Dolphins have been a love of mine since I first saw them at Sea World, when I was just five years old. The grace and beauty of their gray shapes sliding through the water, to the stark contrast of black and white of the largest of the dolphins, the Orca. I wanted to swim with them, play with them. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that these animals are in prison. I didn’t come to this conclusion easily, but through many years of research on these animals. Now I am not a Marine biologist, I lack the ability to get out and study these animals in person, but I think I have just about seen every video, documentary, and journals on the subject. This is enough for me to form an opinion on the animals, one that I share with anyone that will listen. In fact, I think if I mention it one more time my family might disown me.
“Dolphins are PEOPLE!”
To understand my position that dolphin are non-human people, you must understand the definition of an intelligence. Which is one of the things that are used to measure if a creature is sentient. According to Meriam Webster the definition of intelligence is “ a (1) : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : reason; also : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests)”
Orca meet these criteria. Take the following video. In this video you can see that the Orca are moving an ice flow, which contains a food item for them. Not only do they move the ice they make it smaller so they can wash the seal off. These tactics require not just a high level of intelligence, but a level of communication that is unapparelled in the animal world.
If we analyze this further we can see that Orca have demonstrated an ability to understand a situation, they use reason to solve the problem. And the ability to manipulate the environment (in this case an ice flow) Which fits with our definition of intelligence to Matters the letter. But that still doesn’t tell us exactly how smart they are. For instance, are they as smart as we are?
. In an article by Kevin Spear, How smart art are killer whales? Orcas have 2nd-biggest brains of all marine mammals.“This article tells us that Orcas have brains that weigh around 15 pounds. It also suggests that they have a high emotional capacity as well as a capacity for learning. Qualities that by definition are part of identifying intellect. According to the article, they can even get angry or depressed. One quote by Lori Marino a neuroscientist stands out to me.
“”I’m not trying to second-guess what was in this particular whale’s mind,” said Marino, part of the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program at Emory University in Atlanta. “But, certainly, if we are talking about whether killer whales have the wherewithal and the cognitive capacity to intentionally strike out at someone, or to be angry, or to really know what they are doing, I would have to say the answer is yes.”
TThis was in regards to an attack by one of Sea Worlds whales named Tillikum. The whale during a Sea World dining with Shamu show grew frustrated and killed his trainer. Frustrated, angry, these are not emotions that we would attribute to just any animal, but are ones that we can see and identify in ourselves. So are these the only emotions that these whales are capable of feeling. I say no. I have personally seen these whales floating at the top of their tank, listless. Not sleeping because occasionally they would circle the tank rapidly than just float to the top like a dead goldfish. I have seen joy when a family member was returned after a stranding on a beach. These animals exhibit the same breadth of emotions that we do. That being said we must consider how ethical it is to keep these highly sophisticated, intelligent and social animals in what can only be considered fish bowls. The answer is, that it isn’t. Orca are to the sea what we are to the land. Forcing them to jump through hoops for our entertainment isn’t just wrong. It is torture!
That being said we must consider how ethical it is to keep these highly sophisticated, intelligent and social animals in what can only be considered fish bowls. The answer is, that it isn’t. Orca are to the sea what we are to the land. Forcing them to jump through hoops for our entertainment isn’t just wrong. It is torture!
Fish Bowl 