Yet Another "Mysterious" Death at SeaWorld

SeaWorld has had quite the banner year ... if we're talking about funeral banners. Just last week, they lost yet another killer whale, bringing Shamu's 2010 death toll to 3 orcas and 1 trainer.

Sumar was a 12-year-old orca. Born in captivity, Sumar was separated from his mom — who he would have stayed close to his entire life in the wild — when he was just a calf after she reportedly attacked him during a show. (It should go without saying that, in the wild, they wouldn't have been subjected to the stress of turning tricks for food in a small tank in front of an audience.)

Earlier this year, while Sumar was living in exile in San Diego, his father, Tilikum, was involved in the death of a trainer. Tilly is pimped out by SeaWorld in, as Marc Bekoff aptly puts it, their "whale mill" operation, where they continue to breed killer whales like it's a puppy mill, and ship the calves all over the country with no regard for their family bonds. A couple months ago, Sumar's mother, Taima, impregnated yet again by Tilly, died along with her stillborn calf.

That's a pretty troubled life story for someone of any species. But, nonetheless, SeaWorld called Sumar's death "mysterious," much like the previous deaths had been "unexpected."

Well, let me help you out with this one, Sherlock: Killer whales should not be in captivity putting on shows for human entertainment.

As Michael Mountain over at Zoe pointed out, orcas should live 60 years or so in the wild; in captivity, three out of four are dead within their first decade of life. SeaWorld takes these intelligent, majestic, family-oriented ocean mammals, splits them up and makes them spend their lives in bathtubs, letting trainers stand on their noses, ride on their fins and tell them when to jump for a crowd. I'm pretty sure there's no drug for that; no wonder the dose of antibiotics didn't cure Sumar's lethargy.

Between its three parks, SeaWorld houses around 20 killer whales, meaning they've lost about 15 percent of their population in less than a year; a number which would surely start to raise alarms in the wild. Add in two more deaths that occurred between October 2007-June 2008, and you start to wonder when this gets classified as an epidemic.

What will it take for SeaWorld to stop this cruel "educational" charade? They prove every day, and especially on their far-too-frequent days of tragedy, that as long as the money is flowing in, the show must go on. The public should stop supporting these deadly whale mills, but if you're reading this, I'm probably preaching to the choir.

Earlier this year, following the death of Tilikum's trainer, a subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing called Marine Mammals in Captivity: What Constitutes Meaningful Public Education? In theory, marine mammals should have better government oversight and protection from the grim reaper of SeaWorld. The hearing was a step toward looking at where the loopholes are and how SeaWorld is jumping through them. Tell the members of the House Subcommittee that it's time to crack down on SeaWorld and get the surviving marine mammals out of captivity and into ocean sanctuaries.

Photo credit: Ezra S F