Just another thought on this whole orcas in captivity thread....
I recall about 10 years ago, that there were 2 orcas in a pool at Seaworld....a male and a female. The male orca jumped high in the air and landed right on the female, KILLING HER. It was acknowleged at the time that it was probable that this whale did this intentionally.
Based on the animal behaviour book that I recently read called "Animals Make us Human", it seems that the overwhelming motivator of these whales in captivity is RAGE.
According to the book, all animal behavior can be classified into 4 motivating categories: SEEKING and PLAY (both positive) and FEAR and RAGE (negative). If you think this book makes sense (and I think it does), then you can substitute good motivators with bad ones. For example, if Seaworld provided enough SEEKING AND PLAY opportunities, they could displace some of the RAGE. But I just don't see how that is possible in the tight confines of a featureless concrete bathtub. |