Page 615 - Captivity News Today

If any good can come out of it for the animals, then thats what im hopeful of. and i dont think that reporting about this incident, which was a culmination of a number of other incidents is inappropriate. i think its very newsworthy. clearly the public is concerned about it. its completely appropriate to address this issue in this format. >> jack, im going to ask you here. the benefits of captivity so people understand. summarize if you would. >> sure, there are benefits for the public. again, o...

>> in the wild when theres tension they have thousands of square miles to exit the scene and they can get away. you dont have that in captivity. could you imagine being a small concrete enclosure for your life when youre used to swimming 100 miles a day? >> sometimes this aggression became very severe, and in fact whales have died in captivity because of this aggression. >> i think it was 1988, one rammed corky. it fractured her jaw, which cut an artery in her head, and then she bled out. thats ...

The entire world, the north pole and parts of the amazon, having been to all the places. the whole world is a national park. theyre smaller when you come to seaworld or maybe the columbus zoo. but the new african belt is not captivity. the new polar bear exhibit for $26 million is not captivity. the zoos gave over $150 million to the animals in the wild in one year. the columbus zoo has given $12 million in the last ten years. >> all right. i get it. >> thats not what were coming from what jack ...

. welcome back to black fish killers inside captivity. black squn fish follows the story of tilikum, an orca that was captured 27 years before he killed seaworld trainer dawn brancheau. but it was those years in captivity themselves that turned tilikum into a killer? thats really the question being debated here. heres a clip from blackfish. >> hes not killing because hes just crazy. hes not killing because he doesnt know what hes doing. hes killing because hes frustrated, and hes got aggravati...

Virtually unknown. in many cases i know they were used as target practices by certain navies because they were considered monsters. we have learned as a result of having them in captivity. >> theres no doubt about that. theres a couple of ways of looking at this as well. i too have spent 25 years working with marine mammals with human care. ive had the opportunity to study them in the wild. ive also had the opportunity to use the relationship and the positive reenforcement training we have with ...

Into conservation and protection of animals without any knowledge of what biology and physiology is like. >> let me bring up this point. and we say seaworld. there are many marine parks. it should be pointed out. its not just seaworld here at all. but gabriela in this particular discussion, when we talk about the value of keeping these creatures in captivity, the lessons learned reached a point where some scientists say okay, weve learned. its time to let them go. what we learned is telling us t...

Theres a reason here. tilikum is a murderer. hes a killer because hes driven to this. do you buy into that? >> no, i think what was said is hes not a murder. hes just acting out. were very fragile compared to them. and unfortunately when they act out like that out of frustration, somebody is injured or dies. the problem here is the way they interact with the animals, the trainers are put at risk. they come to understanding as with elephants, protective contact is the only way to keep them safe. ...

Is ironically that they should not be in captivity. >> jack, what about this point? that seaworld, of course, really introduced us to these creatures, to these animals, almost where we fell in love, and many people would say they did fall in love, but they are now faced with this dilemma people fall in love and care. if i care, how could it be possible we keep the animals in a cement pool? how do you answer that? >> again, im not a whale researcher or whale expert. all i see is what i see at sea...

Now. and seaworld, if youre listening, that would be great. but i think if you look at killer whales and the experience they have in captivity, you have to conclude its not a suitable environment for them. the single greatest thing that tells you that is mortality in captivity is 2 1/2 to 3 times what it is in the wild. its stressful. theyre on ant acids, antidepressant, antibiotics a lot. theres a lot of things in captivity that a large, intelligence free-ranging animals finds very stressful. t...

Called, "impock -- impossible odds. >> remember covering your story, you spent 93 days in captivity. >> it was long time, 93 days, and i can only imagine what these gentlemen are going through right now. i can really empathize with their families. >> i have seen excerpts where you talk about how difficult it was to manipulate your kidnappers and all the little intricacies you had to go through to keep yourself safe. >> absolutely. i mean, those are your survival mechanisms kicking in, and everyt...