Killer Whales: Conservation and Research

Conservation and Research

A. The International Whaling Commission.

1. In 1946, 14 countries formed the International Whaling Commission (IWC) by signing the International Whaling Convention. The IWC set regulations of whaling to protect the future of whale stocks as a resource to humans.

2. Currently the IWC has no jurisdiction over dolphins such as killer whales. However, now that the harvest of most large whales has stopped, the IWC has expressed an interest in playing a role in managing smaller cetaceans as well.

B. Legal protection.

1. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 made it illegal to hunt or harass any marine mammal in United States waters.

a. In accordance with the MMPA, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has jurisdiction over all whales in the waters of the United States.

b. The primary objective of the MMPA is to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem and to obtain and maintain optimum sustainable populations of marine mammals.

c. The MMPA does allow exceptions for native subsistence hunting; collecting or temporarily restraining marine mammals for research, education, and public display; and taking a restricted number of marine mammals incidentally in the course of fishing operations.

2. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international treaty developed in 1973 to regulate trade in certain wildlife species. CITESprotects all species of whales.

C. Field research.

1. Much about the lives of killer whales still remains a mystery. However, scientists and researchers are studying many aspects of killer whales around the world.

2. In the future, analyzing biochemical and chromosomal characteristics may help define genetic relationships among pods and regional populations of killer whales. Call patterns, body shape, and coloration are currently used in identifying separate killer whale populations.

3. Researchers work to increase their photo-identification catalogs for killer whales. This has become an important research tool for studying various aspects of cetacean biology including movements, reproduction, behavior, and population dynamics.

D. The importance of marine life parks.

1. Most people do not have the opportunity to observe animals in the wild. In a 1995 Roper Poll, 87% of those interviewed agreed that visiting zoological facilities was their only opportunity to see wild animals such as killer whales. The unique opportunity to observe and learn directly from live animals increases public awareness and appreciation of wildlife. In the same Roper Poll, 92% of those questioned agreed that zoological parks are a vital educational resource.

2. In the past several decades, marine life parks have learned a great deal about killer whales from ongoing research programs. The advantages of studying killer whales in controlled areas include the possibility of continuous observations without being impeded by weather, darkness, or location.

3. In the protected environment of a marine zoological park, scientists can examine aspects of killer whale biology that are difficult or impossible to study in the wild.

a. SeaWorld trainers and veterinarians perform regular physical exams on the killer whales to monitor and maintain their health. Every two to four weeks trainers take body measurements on each whale, including body length; girth at several points; and dimensions of the flippers, flukes, and dorsal fin.

b. Killer whales are further trained to present their tail flukes for blood samples and to urinate on signal.

c. Medical technologists perform clinical evaluations of hematology, serum chemistry, urinalysis, and blowhole cultures.

d. Pregnancy is diagnosed through serum progesterone analysis, urine progesterone metabolite analysis, ultrasound, and daily observations of social interactions.

4. Toothed whales only grow one set of teeth in their lives so SeaWorld places great importance on the care of killer whale teeth.

a. Wild killer whales often have a variety of dental problems. It is not uncommon, for example, to see killer whales in their natural environment with teeth that are disease-ridden, worn, or broken. This is probably due to their aggressive feeding habits or old age. Wild killer whales have been observed with their teeth worn down to the gum level, which often exposes the pulp. Abscesses can occur, resulting in lower jaw misalignment in some cases studied.

b. Up to several times a day, a killer whale at SeaWorld can have its teeth cleaned and flushed with a water pic. X-rays are used to examine the teeth more thoroughly as well.

c. If more serious conditions arise, veterinarians that specialize in animal teeth work with the trainers to treat dental problems with killer whales at the SeaWorld Adventure Parks.

5. The question of animal intelligence is intriguing. It is extremely difficult, and in many cases misleading, to rate the intelligence of different kinds of animals. In fact, we have yet to provide a reliable and consistent intelligence test for humans. It would be inaccurate to quantify or qualify the intelligence of marine mammals, for there is no way known to test and measure such a thing.

a. The brain of one large male killer whale weighed 7.2 kg (15.8 lb.), a weight significantly larger than the 2.2 kg (5 lb.) brain of a human. But again, it would be a mistake to judge an animal's intelligence on the size of its brain.

b. What we do know is that dolphins and whales are capable of performing some very complex tasks. Genetically, marine mammals are predisposed to responding more efficiently to stimuli found in aquatic environments. They learn different tasks at different rates and there is great variation among individual animals of the same species.

c. Researchers continue to gather information on short- and long-term memory in whales and dolphins, but much about an animal's ability to learn continues to be a mystery.

SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database
www.seaworld.org / www.buschgardens.org