, there's a large failure rate. Many captive animals just can't make the transition. An animal that has been in captivity for 30 years, like Tilikum, wouldn't stand a chance in the wild. A large seapen, where he can be cared for in a natural environment by people who know what they're doing (clearly NOT SeaWorld), is the best outcome we can hope for, I think.

[Echidna]

Keiko was released successfully after nearly 20 years of captivity.
It took a long time and tremendous effort and money of course, but imo Seaworld owes their captives all of that.

[Mermaid Mystery]

Keiko was released successfully after nearly 20 years of captivity.
It took a long time and tremendous effort and money of course, but imo Seaworld owes their captives all of that.

I really find that hard to believe to be perfectly honest. I'm sure it happened but I'm incredibly shocked that that could happen. I still would not advise them to take the risk.
As for PETA, why would you release chickens like that? under what circumstances would that be acceptable? that's illegal and just messed up. while I'm sure the living conditions were awful, it's not an invite to just come in and release the chickens like that. Seriously they do more harm than good.


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[Mermaid Galene]

Keiko's release is an interesting story:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013...-killer-whales

It took many months of rehab in a seapen before he could be allowed into the open sea, and he ultimately chose to go free range. He never did find (or choose?) the company of wild orcas. I gather he died with his human caretakers with him or at least nearby. His rescue caretakers, I think, were competent and able to judge what was best for him. Tilimuk is 10 years older, at least, which might make a difference in his future. I hope he can return to the sea. But the most important thing is that he have educated caretakers with good judgment, and a comfortable outdoor seapen away from the confines of concrete walls, whether that ends up being temporary or permanent.

[Echidna]

He never did find (or choose?) the company of wild orcas. I gather he died with his human caretakers with him or at least nearby.

Keiko didn't permanently join a wild orca pod, but he did interact with them.
He was fitted with a sender to check if he was doing well, and he was.

He learned how to feed himself in the wild, and he even took a thousand-miles long journey after which he was in excellent health.
However, shortly after, he caught an infection and died from it after a while.
Or at least that is what was assumed.

I'm just glad he had those precious years in freedom, and that practically all the world was watching out for his well-being, because otherwise, he'd probably been killed by whalers in no time.
One of the reasons I couldn't live in Norway or Iceland is their attitude towards marine life.
Icelanders were openly complaining about the whole Keiko project, arguing along the lines of "whales are food, not friends. He should be killed" and yes, this was said literally.

[AniaR]

Keiko died, like many whales who are released, there arent really any data on 'success' stories. Even whales who are injured, saved, and released quickly... still seem to die pretty soon after.

[AptaMer]

Wikipedia has a fairly accurate summary of Keiko's life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiko_%28orca%29#History

and there's a more detailed, and somewhat more positive-sounding outline of Keiko's story on the Keiko Project's webpage (their estimate that Keiko was born in 1997 or 1998 is probably off.)

http://keiko.com/history.html

You have to remember that Keiko was approximately 20 years old when the effort to rehabilitate him began, an age of peak health for male orcas.

Tilikum is 33 years old now. That's very old for a male orca (the average lifespan for males is about 30 years, like humans, male orcas don't live as long as females, on average.) It took 6 years, from 1996 to 2002 before Keiko was ready to venture out independently into the ocean. There's a big difference between a 26 year old orca taking a 1400 km open-ocean trip and a 39 year old one.

It would be great if Tilikum could be placed in an area open to the sea, perhaps in a netted cove or something. That would be his best option. Setting him out to try and make his way in the open ocean at some age like 39 would be like plunking an 80 year old male human who had lived all his life in the city into the wilderness and expecting him to survive.

I do hope some way is found for Tilikum to live out his last days in a much larger sea-facing area, with fresh sea water exposure, but we'll see.

Rescued wild orcas have been successfully reunited with their pods, but Keiko was never able to join a pod, and ended up living in an inlet mostly for the last year of his life, continuing to interact with humans. He did make it to the age of 27 years, a reasonably long life for a male orca, outdoing most captive males.

While the Keiko Project touts the success of their venture, I think Keiko's experience is why no scientists or animal handling experts support trying to release a lifetime-captive orca into the open ocean environment. Remember too, that most orcas in dolphinariums today were born in captivity and have absolutely no experience of life in the wild. At least Keiko had experienced 2-3 years in the wild as a juvenile.

There's also no question that his last years were much better than that any other captive whale has experienced, as you have so rightly pointed out, Echidna.

I hope Tilikum gets a good deal for the last few years of his life.
__________________________________________________ ________________

Postscript: There's also the psychological and financial aspects of these efforts.

Keiko had become a star because of his appearance in the 1993 movie Free Willy, and the incongruity of a whale who starred in a movie about a captive whale living in horrid conditions making it to freedom . . . being kept in captivity in horrible conditions . . . wasn't lost on the public, or on Warner Brothers Studios.

With the help of philanthropist Craig McCaw (a wealthy businessman who founded the McCaw Cellular company) the Keiko Project charitable foundation was set up. Keiko himself was given to the Keiko Project free of charge by the Reino Aventura park (remember that orcas typically are sold between parks for anywhere from $100k to $2.5M depending on age, health and market conditions.)

Warner studios contributed $4M to the Keiko Project (a small amount for them, considering they spent $20M on the making of the movie, and grossed $153M just from the box office alone. They've probably made more than that since from video sales.)

Other sponsors provided in-kind support. UPS, for example provided all air transportation of Keiko at no charge to the Keiko Project. That probably represents hundreds of thousands of dollars of free services to the project.

The initial $7M the Keiko Project raised went to fund the construction of his first rehabilitation home in Oregon. They had to continue fund raising efforts to build his new facility in Iceland, then pay for his support efforts in Norway.

This is the kind of money it takes to rehabilitate an Orca to the wild.

The momentum was probably sustained because of Keiko's status as an animal movie star, and the positive feelings engendered by his movie.

I wish I didn't have to say this, because it's irrational, but psychologically; unlike Keiko, who was associated with positive feelings; many people associate Tilikum with death and horror, because that's sensational, and that's what draws news reporters and YouTube traffic, and the deaths are what tends to be shown of him. With the negative feelings clouding Tilikum's image, it could be hard to raise the kind of support it would take to truly take care of him. Not saying this is right. It isn't, but it may be reality.

Something will have to change in people's psychology, and there will need to be a source of funding independent of the captivity industry (as happened for Keiko) before concrete action will happen, I think.

[Mermaid Galene]

All very good points.

[Jeblily]

I think we would all like to see them released, but this may not be the most practical option economically or for the orca. I would love to see them move the orcas to sea pens, but that would be a very long project. For now let us hope that they increase the tank size and allow for human contact again!!!!