Orca and the bending dorsal fin

[Saiyaman]

http://nekydahlgren.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/willy1.jpg
This is Keiko an Orca Bull and the star of "Free Willy."

http://images.travelpod.com/tw_slides/ta00/d85/3da/male-orca-alert-bay.jpg
And this is a wild Orca Bull, notice anything different?

Now in Dutch, the official name for an Orca is "Zwaardwalvis" which when broken down means "Sword whale" and it's not that difficult to see why they are called that way.

Now Orca live in Matriach pods and the Males are either sons or cousins of the dominant female, they converge with other pods to prevent inbreeding and thus keep the gene pool clean. Male Orca can be told apart from Females by their stouter built and dorsal fins which in general are twice as large.
http://orcaskillerbeauties.delfinweb.org/orcas/orca_mf.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV5a1Pu3SYc
A Pod of Orca hunting, you can pick out the bulls right away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__L0oAa2T8
Now as this clip shows Orca have good eyesight as they often pop up and take a look at what's going on above the water. Note how they pop up after each wave to see how they did and where their prey is. And because Orca have good eyesight, the large dorsal fins are a way of showing dominance over the others.

So why do Orca bulls like Keiko have a bent dorsal fin, why does the sword of those captive "sword whales" don't look that proud?

At first I heard a theory that it was of a particular Pod where all the males had bent fins and that males like Keiko are related to that Pod.
http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/files/AV-300%20with%20a%20collapsed%20dorsal%20fin.jpg
A wild male with a bent fin.

But while talking with a fellow whale enthusiast we came to the conclusion that it isn't that, it's more because of the lack of space. Wild Orca swim thousands of miles and keep their bodies fit, their dorsal fins are made of flesh and muscle and keep the animal sleek and streamlined.

Captive Orca however can only swim in circles and apart from shows, they don't really have a lot to do. Now an Orca, despite being called "Whale" is actually the biggest species of Dolphin and to showcase just how big they can be...
http://album2007.xmiesje.nl/dag%204%20Sea%20World,%20San%20Diego/slides/P7150111.JPG

So what does such a colossus do when there aren't any shows? They float on the surface most of the time, slack off and their lack of movement makes the muscle in their dorsal fins go weak, unable to support the sheer bulk of the fin and thus with time the fin will keel over and eventually bend completely. It is also shown that captive Male Orca are bulkier than their wild cousins because of their lack of space and those incidents where they attack each other is a direct result of boredom.

As a kid I used to love going to see dolphins at aquaparcs but knowing what I know now, I'm not sure that I will ever be able to enjoy seeing a dolphin jump through a hoop ever again.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

I watched the documentary 'the cove'

I'll never feel good about seeing a cetacean in a box. It was one of those documentaries that made you feel horrible that you were a human being.

 

[HeatherVivant]

I was scared for a minute that this was going to be a plot bunny.

 

[Saiyaman]

I watched the documentary 'the cove'

I'll never feel good about seeing a cetacean in a box. It was one of those documentaries that made you feel horrible that you were a human being.

Look for a BBC documentary called "Black harvest" to see another reason to be ashamed of being human.

Warning in advance: very gory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCPfT2AjZvY
Those people did this originally because of it being the only way to get fresh meat but with a steady supply of food from the mainland there's really no reason to continue doing so but they continue because of tradition and most of all because of the bloodshed. The fact that the whales are mercury contaminated and thus eating the meat is dangerous isn't enough reason for them to stop.