Morgan, an orca owned by SeaWorld, was filmed this week deliberately beaching herself after a show at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain.
The video, posted by Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project (a non-profit dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins that, when possible, aims to free captive sea mammals)
According to reports, the Seaworld Ora Morgan launched herself onto a concrete slab and lay motionless for more than 10 minutes.
“Morgan was captured from the sea six years ago and has been fighting hard against the trials of her captivity ever since,” says PETA Foundation Director of Animal Law Jared Goodman.
Some visitors to the park were said to have taken selfies with the killer whale behind them while she lay on the concrete.
“Looks to me as if she’s trying to take her own life, I don’t blame her :(,” a commenter wrote under the video.
“Release the orcas!!! Their place is in the ocean!!! Shame on the humans who exploit them,” another wrote in French.
Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian with PETA, told The Dodo: ‘Every single orca that I observed had significant wearing on their teeth, specifically on the lower mandible,’ she said.
‘They start chewing on their tanks. There’s boredom there as a factor, and there’s also stress… as soon as they start doing that they start to traumatize their teeth.’
On Saturday, Loro Parque released a statement regarding Morgan’s condition.
It's time to release tormented orca Morgan says #NewZealand expert https://t.co/qH5jO1YsHf
w @OrcaIngrid#Blackfish pic.twitter.com/ZL82BC2gft— Orca S※O※S (@OrcaSOS) June 7, 2016
“It is absolutely illogical and absurd to assume that the length and the quality of such video would be sufficient to make a conclusion and declaration of such nature,” says the statement regarding the video. “A voluntary stranding is a natural behavior of orcas living in the wild… The orcas at Loro Parque are trained to leave the water on their own accord. This behavior is used for manifold purposes, for example, for presenting the animals to the public, for conducting corporal check-ups, for inspecting their blowholes, as well as for testing hearing abilities of the orcas.”
Last year a video showed the whale Tilikum floating at the top of his tank, while orcas at SeaWorld San Antonio were said to have severe dental trauma.
