#killer whale

Deep-Sea Miku & orca Lynn

And like. i get the concept behind them and why they would seem better for orcas but there isnt much evidence that they actually would be. since like of course most captive orcas have grown up in tanks and lived there all their life and are used to enrichment and handling coming specifically from their trainers etc, so just bc an orca is in fact a wild animal doesnt mean they would actually prefer a more wild setting if provided with that. since it would be a complete difference from everything theyre accustomed to

i think of keiko as a good example of this, since after being released he could never integrate with a wild pod and began to seek out interaction with humans again before passing away from pneumonia. i also read part of a scientific paper talking about this particular caveat of sanctuaries, the question of whether the actual animal would prefer a sanctuary vs a tank, which is kind of what sparked this post a little. but i dont think i ever finished it so take that with a grain of salt lol

BUT! i wonder. in some magically ideal world where sanctuaries exist and you could raise orcas from infancy in a sanctuary, without them ever having gotten used to a tank, would sanctuaries be actually better from them (disregarding all the resources and work a sanctuary would take to build and maintain realistically)? would the increased welfare that sanctuaries suggest actually be true and would an orca raised in a sanctuary with their pod with everything they need actually do better than one raised in a concrete tank?