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                                      Blackfish Reflection

    I watched the documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and my initial reaction was just utter disbelief. The fact that SeaWorld had known about what really happened to Dawn Brancheau but insisted that is was her fault she got attacked and there was no sign of aggression in the attack. The whale, Tilikum, had had a record for attacking and killing trainers. The fact that they keep Tilikum is surprising because he is unpredictable. Trainers should not be allowed in the water with these whales and the court decision coming out of Dawn's case, supports my theory and now trainers are not allowed in the water with the whales. I was shocked and even angry after watching this film because I learned a lot about how the whales feel about being held captive at SeaWorld. The whales show signs of frustration and sometimes aggression because they cannot move freely like a wild animal is used to. Every once in awhile, the whales lash out with frustration and attack the trainers. I learned that there were almost eighty accounts of killer whales attacking trainers while in captivity, some of them leading to the death of the trainer, yet very few, if any accounts of attacking people in the wild. Even more shocking, the trainers in the film were not notified about the previous attacks by the whales before they got into the water with them. This is negligence on part of SeaWorld, letting the trainers go into the water with dangerous animals without telling them about their previous signs of aggression. After watching this film, I am against holding killer whales in captivity. Tilikum showed signs of frustration and aggression and should serve as a learning curve for us in realizing that killer whales are majestic, beautiful, and powerful animals that should not held in captivity, but thrives in the wild.