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?