David Kirby (2) (1960–2023)

One of the most powerful books I have ever read and along with Unbroken, my favorite nonfiction read of the year. This book exposes the true corporate greed motivating Sea World as opposed to the science/ conservation image that they want the public to swallow hook, line, and sinker. Much like how Upton Sinclairs, The Jungle (another favorite of mine) exposed the seedy side of the meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, this book lays bare the Sea World behind the facade they put show more forth to the public so they will not know that their money is paying for the enslavement and torture of intelligent beings. When I first picked up the book I thought the title Death at Sea World referred to the death of popular Sea World trainer Dawn Brancheau but by the time I finished I realized that it could just as easily apply to all of the Orcas who have died at Sea World so that the public can get their entertainment fix and Sea World their money.

Before I started reading this book I was under the impression that this book mainly concerned the death of Dawn Brancheau. While it does address this incident it covers so much more. In the past it didn't even occur to me to think that Orca's should not be kept in captivity. I knew the rinky dink Miami Seaquarium by me was low caliber. The tanks were dirty and Lolita the whale looked sad in her undersized pool but didn't have any problem with Sea World. I had taken my daughter to Sea World when she was five and had a wonderful time. It looked clean and state of the art in technology. The performance pools for the whales were small but surely they must have huge tanks in the back where you can't see right? This was to be only one of many misconceptions I had exposed after reading this book. What I learned led me to completely change my mind and come to the conclusion that whales of any kind as well as dolphins should not be kept in captivity.

This book begins by telling the journey of two very different people who finally wind up at the same place, as champions for the Orca's that cannot speak for themselves. Naomi Rose is a scientist who studied Orca's in the wild for many years. After she finished school she was hired as the senior scientist for the Humane Society International. She did not start out against whale captivity but her many years of research in the field led her to believe that Sea World's assertion that whales live longer in the wild is incorrect. In fact Naomi studied and came to know the relatives of the very same whales being held in Sea World's tanks today. According to her not only do whales live longer in the wild, they exhibit almost none of the behaviors that they are forced to perform in shows. In contrast Jeff Ventre was a Sea World trainer. He took a job there under the impression that he would be involved in scientific research. He soon found out that there wasn't any science happening behind the scenes, it was all show business. He was making minimum wage while performing dangerous stunts that could potentially kill him. After watching numerous whales injure themselves and others and die he began to speak up at work which led to his eventual firing. He quickly came to the conclusion that the way Sea World was running it's whale program was disastrous for the whales as well as the the trainers.

The book goes on to document just how the whales are captured in the wild. Giant nets scoop them up. In one infamous incident, the whale round up at Penn Cove, eighty killer whales were caught in one net. This was the catch that netted Lolita who lives in Miami, the only whale still alive from that day. Many of her family were killed in the round up. Whales spend their entire lifetimes with their families. Calves stay with mothers for many years. This is an important fact that Sea World has tried to keep hidden from the public and even their own staff because the routinely break up families and force whales into artificial pods with sometimes disastrous results when the whales fight for dominance with their tank mates. Sea World also splits up mothers from babies before the baby is even two. One trainer recounted an agonizing night listening while a mother and baby cried and screamed for each other before they were split apart forever. Sea World also forcibly impregnates female whales much earlier than they would be in the wild and repeatedly. This causes stress on the mothers and babies. Some mothers do not survive the birth or die shortly after and some babies are never healthy and die young.

The book also goes into great detail about Keiko the whale who starred in Free Willy. Keiko was trapped in a tiny tank in Mexico and was becoming sickly. After the movie came out a bunch of support came through and plans were made to free him from Mexico and release him back into his pod in Norway. What I never knew was the extent that Sea World tried to get their hooks into him and block his release. Sea World was low on whale sperm and they needed Keiko for their breeding program since the public now frowned on capturing whales in the wild. In addition they had a vested interest in seeing the release plan fail because they didn't want anyone to get the idea that whales could be freed. Although they tried to block the plan, Keiko was released and died 17 months later, a fact they like to crow about. At lease Keiko got to experience the open ocean again and in fact swam over a thousand miles. How much his poor treatment in Mexico ultimately contributed to his demise is still debated. In any case Sea World used the incident as a further point in their case that the it would be cruel to release the Orca's in their care.

When Sea World soured on taking in Keiko because of his unsightly skin condition acquired in Mexico they set their sites on what would become the world's next most known whale Tilikum who was residing up in Canada. Another fact Sea World tried to keep under wraps was that Tilikum had killed his trainer Keltie Barnes which was why he was up for sale. Sea World was desperate to get breeding underway so they took him on even though they knew he was dangerous to humans. People who worked at Sea World were told that if they got in the pool with Tilikum they would come out a corpse. As for Keltie Barnes, everyone at Sea World liked to believe that her death was due to trainer error. In fact everyone who was injured by a whale was injured because of their own failing. It was never the whales fault because then Sea World would have to admit that it was too dangerous to work with them. So through the years many trainers were injured sometimes even in front of spectators. When uncomfortable questions were asked a whole host of lies and covers up were scripted to convince the public that the whales were just peachy and in fact liked captivity better than being free.

The years go by. Many whales die, some very young, and Tilikum makes human kill number two, a homeless man who snuck into his tank at night. Sea World seems to deflect this PR nightmare because no one seems to really care because he was a drifter and was trespassing anyway. The breeding program grows and is quite successful with Tilikum fathering many whales although inbreeding is becoming a bit of a problem. Sea World has some extra whales and they decide to lease/ sell four of them to a start up operation in Spain. Naomi Rose does what she can but fails to block the transfer. Lead trainer Dawn Brancheau goes over to Spain and helps set up the program along with some Sea World staff. While there she befriends a trainer named Alexis Martinez.

Then comes the day that Sea World has to finally face the music because Dawn Brancheau is killed by Tilikum. Sea World's trainer error story won't tread water this time because Dawn was too revered. Instead they try to put forth the idea that her ponytail floated in Tilikum's mouth instead of eye witness reports that saw him grab her by the arm and yank her in. Whatever the case Dawn has been killed violently and in front of the public. Sea World is facing negative exposure like never before. One of the the fall outs from Dawn's death is an OSHA investigation which Sea World blocks at very turn by making trainers unavailable for interviews and refusing to turn over requested documentation.

The book concludes with the big showdown in court between Sea World and OSHA in court. In the past Sea World has been able to pressure lawmakers into making investigations go away. They even got then California governor Arnold Swarzenegger to exert his political pressure to their advantage. This time if they hope to get their trainers back into the water with the whales they will have to go to court. PETA also throws their hat into the legal ring in an effort to free the whales now numbering in Spain. Things have gotten quite critical there because the whales tanks are falling apart and a whale named Keto has killed Dawn Brancheaus friend Alexis Martinez on Christmas Eve. That was another trainer death Sea World was desperate to cover up. Incredible! While the court case rages on scientists, journalists, former trainers, and animal activists unite to carry the fight on. They formed a group called super pod 2 and you can learn more about their mission here. https://sites.google.com/site/voiceoftheorcas/ It is quite clear that Sea World intends to carry on it's show while pushing for expansion into China. Whatever it takes to keep their bottom line and the death of a beloved trainer hasn't seemed to make so much as a dent in their business. Until the public says enough and affects the revenue stream of Sea World they will keep on keeping on. Thankfully the whales have champions like Naomi Rose who is a true hero and Jeff Ventre and many others who are dedicating their lives to free cetaceans from captivity.

No matter what your stance on the issue is I challenge everyone to read this book. It was incredibly eye opening. I hope that I get to see these animals in the wild where they belong in my lifetime. The best course of action would be for Sea World to suspend their breeding program and to move the whales that they have in captivity into sea pens where they can at least have room to swim. After their tireless efforts to ensure our entertainment it is at the very least what they deserve. Lolita's plight is of special concern to me since I live so close to her and her tank is the smallest. She is also isolated and this social, intelligent creature does not have the company of even one other whale. David Kirby's book has made me a convert. I hope to be able to join in in some of the work being done to free Lolita. This review is the longest I have ever written but this book saddened and enraged me. Even though my review is so long there is so much of the story I haven't even touched on. I urge everyone to read David Kirby's expose of the marine mammal display industry. show less

Our relationship to the animals around us is a tenuous one. As the earth’s top predators what responsibility do we have to other species? I remember going to Seaworld in California many years ago and watching in awe as the orcas performed their tricks. I would be less enthralled today after what we have learned over the years regarding the natural habitat of the orcas compared to the cramped and unnatural living quarters of those in captivity.

Tilikum had been captured as a baby off show more Iceland (note that the Icelandic orcas have a different culture than those off British Columbia and different diet, the ones in B.C. feeding on fish, the others on mammals. Some have even been known to drown baleen whales in order to eat their fins.) He was kept in a small tank for several years with two dominant females (orcas are primarily matriarchal) and often tormented by them. It was just a matter of time before Tilikum became what we might call psychotic and unpredictable.

One of the themes brought out in this book is the natural antipathy between those who believe zoos are the best way to see and learn about animals and those who think that keeping animals of high intelligence, and there is no doubt that whales and apes have very high intelligence, is not only unworthy of humans but detrimental to the animals themselves and that the only way to study and learn about them is in the wild where the animals can behave normally. There was even some speculation that emerged from the hearings after Tilikum killed Dawn Brancheau that institutions like Sea World and zoos have a vested interest in subtly portraying the dangers of nature. Indeed one of Sea World’s major arguments for not returning their killer whales back to the wild was that they were safer penned up. This argument morphs over into a more general one that nature is dangerous for humans as well so come see the animals in the zoo, please, where you won’t get hurt (and by the way buy a few t-shirts, mugs and pizza while you are there.)

There had been four deaths in the pools from interplay with orcas. Many others have been injured, several quite severely. The hearings in Congress that ultimately resulted following Dawn’s death had to answer two vital questions: “ 1. Is captivity in an amusement park good for orcas: Is this the appropriate venue for killer whales to be held, and does it somehow benefit wild orcas and their ocean habitat, as the industry claims? 2. Is orca captivity good for society: Is it safe for trainers and truly educational for a public that pays to watch the whales perform what critics say are animal tricks akin to circus acts? Not surprisingly, people who support SeaWorld and other marine-themed entertainment parks (pro-caps in the lingo of this particular argument) answer affirmatively.”

There is little doubt these large animals are fascinating creatures with a sophisticated culture. Lots of information here on that. While the author’s sympathies clearly lie with those wishing to study animals in the wild, he does a good job of presenting both sides of the issue although he does focus primarily on those people like Naomi Rose, an orca expert and her evolution into anti-Seaworld activist.

One can sympathize with the Zoo proponents but that sympathy tends to waver in the face of their use of euphemisms and obfuscation in an attempt to make animal life at Sea World appear as “happy” as possible. As the great muckraker Upton Sinclair put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” show less

Despite a slightly slow start, I found this book captivating, compelling and thoughtful. I am personally opposed to animal shows that are purely for entertainment, but I am a bit of a middle-of-the-roader on zoos and aquaria. There are some animals, however, that should never been kept in captivity and orcas are among them. This book presents information about a tragedy for both a human being and for an orca and expands from there to the widespread issues that surround holding top predators show more in captivity, especially animals that are as intelligent and powerful as these are.

Worth owning and reading more than once. show less

I often forget that the business of writing mass-market products is quite different from the authors in pursuit of academic tenure, contributing to a body of research, or seeking to enhance the life of the mind. This book reminded me that being inflammatory can be reason enough to publish something, but that doesn't yield an enjoyable read.

Kirby started with a paean to dis/mistrust of authority (the anecdote from Chapter 1 is the experience of a family with the literal surname Magas, because show more subtlety is dead), then the book turned into a laundry list of citizen lawsuits against the public sector. The author doesn't like authority and delighted in breathless accounts of their failures with little to align them into a central argument. If you are seeking the how-to-take-action part of the title, skip this and work directly with the advocates that Kirby cites, like Lucy Parsons Labs. show less