Please read Caption Killer whales, more properly known as orcas, have been kept in captivity since 1961, helpless victims of a blatantly commercial experiment which has seen dozens of wild orcas plucked from their families and forced to live in artificial social groupings which bear scant resemblance to their natural order.There are currently a total of 60 orcas held in captivity (27 wild-captured plus 33 captive-born) in at least 14 marine parks in 8 different countries. ( last updated February 6, 2018).At least 156 orcas have been taken into captivity from the wild since 1961 (including Pascuala and Morgan). 129 of these orcas are now dead. In the wild, male orcas live to an average of 30 years (maximum 50-60 years) and 46 years for females (maximum 80-90 years). At least 165 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or still-born calves. SeaWorld holds 22 orcas in its three parks in the United States. At least forty-eight orcas have died at SeaWorld. One of the most infamous capture incidents saw over 80 whales from the Southern Resident population of orcas in Washington State rounded-up at Penn Cove in 1970. Seven were taken into captivity while as many as five whales died. Today this population is recognised as endangered. Only one captured whale, Lolita, is still alive, held at Miami Seaquarium. The longest surviving orca in captivity is Corky, captured in 1969 from the Northern Resident population that inhabits the waters around Vancouver Island, Canada. She is held at SeaWorld in San Diego. None of her seven offspring in captivity have survived. Her family (known as the A5 pod) continue to thrive in the wild, including Corky's brother, Fife, who you can adopt to help support WDC work. At least 19 orcas have been taken from the wild into captivity since 2002, most recently in Russia. #stopthehuntingofdolphins #CaptivityKills #DontBuyATicket #dontgotoseaworld #stopfeedthegreed #EmptyTheTanksWorldWide
