Captive Orcas are Practicing Self-Harm
Anyone would marvel at the sight of orcas, also known as killer whales. It is for this reason that theme parks such as SeaWorld keep them in captivity. Because of this, it has only become more evident that they deserve the vastness of the open ocean, not the confines of a tank.
Research conducted over the years have found that captive orcas practice self-harm. For instance, they chew on tank surfaces, whether it be concrete or steel. As a result, they damage their teeth and they even suffer toothaches.
International researchers examined 29 orcas, all of which from a single company. They discovered that every single one of them had dental damage. About 24 percent of the orcas exhibited major to extreme mandibular coronal tooth wear. These experts also learned that 61 percent of the orcas' mandibular teeth 2 and 3 and 47 percent of their mandibular tooth 4 have undergone modified pulpotomy procedure.
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Former SeaWorld orca trainer-turned-medical-doctor Jeff Ventre, and Dr. John Jett, also a former trainer, describe it as a process of drilling holes into the pulp and into the jaw in hope of avoiding infection.
The process is undeniably "painful" for the animals, especially since a local anesthetic is not administered while the procedure is being carried out. The orca would, according to the former trainers, "squeal, shudder, and sink away" from the individual drilling into their mouths.
"Given how big the root of an orca's tooth is and that orca have a nervous system similar to ours, these injuries must be extremely painful," said co-author Dr. Ingrid Visser, a scientist in New Zealand in a statement.
Ventre, who also co-authored the study, said they personally found teeth fragments at the bottom of Shamu Stadium in Orlando.
The aggression that captive orcas exhibit are not limited to one another. Sometimes they turn their aggression towards humans. While there has been no recorded deaths or injuries caused by wild orcas, there are reportedly hundreds of incidents involving captive ones. Probably one of the worst was when a veteran trainer of the theme park was drowned and ripped apart by one of the killer whales.
The study has been published in the journal Archives of Oral Biology.
