The Mysterious World of Orcas
Although we all know and love orcas (aka killer whales), it’s important to first note that orcas aren’t whales at all! In fact, they’re the largest species of dolphin. In addition to having a completely deceiving name… there is so much we don’t know about orcas!
An Orca’s Social Life
These complex creatures are actually one of the most similar to humans in a number of ways. Of course, whenever we think about similarities to humans, we often think about how they interact socially and cultivate relationships. And when it comes to these big dolphins, they’re pros at this! In fact, they are the only species to date that is known to evolve based on culture, besides humans.
This means that, like us, orcas in different regions of the world differ in language, hunting methods, and food preferences. Because of these differences, it is very difficult for orcas of different cultural backgrounds to interact or even communicate at all!
Therefore, if you were to see a pod (family group) of orcas while on a boat somewhere, this group belongs to a larger clan that differentiates from other clans based on the language they speak. Let me break it down like this…
Think of a clan like all English speakers on the planet. Each pod has their own accent… British, Australian, Southern United States, etc. Everyone in that clan can communicate but they all have their own individual accents. This shows that yes, they do come from the same culture and can still communicate, but they do not reside in the same geographical region, hence the varying accents.
Between different clans, there is no common language. Each clan speaks its own language so two clans coming together to have a chat would be like a French speaker and a Thai speaker coming together to have a conversation.
The largest grouping is called communities, made up of clans that regularly cross each other’s paths or have overlapping territories. Think of this as a grouping of countries, like Europe, people often jump from country to country but they do not necessarily have one common language.
It’s incredible to realize that we are not the only species with accents, cultures, and tight knit family groups. The orca family groups are so involved with one another that they are actually one of only five animals that goes through menopause! This is because the older females opt to put their energy into supporting their existing children and grandchildren rather than having more children.
This is unusual for most species as the majority of animals can reproduce all the way up until they die, but serves as another example of how family oriented and involved each member of the family really is! By realizing how complex and intelligent orcas are, it makes you think about the impacts of captivity and isolation on such self-aware and social animals.
Captivity
Unfortunately, even today there are orcas being held in captivity. Oftentimes orcas in captivity are housed alone or with a few other individuals. However, even when they are housed with other individuals, they are frequently grouped randomly… meaning that there could be three orcas in a tank that come from different clans that cannot communicate with each other at all.
Because of this mixing of family groups and the loyalty orcas have to their pods, it is not uncommon for violence to occur within captive situations. Multiple cases have been noted where young orcas were tortured and even killed by older orcas when forced to share a tank. Knowing the social behaviors that we just talked about, this isn’t surprising.
So why is it still happening? It has been proven time and time again that orcas cannot thrive in captivity and their young death rates are all attributed back to stress. There is a direct link between chronic stress and health but unfortunately there are still several scientists and institutions who continue to tell the public that “there is no link between living in a concrete tank and mortality.”
This is usually a statement that is repeated every time another orca dies in captivity and sadly, it seems to be good enough for a lot of people who continue to support orcas in captivity. Therefore, maybe a better statement would be:
“while the physical needs of orcas can be met in captivity, they have complex social behavior similar to humans and therefore their psychological needs cannot be met in captivity. The concrete tank itself is not linked to mortality, but the stress induced by a life in a tank is the leading cause of death of orcas in captivity.”
Ok I get it, my version of a good response is a lot longer and harder to memorize every time a captive orca dies than the first response; however, don’t they deserve a longer explanation? These highly intelligent animals are the most widespread mammals on earth besides humans, keeping them in a small tank their whole lives are like confining you to your room for your entire life. Considered inhumane for a human, but considered good entertainment for an orca?
I don’t know about that logic…
Life in the Wild
Ok now that we’re all protesting orcas in captivity, let’s get back to our wild orcas for a minute because we haven’t made being a wild orca easy either! Since orcas are at the top of the ocean food chain, they are the most affected by pollution out of all other sea critters. Meaning, with all of the pollutants and microplastics in the water, orcas accumulate the most.
Think of it this way, the small fish in the ocean gets filled up with microplastics and pollutants, it is then eaten by a seal who gets more accumulation from those polluted fish, the orca then eats the seals to then ingest all of the pollutants they’ve eaten. And orcas eat a lot… making them incredibly at risk for chemical and pollutant build up in their systems. This concept is referred to as biomagnification. If this still sounds like a confusing concept, check out the image below and consider the pink dots to be a pollutant of some type.
Source: Port Townsend Marine Science Center
Because of this biomagnification, orcas are considered indicator species, meaning that they directly reflect the health of their ecosystems. By this, scientists can make conclusions about the health of the ocean based on the orca population. If a lot of orcas are found dead in a short period of time, it’s likely that there is something majorly wrong in the ecosystem and they are first to be affected because they are taking in the highest quantity of whatever it is that’s polluting the water.
The only hard part here, is that orcas have been incredibly hard to study. In fact, when looking for their vulnerability status (vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, etc.) they are simply listed as… not enough data. Therefore, we need more people out there committed to orca conservation so if there comes a time when the orca population becomes dangerously low, we can actually catch it!
Because the truth of the matter is, orcas are fast, widespread, and without knowing their population numbers, it’s hard for us to properly protect them!
What can you do
Finally, how can you help our favorite large dolphin? First, remember that if you are protesting orcas in captivity, there needs to be an end goal. Often when we protest captivity the only ones we are hurting are the animals because facilities become low on funds to give the animals the quality of life they need.
Therefore, if you want to protest orcas in the wild, get in touch with the facilities with the orcas! Get in touch with your local government, go to the source and demand there be a change implemented. And educate others about why it’s wrong for orcas to be living in captive environments, because there is always strength in numbers.
To help protect the orcas living as free dolphins, remember that the pollutants you are putting out into the world are ending up in orcas. The plastic, microplastics, trash, chemicals, and pollutants are all impacting the health of orcas. By being more conscious of the pollutants you are responsible for, you can work to cut them back to keep the oceans healthy for orcas!
Not sure where to start? Here are a few good starting points…
Support organic farming to cut back on chemical runoff into oceans
Reduce your single use plastic use
Pay attention to your clothing labels, synthetic fabrics release microplastics in the wash that are then washed into the ocean