SeaWorld's Mothers and Calves by Okura

Edit History:
24/12/15 - Edited the Katina panel to reflect the recent death of Unna and slight edit to Katina's text inspired by a posting by derangedhyena I read.

Contact Details
If you wish to contact me to use this, please contact me at okuraorca (at) hotmail.com. Full sized image is able to be accessed
You are more than welcome to share this about and print to use to help raise awareness.

EXTREMELY HUGE FILE if you are going full sized. This is set to an A0 poster sized resolution.

Third in my poster series, I want to tear into SeaWorld's completely awful denial of the fact they separate mothers and calves. ~> opsociety.org/PressReleases/Pr…

I'm just... disgusted that they flat out lie about this fact. That they never separate them. It's obvious and just a simple bit of research shows this!
So, I compiled the five most bred females in SeaWorld's stock, and all their offspring and calculated percentages of what happened.

Surprisingly, I discovered it's actually worse that I had thought! Not only are so many taken, only one has ever been united with their mother again after separation and that was Kalina! Who also had every single one of her babies taken from her!
Also, in case you are wondering, the percentages are based on calves that SeaWorld purposely separated. The stillbirths and Malia's case of losing her mother were not included in the counts.

So yeah... SeaWorld! Fun for the whole family... Unless you're an orca. Then prepare to have yours ripped apart!

Important Notice

Before you comment, think twice.
I don't care if you are pro-captivity.
This is facts about the animals presented.
Arguing the point of pro-captivity is a pain and I do not care for it on my art. I have had threats and abuse slung at friends and family before and will not tolerate it here.
If you do not agree to this DO NOT COMMENT. It's that simple.
It's fine to have a discussion, but if you are simply going to bash and call it or me things, then keep it to yourself.

Finally, a great big thank you to James, who assisted with this, and everyone else who has assisted in anyway. You all know who you are and I thank you.

Bloodwolf-Xx Featured By Owner Dec 10, 2017 Hobbyist General Artist

I am currently reading Death at Seaworld and have read all about these guys. I hate Seaworld, they are money loving, filthy bastards that don't give a shit about their killer whales.

LucarioFan113 Featured By Owner Dec 11, 2016 Hobbyist Writer

It's good to see a concious person around!

CobraCatDragon2898 Featured By Owner Oct 1, 2016 Student Digital Artist

Lose-lose scenario I see. Separate mothers from calves (in a lot of cases, most of them are disruptive and causing tension in the pod) and have people complain about it. Not separating mothers from calves and we have another Nalani on our hands.
For further reading (because I don't have a ton of energy right now): orcinus-ocean.tumblr.com/facts (not done by me)

LuckyStarhun Featured By Owner Jun 27, 2016 Student General Artist

I have read some articles about orcas and know some things about orca training and I think there is only one problem, that they breed orcas at an age way too young. This is the basic problem that needs to be adressed and 80% of the other issues results from this fact. You may think it's too simplified but this is my opinion. A child woud have similar problems if she is forced to give birth at age 10, for example. Working with fully grown and mature orcas won't make the situation so bad.

Enricthepenguin92 Featured By Owner Apr 23, 2016 Digital Artist

It's already end of shamu show! :happybounce:

jillybean888 Featured By Owner Feb 18, 2016

Hi,

Love your art. Sent you email with question.

Thanks,
Jill

Adleisio Featured By Owner Dec 24, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Do you have a full list of sources and documentation? I think that even though the poster is a quick representation having a full list of resources would help validate the information more.

I am simply asking because as a scientist I value having most of the sources on hand for something like this and that you will have priers and people who might try to claim the information false.

Okura Featured By Owner Dec 24, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Sources I got from are up in the top left of the poster.
Used the websites and checked the details on each animal. Multiple sites give the same details.

Adleisio Featured By Owner Dec 24, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Ooh I was thinking of APA citations or links to the physical articles or PDFs

Okura Featured By Owner Dec 24, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

When I use details from science articles, I'll name them in full.
Working on a couple like that as well.

Adleisio Featured By Owner Dec 24, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Ah. Okydoky, I was just wondering because I think the specific URLs might be useful in the comments at least.

Okura Featured By Owner Sep 17, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Previous messages hidden for spam/trolling/general stupidity that makes me weep for humanity.

OrkyDorky Featured By Owner May 25, 2017 Hobbyist General Artist

Out of curiosity,what were they about?

Okura Featured By Owner May 27, 2017 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

What do you mean?

OrkyDorky Featured By Owner May 27, 2017 Hobbyist General Artist

The comments below you you hided.

Okura Featured By Owner May 27, 2017 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Oh, just someone offensive and stupid trolling.

kurisutaru Featured By Owner Sep 18, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

*pat pat*

Flagged as Spam

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TehTadpoleJackson Featured By Owner Edited Jul 3, 2015 Hobbyist Writer

Seaworld is a corporation, and therefore puts profits first over the safety of its employees, guests, and animals.
Why should a group explicitly formed for the creation of profit be allowed to own and operate a marine animal sanctuary and put the lives of hundreds of animals and thousands of guests in their hands?
The only groups who should ever be allowed to house these animals are non-profit hospitals, shelters, and sanctuaries.
How did they even get ahold of Orcas when hunting or capturing them is explicitly illegal?

scorchwillow Featured By Owner May 3, 2015 Student

I won't call you anything, but I don't agree with this. I want to be an orca trainer and I wouldn't dream of it if they separated mothers and calves.

Okura Featured By Owner May 3, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Well, I'm sorry that you do not agree to it, but it is the facts.

Kasatka is in San Diego, Trua is in Orlando, Takara is in Texas and Kohana is in Spain.
That's one family over four generations that has been separated completely. The evidence is black and white there.

scorchwillow Featured By Owner May 5, 2015 Student

I guess... I don't know. I don't want to start an argument.

TrainLiner Featured By Owner Apr 24, 2015

Fuck SeaWorld. They are greedy shits and I hope they get shut down.

LordVaderNihilus Featured By Owner Apr 7, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

When i heard that Sea World does this to orcas on Blackfish i couldnt belive it, a bound between a mother and her baby should be protected, i cant belive people does this to orcas, how much pain Sea World is willing to do only to get money?

Andranis Featured By Owner Mar 26, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

With at least Taima, they should have stopped breeding her, ever, after the first aggressive incident that resulted in separation from her calf. On the same hand, they shouldn't have been putting them in situations where this kind of stuff would happen... IE, not in captivity.

Reading other comments, I wonder if a part of her aggression was related to the fact she was a cross between two different types of Orca. Not all of it, not by a long shot, but at least a contributing factor.

It also reminds me of something a couple anonymous former trainers from SeaWorld revealed via a Cracked article - Trainers are explicitly told to give false information about the whales and the species, all while wearing suits that will, in the end, leave them with a horrible skin-raw rash. Cruel to the animals, cruel to the 'trainers.' It was between this article and Tillikum's killing of a trainer that I lost even a passive desire to go to SeaWorld(If I even had one... We didn't go to big parks when I was a kid, and when I was a teen, the only big theme park we went to was Busch Gardens Williamsburg; Beyond that, I've only been to Disneyland and Universal studios because my aunt paid for us to go, and any other places we went were actually zoos. I'm happy to say I got to see Keiko while he was in Oregon and on the mend to head back to Finland

As I recall, he was doing the orca equivalent of napping)

Tesurii Featured By Owner Mar 14, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I've always loved and admired Orcas...when I was little I used to beg to go to Seaworld. I never went, and after learning about the abuse these beautiful creatures endure, I regret ever wanting to go. I hope that one day an end to captive Orcas comes. They do not deserve to live in tiny tanks. They deserve to be free.

Okura Featured By Owner Mar 14, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

It's not a bad thing to want or feel the desire to.
I was like that myself until 2011. In fact I was even researching how to become a trainer.

It's when you learn the truths as has been happening that you begin to question those thoughts. But it is really just a sign that you truly care for them.

Tesurii Featured By Owner Mar 14, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I only recently seen Blackfish, like literally a few days ago. I already started disliking keeping animals like Orcas in tiny cramped tanks, and after learning about how they are really treated I just a couldn't stand it anymore.

Igloo9201 Featured By Owner Sep 25, 2014 Hobbyist Writer

Taima always looks like she wants to kill someone.

All the other orcas are sad, and Tai is just "I WILL RIP YOUR ARMS OFF."

Nice work, though.

Okura Featured By Owner Sep 26, 2014 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Taima was often labelled as an aggressive orca and trainers were barred from waterwork with her, much like Tilikum because of her unpredictable nature.
While I know this is far from what she was always like, I feel that it's something that Taima is known for and so to help characterise her, I use that.

That and the fact she was not a very good mother, so, I don't think she'd be happy about being on this and all.

Igloo9201 Featured By Owner Sep 26, 2014 Hobbyist Writer

I figured that.
She was half transient, correct?

Okura Featured By Owner Sep 26, 2014 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Correct. A hybrid that would never exist in the wild.

Spiritedmagic Featured By Owner Nov 11, 2015 Professional General Artist

Ever since learning that transients have been genetically separate for hundreds of thousands of years, and that other types of orca could be reclassified as separate species, I've been wondering what the situation is for captive orcas, that may be housed not only with whales outside their origin family pods and dialects, but perhaps in forced proximity of whales with completely different languages, cultures and diets. And of course how this might affect their behaviour and quality of social life.

Is there anywhere I can look to find information about what type/sub type each whale is? Have you done a graphic for it?

Okura Featured By Owner Nov 12, 2015 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

I haven't made a graphic to this, but it's an interesting idea.

To answer your question on what it would be like;
Image taking an American, a Japanese, a Russian and a French man. None of them speak anything but their own personal language.
Now dump all of them into a room, lock the doors and expect them all to live together in harmony.

Igloo9201 Featured By Owner Sep 26, 2014 Hobbyist Writer

Yup! The two populations aren't even in the same ocean. (Well, maybe technically...geography isn't my strong suit......anyways they live nowhere near each other. Xl)