Tilikum and Blackfish: Trauma of Orcas in Captivity

Tilikum's Early Life and Trauma

Blackfish analyzes how Tilikum’s life led up to his violent encounters. Tilikum was captured as a calf off the coast of Iceland, being separated from his family and taken to Sea Land of the Pacific in British Columbia. At Sea Land, Tilikum and the other orcas were placed in a 30 by 20 foot module at night, with barely enough room to float, and with the lights turned off, leaving him in total darkness and no room to swim. Animal specialists interviewed in the film claim that this led to a type of psychosis.

Tilikum's Involvement in Human Deaths

After Sea Land of the Pacific went out of business in 1992, Tilikum was transferred to Sea World, Orlando. Other than Dawn Brancheau’s death, Tilikum played a part in two other human deaths: one of a trainer at Sea Land of the Pacific and one of a civilian who snuck into Sea World after hours and was found floating in Tilikum’s tank. It is unknown how involved Tilikum was in this incident.

Blackfish's Claims About Orcas in Captivity

Blackfish makes the claim that all orcas in captivity are traumatized, that they live less than half the lifespan of an orca in the wild, and are subject to cruel treatment by their trainers. While Tilikum is a primary example of a killer whale gone literally killer, it is important to remember that not all the orcas were subject to mistreatment early in their lives, which most likely led to Tilikum’s violence.

Counterarguments to the Film's Claims

The film claims that every single orca living at Sea World is abused and traumatized, while they only point out the ones that they know for a fact are because of violent encounters. They don’t take into account the numerous whales that have never attacked a trainer because it makes a much more interesting story.

Family Separation and Orca Aggression

Blackfish also describes how most of the orcas at Sea World were separated from their families in the wild to be brought to the park, and the whales are not family members but strangers who harass each other, while Sea World claims that they have whole families at their parks. The film illustrates this with a chilling image of a Shamu posing at the end of a show, while spectators saw what the trainers immediately didn’t: blood pouring from a gash on his flank from a scuffle with another orca.