Conversations Thru the Eye of an Orca

By Christopher Porter

Conversations Thru The Eye of An Orca is a personal recollection of my time with captive orcas. Startiling with Tilikum and sharing stories of my life with him at Sealand; onwards to his last days at Seaworld. These captive relations changed my life and what I learned is attempted to be shared through this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781716114359

Book preview

DEDICATED TO TILIKUM

By Christopher Robert Porter

Year 2021

Prologue

What is the benefit of having the orcas in the pool? I asked.

That was my first time and not the last time I asked about keeping animals in captivity. I had just finished my interview for an Assistant Trainer at Sealand of the Pacific. For months, I served the aquarium staff as the short-order cook they all favoured for coffee breaks and any additional meals they could afford. Being awed by the nautically, athletically, showy animal trainers, I always added some extras to their meals. I loved hearing their stories, and they were a lively group in the fisherman filled the coffee shop.

One day one of the trainers said I should apply for Assistant Trainer’s position. I was 19 and had no idea what I wanted to do in life. I had recently returned from a trip to Alert Bay in British Columbia as a Priest Assistant for the Anglican Church on the Native Land of the Home of the Orca Tribe. During my stay there, I appreciated the elders’ orcas’ legends. I was tasked with marking the graves of the Native Cemetery that for decades had no markings or map. Compiling records and talking with locals, I gained an immense appreciation of native culture and the Orca legend. I was 18 and unsure also what I wanted to do with life. Arriving back in Victoria after six months of learning about Orcas, I ended up as a short-order cook above Sealand of the Pacific.

I took up the Head Trainer’s invitation to watch a set of shows to see if I would like to apply for the position. It was like getting invited to Disneyland for Free. Despite being just over a ramp and onto the floating ramp, Sealand of the Pacific was a leading exhibit of marine education of its day. Attracting over 100,000 visitors every Summer and gaining the trust of tens of thousands of locals with their $1 season pass, Sealand of the Pacific was at its time the leading pioneer of marine aquarium display.

Constructed as a floating aquarium, it contained barges that contained large tanks with glass viewing panels. Pump rooms surrounded the tanks, and stairways and hallways were built around the floating barge steel compartments. The barges had pools for a steller sea lion, rescued harbour seals, large reef fish tanks containing hand-fed tame wolf eels and octopus. Unique sea garden exhibits featuring some colourful and popular items such as crabs to sea urchins.

The fish tank floating barges were connected to a floating wooden dock system surrounding five net pools. The nets were suspended from the docks to steel frames below to keep the nets taut. The smallest only 6 feet across and 5 feet deep for Harbour Seal Pup Seals. The resident harbour seals in a deep and oval pool with two hauls out islands. A family of 5 sea lions had one of the largest and most vibrant exhibits I have ever seen, from a sizable haul-out area to holding areas all within a net collection full of life. Deep,  full of fish life and boasting a successful rearing of captive-born harbour seals -still one of the best ways to educate the public I have witnessed. It utilized the relationship with animals that could not survive being released to be ambassadors of the wild.

The next show was the California Sea Lion Family Show. A great collection of quirks and acrobatics of these amazing lively animals. Produced by one of the world's leading trainers from Germany, the collection of home props from a shower scene to an alarm clock made the guests laugh while amazed at the trainer’s ability to control it all. I was surprised at the fantastic relationship that was there. Equally amazed watching Clyde, the 600 lb male sea lion, spend his show waiting for the right moment to knock the bucket of fish out of the hands of the trainer.  So gently sea lions are but so sly.

Finally, the Killer Whale Show. Every day this cycle of 3 shows occurred every hour. The seal show lasted approximately 10 mins, the sea lions about 15 and the whales 20 mins. , making up eight cycles in the winter and 10 in the Summer. I stood beside the stage and watched the trainers call over the animals and began their show—what a fantastic display of trust and power. The whales made the floating docks rock with their tails’ thrusts to crowd-pleasing acts. From speed swimming to 19-years to a backflip striking a buoy suspended high above the pool. Impressive for this 19-year old that just read about them in a book in Alert Bay six months previously.

The trainers stayed behind to play with the whales and answer questions. One of the favourite things it appears orcas like is when their teeth are getting rubbed. Imagine the trust to thrust your hand in one of these 90 filled pointed teeth in a mouth the size of a garbage pail. As I watched Nootka, a young female Orca had closed her mouth over her trainer’s hand and pulled her into the pool. Watching from afar, thinking, wow, wonder what happened till I saw the trainer walk past with a punctured hand where Nootka's tooth had punctured. It appeared the need for the position to be filled had just intensified.

In my interview, after getting the explanation from the Manager on the dangers of the job, I had one more question to ask before I chose to embark on what I never knew would be a career of justification of keeping animals in captivity. As Manager, I was an original cattle farmer and a horse farrier; the dangers I could relate to, being raised in 4H on farms, I was quite familiar with large animals’ threat. I still remember to this day getting kicked in the chest by a horse at the age of 4. The utilization of animals and could also relate to anybody raising a steer for 4H knows. My own family thought it a good lesson to learn that the magic I said the dinner was at age 7 was Magic, our pet calf.

Food utilization, rescue utilization and family utilization I could justify. But I had to ask what could explain us holding such large animals like orcas in such small pools?

The manager's answer was one till 2010 I lived by, this was in 1989.

Paraphrasing, Currently in the wild, there are approximately 116 wild killer whales. Scientists have warned us about the effects of pollution, the environment, salmon and human impact. Sixteen thousand people annually go fantastic whale watching in the area. Over 100,000 people annually come to Sealand to watch and learn about the orcas. Imagine if only 10% of those people decided to go whale watching instead. The impact on the wild would nearly double. The ambassadors collected, to allow the public to see them with minimal effect on the fragile local numbers.

That made sense.

Yet, in 2010 I could no longer support that belief. With now 70 plus killer whales left and over 300,000 people going whale watching. The education and benefits of keeping killer whales make no conservation sense. Indeed, millions were educated about killer whales and gained a new perspective of the pools’. Still, their desire and ability to collectively protect the wild population has failed.

We all can do better and my path to change our way of orca conservation starts with this book. I spent a collection of stories and moments directly with Tillikum and the perspectives I gained from his sacrifice to preserve his species. I hope that our conversations help you share your passion for conserving the world’s killer whale populations.

CHAPTER 01

Do you want to feed Tilikum?

FOR SURE!

Every killer whale feeding needed at least two trainers to get it done. A select few trainers could keep the order amongst all three alone, but it was quite a task based on the pool’s matriarch order.

Haida was the dominant female, with Nootka the second eldest female, with Tilikum being the only male. All three were collected in Iceland and flown to Victoria, BC, to replace the last surviving Pacific Northwest Orca Haida, a male collected in the area and focal point of the Sealand shows for years. Haida had ended up living alone at Sealand after Miracle, a young rescued orca, had drowned in the pool. The famous story and experience of Miracle and the effects on Haida had given the staff the thought to release Haida to see what he would do living in the wild. This was in the ‘80s, and the first time actual orca release was discussed.

The idea was ambitious to see what this large male collected years ago in the area would do upon release. Would he continue to return to Sealand to eat or swim further and further off to join the wild pod? The aquarium staff and scientists believed it was worth trying to find out. The Sealand staff put together Plans and protocols drafted up for this unique release of an orca. Yet it all stalled when politics got involved. Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd, Fisheries Officers, Governors, Mayors and even Federal Politicians all had their voices on the project.

The only hindrance to the project was a clause by the aquarium requesting to collect two juvenile orcas based on Haida’s successful release. These newly organized orcas would also be planned to be released after five years to gain a new understanding of the wild population. This innovative release program turned out to be decades before its time. Yet, the politics of its nature are timeless. Despite having all legal requirements fulfilled, the project never occurred as public opinion was never balanced.

With Haida’s death, Sealand of the Pacific needed more killer whales. At that time, the local collection was still possible but highly political based on locals’ history and build-up of knowledge. The easiest option for the growth of aquariums in North America was Iceland. A whaling country quickly adapted to killer whales’ live capture to meet the world's aquariums’ demand for these animals. Haida, Nootka and Tillikum were selected and transported with Vancouver Aquarium whales.

It seems so ironic that if only our society approved Haida’s release, a new understanding of these animals would have occurred. Instead, our experience of orcas gained a new way through Tilikum.

Every morning the whales get released from the Module and fed their vitamins. The night in the Module is tight, to say the least, for the three. Like horses in stalls designed to keep them protected and safe. Mostly from entanglement or release from the main pool’s large net pen. No matter your captivity opinion, sea pens are still the most dynamic any whale should be housed in. It allows a constant flow of life and sound to enter the environment, allowing them to be ever engaged. Orcas are predators and fearless and need an ever-changing backdrop to keep them stimulated. Theirs is a world of discovery, and the natural bountiful underwater world of Oak Bay provided an ever ending amount of wildlife to enter.

This particular morning, a ginormous school of baitfish had entered the marina. The whales were in full delight chasing this bait