Death At SeaWorld: Shamu And The Dark Side Of Killer Whales In Captivity (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
A couple of weeks ago I made the mistake of watching "Blackfish," the 2013 documentary that focused on Tilikum, a killer whale living at SeaWorld Orlando who has been involved in three deaths. The documentary is very well done, and incredibly disturbing. Once seen, it cannot be unseen. Footage that is used of actual killer whale attacks on the trainers definitely shows reasons why people should not get into the water with them.After watching "Blackfish," I had a hard time getting it out of my mind. I decided to read this one because I wanted to learn more about what truly goes on in captivity for killer whales. Obviously, this book takes the anti-captivity position. However, facts make it pretty hard to dispute. SeaWorld is painted as a company that just wants to make money, and knowingly shares incorrect information about killer whales both in the wild and in captivity. The number of captive whales that have died before the age of 20 is appalling, especially when they can live until at least 30 in the wild. The book focuses specifically on SeaWorld's history and the fight against holding killer whales in captivity, which was brought to the media's attention by the violent death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer.I feel like I could get up on a soapbox about how awful SeaWorld is, but I won't. This book is well researched and I find the whole thing, both learning about the whales and about the captive whale industry to be fascinating. It is written in a way that does not make it seem dry or boring, and I found it interesting. I am always skeptical of what I feel are sensationalist books on current topics. However, I really enjoyed this book. It gives a history of killer whales in captivity as well as studies conducted on wild whales so that you can compare the actions of captive whales vs. wild whales. I do believe it is skewed toward the anti-captive side but it really didn't have to convince me much that killer whales in capitivity is not a good idea.It is a good companion book to the documentary "Blackfish" and goes into more detail about life as a captive killer whale and what happens when killer whales turn on their trainers. It covers the death of Dawn Brancheau by Tilikum, as well as other incidents where trainers were injured or killed. It also explores the aggression of captive killer whales to each other that has not been documented in the wild.I have seen the Shamu show at SeaWorld. I was really excited to see it because I thought I would never get a chance to see a live orca up close but I left feeling very disappointed. These are such large mammals in such a tiny space. I felt a bit deceived by the show man style production I saw. I did see Tilikum at the end when he does his big splash and you will be awed by his size. I can't imagine being pulled into the water by him and the terror that trainer must have felt. But I didn't feel like I was seeing orcas how they should be seen. Whatever your feelings about captive whales and the shows they have to perform, I highly recommend this book. It is good to see both sides of the arguement.
What do You think about Death At SeaWorld: Shamu And The Dark Side Of Killer Whales In Captivity (2012)?
Great book! Learned a lot about whales in captivity. A must...read the book!
—Eileen
A must read if you are passionate against the idea of Orcas in captivity.
—maymay555
This made me hate Sea World more than I already do.
—saoirsejg98
Changed my thinking on animal captivity
—Senthilnathan
