If you've ever heard of SeaWorld, you've probably heard of its nemesis: the documentary Blackfish, and its now-famous orca whale, Tilikum. The massive bull whale gained notoriety after causing the death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, and then again with the release of Blackfish, which chronicled Tilikum's journey from young, wild calf to captive performance attraction.
Since the revelations of Blackfish, public opinion of SeaWorld has plummeted, and the three years since Blackfish's release have seen the company scrambling with some pretty obvious and frankly pathetic damage control.
The public has been inspired and motivated to end the practice of keeping these emotionally intelligent, powerful predators in marine parks. And now, a small group of activists are putting their money where their mouths are and doing something about it.
The Whale Sanctuary Project officially launched on May 5th of this year by a powerful and experienced team of activists. The board includes some pretty badass experts including Lori Marino, a friggin neuroscientist in animal behavior, and Charles Vinick, who was the director of the Keiko project. Vinick oversaw the transportation of the beloved Keiko and monitored his activity during his new freedom.
The goal of the Whale Sanctuary Project is to develop and establish a seaside cetacean sanctuary ("cetacean" is a fancy science word for dolphins, whales, and porpoises). At this sanctuary, cetaceans will undergo rehabilitation for life in the wild. And for those who can't be released, the Sanctuary will be a lifelong home in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat. Worlds better than SeaWorld's bathtubs.
With SeaWorld's orca attractions slowly dissolving, this could be an excellent solution to granting these amazing animals the William Wallace-level freedom they deserve. And with Tilikum's health beginning to ail, giving him a chance to feel the ocean again feels paramount for activists concerned with orca captivity.
With the Whale Sanctuary Project underway, one of its major backers made a pretty badass move that we all probably wish we could do if we were go-zillionaires. Munchkin Inc. CEO Steven Dunn personally offered SeaWorld $1,000,000 for the surrender of Tilikum to the whale sanctuary. Dunn has been quoted as saying, "It's time to stop talking about creating a seaside sanctuary and make it a reality so captive whales, dolphins and porpoises can live their lives in a more natural environment."
SeaWorld, perhaps unsurprisingly, continued its reign of douchebaggery where Tilikum is concerned, denying Dunn's offer. They claimed it would do more harm than good to the animals which had spent most if not all of their lives in captivity, and cited the illness and death of Keiko the orca to back up their claim. But they seem to have completely ignored the fact that Keiko lived five full years thriving in the wild where he belonged, was able to swim vast distances in his native waters, and even showed signs of making mating attempts. His death by pneumonia did not seem to be related to his previous captivity, and even orcas at SeaWorld have died of the disease. It's hard to argue that his life in the wild was not better than that in the small marine park where he came from.
So the heartbreaking plight of Tilikum continues, but the Whale Sanctuary Project isn't giving up. They're moving ahead anyways. Maybe someday someone can produce a dollar amount to convince SeaWorld to let Tilikum feel the ocean currents again. Until then, we can support the Sanctuary development and hope for the best for these wonderful animals.
If you'd like to donate to the project--c'mon, will you really miss $5? I spend that on Starbucks every day--click HERE.
Another great group aiming to free captive marine animals is the International Marine Mammal Project and you can help them too!
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