How Blackfish Changed How I See Orcas
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I have always found orcas fascinating, but they also scared me. For many people, every time orcas are talked about or brought to people’s attention, most people think of them as killers, especially after the very public death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer. Since her death, people have associated orcas with being cold-blooded killers and dangerous animals, but in reality, that is just not true. Orcas are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, and their intelligence also makes them emotionally intelligent and highly skilled at decision-making. Researchers and scientists have known how smart orcas are for decades, yet for a long time, SeaWorld got away with capturing and breeding orcas in captivity. We know how smart they are and how emotional they can be, yet the trainers and employees of SeaWorld were shocked by Tilikum, the orca that killed his trainer, even though they knew he had killed two people before that.
The documentary Blackfish was the final straw that exposed SeaWorld for how they were treating the orcas and the actual story behind the death of the trainer. While I was watching the documentary, it became clearer to me that killer whales are not the villains in the story; the people abusing them and not understanding them are. Orcas have only killed people in captivity, and three of those deaths involved Tilikum. One whale changed how everyone saw orcas as an entire species. I have always loved learning about killer whales, but watching Blackfish is what made me truly understand how misunderstood and intelligent they are. They are fascinating creatures, and I knew that, but I learned just how smart they are and how deeply emotional they can be.
