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Information About Killer Whales by the Center for Whale Research 



In recent news accounts there has been a lot of "information" presented by various 

 folks who have been asked to comment on what is known about killer whales in the 

 wild, in captivity, in cetacean releases programs, ect. Published and unpublished in- 

 formation from the scientific community, ftom the oceanarium industry, and in gov- 

 ernment records has been presented in support of, or in opjwsition to keeping these 

 whales in captivity. Unfortunately, patently false "disinformation," biased informa- 

 tion, and old fables are being presented to the news media by proponents of particu- 

 lar points of view. For example: 



Ij Glenn Young, general curator at Sea World of Texas is attributed with saying 

 to the Houston Cnronicle (July 19, 1993), "the mortality rate for Sea World's killer 

 whales is actually better than for killer whales in the wild." That statement is ridic- 

 ulous — of 33 Sea World killer whales listed in the U.S. Government Marine Mam- 

 mal Inventory Report of 6/11/92, twenty (i.e., 60 percent) are dead! You can get a 

 current inventory report from the National Marine Fisheries Service under the 

 Freedom of Information Act and calculate for yourself that the mortality rate for 

 killer whales at Sea World is on the order of 10 percent per year. Peer reviewed 

 published calculations of overall North American mortality rate in captive killer 

 whales is 8.9 percent (Duffield and Miller, 1988), and in mature animals of a free- 

 ranging killer whale population in the Pacific Northwest is 1.1 percent for females 

 and 3.9 percent for males (Olesiuk, et al., 1990). Anybody witn the facts or pub- 

 lished information at hand would not make Young's statement without knowing it 

 is false. The statement only makes sense if one means that the American public 

 might misconstrue the meaning and think that a higher mortality rate is better. If 

 we get right down to calculating age-specific mortality rates in captivity and in the 

 wild, Young's statement is even more preposterous. For example, out of fifty-plus 

 young animals taken out of the Pacific Northwest killer whale population in late 

 1960^ and early 1970's only three remain alive in captivity (only one out of fifteen 

 Northwest whales that have been owned by Sea World is still alive). In the same 

 time period, most of the adult whales that were left in the population after the cap- 

 ture era are still swimming free! You figure it out. The fact is, mortality rates for 

 kiUer whales in captivity are considerably higher than in the wild, and I'm sur- 

 prised that Sea World would bring up the subject. I thought these folks were issued 

 permits to publicly display these animals for educational purposes, not to have 

 spokespeople pass on self-serving myths for a multimillion dollar entertainment in- 

 dustry. 



2) Frank Murru, general curator at Sea World in Orlando is attributed with say- 

 ing to the Orlando Sentinel (July 17, 1993), "We know they live to be 25 to 30 years 

 old. A 30-plus year old killer whale would be an exceptionally lon^lived killer 

 whale." Jim McBain, Director of Veterinary Medicine for Sea World Parks backs 

 him up by saying, "other research supports Sea World's estimates for average life 

 span." These statements are presumably meant to counter the published estimates 

 of Olesiuk, et al. (1990) that female killer whales may live a maximum lifespan of 

 80 to 90 years, and an average 50.2 years. Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the Na- 

 tional Marine Fisheries Service is reported as following up by saying, "There isn't 

 any strong evidence one way or anotner. Nobody knows, and anyone who says he 

 knows is kidding himself." lliat is disinformation with a mushed government bless- 

 ing — both Mr. Murru and Mr. (Jorman must know that the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service convened a public hearing on November 22, 1991 in which irrefutable 

 evidence was presented that most of the adult killer whales in a free-ranging Pacific 

 Northwest population are unquestionably more than thirty years old. Photographs 

 taken during the capture operations show that they were adult in the late 1960's 

 and most of these same whales are alive today. Many of these individuals are rea- 

 sonably estimated to be in their forties and fifties! The maximum age data pre- 

 sented by Olesiuk, et al. (1990) are mathematically reasonable trajectories of age, 

 but of course nobody has studies these whales long enough to absolutely know that 

 a particular whale has lived for ninety years. A report of the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service hearing is long overdue — if you are interested in receiving their review 

 of the most up to date facts on the issue write the Office of Protected Resources, 

 NMFS, 1335 East-West Hiehway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 



3) The trainers for "Willy" (Active Environments) are attributed with saying to 

 the Miami Herald (July 6, 1993), "Mortality rates among released animals is about 

 33 percent. Another serious problem is that the pod — the family group in which kill- 

 er whales travel — almost certainly would reject a newly freed animal." One wonders 

 where the trainers got their information — I remember hearing a similar myth about 

 baby birds in my youth. Concerning killer whales in the Pacific Northwest, all of 

 the "resident" pods were captured on several occasions and many individuals were 



