Orca

It should have been very easy to include the aquarium with Stanley Park, because the aquarium was the main thing we did. My feelings were all mixed up though, because of Blackfish.

Killer whales were always a big part of our trips to British Columbia. On our first trip to Victoria, we went to Sealand. Tillikum was not there yet; it was Haida and Miracle, but on our next trip there, Miracle had died, and they had Tillikum. When we went to Vancouver instead of Victoria, we went to Stanley Park and saw the whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, and then the Disney Channel had a show, Danger Bay, filmed there, so we could see it more. I think I even remember seeing killer whales at Knott's Berry Farm long ago, but that may have only been dolphins.

(And yes, we did watch Orca when it was on television, but aside from the factual inaccuracies, I think there were plot and acting problems.)

This is all many years ago. Learning later that Tilikum had been moved to SeaWorld, and about the deaths, was unsettling, so I was fascinated when Blackfish came out. I did not see it immediately, but I read enough about it that I started to feel that orcas did not belong in captivity.

Returning to the Vancouver Aquarium, I was happy to see that they no longer had the orcas, and I love belugas, so was glad to see them. I remember thinking that it made sense that you could keep belugas and dolphins in captivity, because of their smaller size. Orcas are so much larger, and they have these complex social groups, and it is not practical to have enough space to fill those needs. As I started getting closer to reviewing Stanley Park, I started wondering if I was right.

I tried some internet searches, and couldn't get anywhere. I also decided I needed to watch Blackfish. I watched it the day that I wrote up Stanley Park. I had not written anything previously, but I had selected the pictures that I wanted to use. After watching the movie, I found I could not deal with the aquarium at all, and I deleted all the pictures from the aquarium.

The movie was only about orcas, and so my question still was not answered, but I needed more time. I still don't really have any answers.

One thing that I thought would be helpful is that if the Association of Zoos and Aquariums gave accreditation to the Shedd and to the Vancouver Aquarium, but not to SeaWorld, or to none of them, that might be an indication; they are all accredited.

I did a search on belugas in captivity. That took me to an activist rant who was against any of them being in captivity, but she also said all scientists agreed that whales are smarter than humans, and lauded Keiko's release to the wild as a success story, which is an overstatement. Maybe if he had lived longer that could have gone better, but he was lonely and he died.

The point is that I can't trust her judgment. I can't trust SeaWorld's either, because one thing that the movie demonstrated was that they have a horrible track record on truth telling. I know they complain a lot about the movie, and its bias, but they had film footage and newspaper articles and court documents for their claims.

So, yes, I am glad that the Vancouver Aquarium no longer keeps orcas. The more I looked into it, trying to establish a timeline for my memories, it just grew worse and worse. Miracle drowning at the bottom of the pool sounds more sinister. Haida's life was sad. Tilikum's life is a tragedy. But what about other cetaceans? I don't know.

I do not have a moral objection to zoos. I know they can be done well or badly. I remember when our zoo was all concrete and iron, and that's not how it is now, and I do believe in the role they play in conservation.

Obviously an important factor is the quality of life the animals get. It may be hard for us to judge, but one alarming thing was learning how bad the lifespan of orcas in captivity is. Whales that could live from 80 - 100 years in the wild usually die before 35. That's horrifying. Clearly they do not belong in captivity.

I can't find equivalent statistics on belugas and dolphins. It looks like it is not great for false killer whales, which is not surprising, but they don't seem to be widely held. However, I did see some statistics for the percent of belugas now in captivity who were captured in the wild, and that doesn't look good. Maybe another criterion needs to be whether self-sustaining breeding programs are possible.

So I end this concerned, and without being able to do a normal review of the Vancouver Aquarium. The non-cetacean exhibits are okay, I guess, but they didn't stick with me. Right now my favorite aquarium is the one at Point Defiance, because I remember good use of space, and respect for the environment, but also, no cetaceans. They would be too small anyway, but I think that's for the best.