Camille, It has been way too long now, she has been hand fed by Humans for 4 decades, this life is the only life she knows, Turn her loose in the wild would be a death sentence, she would die of starvation and loneliness, she is accustom to being around humans, they would be removing her from the only home she has ever known,
To us perhaps it is a prison what she is in and in many respects that is true, but she doesn't know that,
The answer given above is essentially correct though his insults are indications of an activist in the opposite direction, I would take answers from such people with discernment as Hotheads like to produce their own propaganda.
Orcas are highly social animals. They need to live in a pod and have contact and communications with pod members constantly. You cannot just release a single orca into the wild, because it would be without a pod. Even if it manages to stay alive, it will live a miserable life without constant social contact that it has grown used to from its human trainers and other orcas (if any) living in the same tank. In effect, a captive orca is living in a pod. If your aim is to keep it healthy and happy, then releasing it back to the wild to live a lonely life is the worst thing you can do to a captive orca. However, if you are doing it to satisfy your own religious belief of banning any and all animals in captivity, then it may make you and others who think like you happy. If making yourself happy and disregarding the health and happiness of orcas is what you are after, then you are being cruel to the animals you profess to love.
Oh boy, more delusional propaganda from a insane animal rights activist, where misinterpreting animal life via anthropomorphism is proper fellowship. Your videos are lies. Previous orca releases have resulted in the animals either attempting to return to captivity or perishing as they could not cope to the wilderness. You only "think" the animal would "like" to "swim free in the ocean" because you're ignorantly mislead. Did you ask the orca that yourself? Did you receive and answer? Obviously not. You see a human - maybe even yourself - in a non-human animal; that's where you are clearly wrong.
Sea World works with conservation, as it devotes a portion of both it's funds and captive breeding towards animal preservation. In other words, they make strides to ensure the animals survive extinction. In addition, they bring animals up close to humans who otherwise may never be up close and experience animal life in person. Without this, people would never find a reason to even care about the animal and make efforts to personally understand them or to save them. If you think we can protect animal species while they're out in the wild alone without some form of captive preservation, you're a joke, and I will continue to do everything in my power personally to stop this sort of destructive ignorance myself.
I certainly hope so. Lolita is kept in a swimming pool that is the size of one you would put in your back yard. This park has made so much money off of her. Lolita still remembers her pods language. I think she deserves a chance to be reunited with her pod. Most orcas forget their language but Lolita has not forgotten!!!! The park should at least allow her to try to reconnect with her pod. Maybe in an controlled environment to see if her pod will reaccept her. If not she needs to be moved to a larger place so that she doesn't have to swim in circles all day!!!!!
Would it know how to survive in the open ocean?
Most species of higher animals cannot cope in the wild after long periods of captivity.
Probably not, after being fed and not having to hint for 43 years it won't survive :(
Honestly, I'm not sure.
Freeing A Killer Whale Held Captive For 43 Years
http://youtu.be/ku_u-lHZM38
