The orca (killer whale), king of the ocean, killer of the killers, is known for their prestigious brain, socialized living style, and highly intelligent prey skills. I recently read a lot about this species. Being a member of the oceanic dolphin family, they are beautiful, smart and powerful predators of the ocean. Their preys include salmons, tunas, sharks, other sea mammals such as sea lion, elephant nosed seals, and other species of whales.

In awe of nature, there are always things that trigger curiosity, whose existence we know, whose existence we cannot explain. The mysterious bond between members of the dolphin family and human beings is one such example. Fishermen and surfers are happy to tell anecdotes about these mammals. They tell stories about how a dolphin was  observed  escorting a surfer to the shore just to protect him from shark attack, and how an orca let a fisherman ride on his back after his shabby boat was torn apart by huge waves, until they found another ship. I believe these stories have been modified and exaggerated over generations, nonetheless, orcas have been considered gentle animals who present no harm to human beings. They do take other terrestrial mammals, however, like deers and monkeys, when they are swimming by the shore or are tossed into water.

It was an ordinary day of February in 2010. SeaWorld Orlando just finished a live shamu show. The audience have not all left, and the trainer, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau was suddenly pulled into the pool by the then 29-year-old orca, as is named Tilikum. Witnesses said the orca grabbed Dawn by her ponytail and and dragged her all the way into the pool. The trainer was not recovered from the Tilikum’s jaw until the orca was directed into a smaller medical pool and was lifted out of the water. Dawn died of drowning and blunt force trauma. Tilikum has been involved in three incidents related to human injury or death since it was captured by an ocean theme park company in Canada, according to wikipedia. SeaWorld decided not to put the whale down, in spite of Dawn’s death, and Tilikum was back on the stage in 2011. Most marine biologist believe that whales in captive attack human beings out of huge pressure that comes with limited living space and solitary from family members. On the contrary, however, there’s no report of wild orcas ever attack a human.

A few French scientists filmed a documentary that recorded a killer whale family that migrate to the Crozet Islands to spend the summer (http://www.qiyi.com/jilupian/20100525/n15323.html). They have been watch them for years. It was this documentary that make me realize that this creature belongs to the wild. Man-made shelters may allow a few other animals to live a life, but not for the whales. They are simply too big and too smart. They migrate nearly half the earth each year, making them to live in a swimming pool is no better than forcing a man to live in a bathing tub. I used to like ocean parks and zoos, but now I’d like to give it a second thought before choose to support them by giving them my money — although some of them claim to treat the animals well, to constrain them in a pool or in a cage is simply too cruel. They belong to a world totally different from ours, so why not just let them go.

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