Blackfish vs. Seaworld
Thursday November 16
1.What is it all about?
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Blackfish× Documentary which details the story
of Tilikum the Killer Whale × Reviews the story of Dawn
Brancheau’s murder× Detailed accounts of former
Seaworld employees and their stories of the animals and their treatment
× Directed by Gabriela Cowperwaithe, not an animal activist, not a biologist, not a former Seaworld employee.
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2.What do you need to know?
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Wild Orcas× Male Antarctic type A killer whales can reach
lengths of 9.2 m (30 ft.) making them the largest known killer whales.
× large teeth are conical and interlocking. Toothed whales have only one set of teeth; they are not replaced once lost.
× Straight dorsal fin
× Life expectancy of 60-70 for Males & 80-100 for females
× Strong family bonds-orcas stay with their pods for life
× Distinct language patterns between pods 5
Orca Appearance at Seaworld× 100% of males suffer Dorsal
collapse× More than 50% suffer moderate to
severe wear and damage to lower jaw
× Life expectancy of 30-50 years× Aggressive with other orcas and
humans-due to broken family bonds/stress
× Frequently ill 6
3.Tilikum’s Story
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Who is Tilikum?× One of the largest orca’s in captivity-22 feet in
length/12,500 lbs× Captured near Iceland in 1983 at 2 years× Moved to Sealand of the Pacific in B.C. × In 1991, after an incident with a trainer Sealand
closed and Tilikum was sold to SeaWorld for their breeding program
× 54% of captive orcas have a genetic link to Tilly× Due to captive conditions, Tilikum became known
for aggressive tendencies and spent a year in isolation
× Related to Dawn Brancheau’s death× Died in captivity in January 2017 at 35 years old
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4.SeaWorld’s Response
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SeaWorld× SeaWorld claims that Blackfish is
not a documentary but rather “propaganda”
× SeaWorld states that the 2 central premises that Blackfish has built its argument are false
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So what is the real story?
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In order to decide× We will be watching the
documentary “Blackfish” and analyzing the evidence for:× Ethos× Pathos× Logos
× Complete your viewing guide as we go along.
× Be sure to identify the doc’s claim 13
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Homework
Identify the claim presented by the documentary.What are 3 pieces of evidence to support?