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Follow on Google News | Killer Whales, Killer Teeth: Poor Dental Health Leads to Premature Mortality of Captive OrcasStudies suggest poor oral health increases risk of disease in humans. The same may be true for orcas in Marine Mammal Parks. Damaged teeth resulting from confinement is a contributing factor to the premature mortality rate among captive orcas.
By: John Kielty The impact of captivity on the teeth and jaws of various orcas can be seen in at a Photo Gallery located here: http://www.facebook.com/ SeaWorld, Six Flags and other marine mammal parks have managed to keep this cloaked in relative secrecy. The damage usually occurs from threat displays involving two orcas separated by a steel gate. In some instances the broken teeth lead to behaviors of grinding down the jaw itself, probably from chronic pain. There is one image included in the collection (Orca Teeth 1) where you can see how this orca has worn the jaw. This particular orca has been observed using the corner of the performance stage like a big file; swimming by at high speed with an open mouth biting the corner of stage and wearing down the bone. It is also common for orcas to "go at it" while separated by gates and teeth fragments have been found on the bottom of the pool afterwards. Contributors to the poor oral conditions of captive orcas include Jaw-popping (a form of threat display), tooth grinding, tooth "flattening" Few people are aware of this practice whereas captive orcas routinely have holes drilled in their teeth as well as grinding or “flattening” SeaWorld, for example, routinely does the following to CLOAK the teeth issue: 1. They will use a juvenile or dominant orca with good teeth for all public photo shoots. 2. They will create an angle where the photographer can only see the top jaw (in many cases the damage is to the lower jaw only) 3. They won't let anyone close to an animal, citing "safety" reasons (how ironic, since they tout how safe things are). 4. They sell the public on “superior dental care” as they often perform the tooth flush husbandry behavior publicly several times a day. 5. PR pictures were always done mindful of avoiding mouth close-ups for fear of inadvertent disclosure. Conversely, Lolita (Tokitae) at Miami Seaquarium (Photo Gallery: Orca Teeth 18) has pretty good teeth. The front teeth are barely erupted or worn down. Perhaps this is due to Lolita's isolation, and lack of a need for social climbing (no competitors in her facility) or other available mechanism of injury resulting from social climbing and/or threat displays such as “Jaw-popping” These issues and images are strong evidence illustrating another example of the inhumane nature of orca confinement. In the wild, male orcas live an average of 30+ yrs and females 50+ yrs although many can live well into their 80s or 90s. In captivity orcas rarely make it into their teens. It is hoped that by discussing and sharing this information we may gain a better understanding of these intelligent sentient beings and raise awareness about the adverse affects of their unecessary captivity and exploitation. Orca Teeth Photo Gallery: http://www.facebook.com/ End
Page Updated Last on: Aug 16, 2010
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