Loro Parque Downgrades Role of Orcas as Predators

Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain, recently posted a video on their Facebook page. In it, Wolfgang Kiessling, the founder of Loro Parque, complains about the criticism his zoo has received for its continued display of orcas: “We have been under attack at Loro Parque for years due to our care of our orcas and dolphins.” Kiessling goes on to assure readers that their orcas are thriving and points out that orcas in nature, unlike what some animal welfare groups say, do not swim 100 miles a day: “I must clarify something. Orcas do not swim 100 miles every day. The normal range is seven to ten kilometers (4.34 miles to 6.21 miles), but in search of new feeding grounds or mating opportunities, they can swim a longer distance, maybe even 100 miles, but that’s not common.”

This echoes what Loro Parque claimed in 2022 to fend off critics: “Orcas do not swim hundreds of miles because they have a physiological need to do so; they only do it forced by the need to get food” (underlining added for emphasis). The statement is nonsensical, and I have to ask, does Loro Parque not realize orcas are apex predators, and hunting is something they are exceptionally good at? Even if Loro Parque does not recognize the orcas’ role in nature is that of a strong predator, the zoo is completely missing the point if they think the orca captivity issue is limited to how many miles orcas travel in nature while foraging, compared to how many feet they can swim in a barren show stadium before they hit a wall.

According to Loro Parque, orcas in nature only travel far when they are forced to in search of food. So instead of foraging, navigating, and exploring, the orcas at Loro Parque’s show stadium are trained to perform various behaviours that have entertainment value, such as splashing water on spectators sitting in the front rows. Credit: Helene O’Barry/Dolphin Project

It doesn’t matter if orcas in nature swim 5, 10, 50, or 100 miles per day. What matters is they swim unrestricted and by their own choice. Their lives are a stark contrast to captive orcas who are trapped in a tight space and have nothing new to discover, no real choices to make, and nowhere exciting to swim to. The orcas at Loro Parque can never choose to leave one location and navigate to another simply because they want to. (And no, Loro Parque, swimming from pool A to pool B doesn’t count as navigating.) No matter how many hours Tekoa, Keto, Adán, and Morgan spend swimming back and forth or in circles each day, they never reach a new destination. And every time they feel the urge to let their swimming powers and endurance unfold without restraint, they must crush that yearning and submit to being walled in on all sides. Confining orcas under such cramped conditions and forcing them to remain stagnant for their entire lives contradicts the very core of their being. Nothing can justify it. The only thing one has to do to realize orcas belong in the ocean, where there are no walls, is to look at their body shape. Orcas are large and muscular. Their bodies are sleek and streamlined, designed to move smoothly though the water for as long as they desire. As one of the fastest and most skillful predators on the planet, orcas employ a remarkable variety of hunting tactics that are passed down from one generation to the next. But instead of articulating admiration for the orcas’ cooperative foraging strategies, Loro Parque belittles them by saying that orcas in nature swim far only when they are forced to in search of food. They make it sound as if locating and hunting down live prey is a boring chore for orcas, and thereby reveal a complete lack of understanding and respect for who and what orcas are about. The compliant performers and human-pleasing versions of orcas that Loro Parque presents to its audiences are not who they really are. Dependance on their human keepers to be fed, coupled with hours of training, has shaped them into docile and submissive beings. But that’s not their real identity. In real life, they are resourceful hunters and inquisitive explorers, and every aspect of their characteristics is a powerful reminder of their strong connection to an ocean world filled with purpose, challenges, and a rich variety of life.

I suspect Loro Parque primarily sees its orcas as performers and pets whose main role is to participate in training sessions and perform in front of spectators in a controlled environment that bears no similarity to the ocean. In the video, Kiessling puts it this way: “Orcas under human care must be active. Therefore, they must expend at least 10 miles a day [of equivalent energy]. We achieve that through constant training, and the highlight of the training is our performance.” So endless training and daily performances, according to Loro Parque, are a terrific substitute for the real thing.

Orcas in nature swim unrestricted and by their own choice. Their lives are a stark contrast to captive orcas who are trapped in a tight space and have nothing new to discover, no real choices to make, and nowhere exciting to swim to. Credit: NOAA (public domain)

But swimming 10 miles out of your own initiative and resourcefulness while foraging, navigating, and exploring, as opposed to getting 10 miles’ worth of exercise by jumping and dancing on command in a miniscule concrete stadium are two very different things. Captive orcas perform to fulfill the desires of fun-seeking tourists, while orcas in nature travel, investigate, and hunt to fulfill their own needs. And contrary to what Loro Parque wants us to believe, nature does not “force” orcas to hunt for food. Nature has equipped orcas with remarkable strength, maneuverability, speed, and complex problem-solving behaviors, and orcas have used those abilities to conquer the ocean as their domain. Loro Parque, on the other hand, reduces orcas to powerless performers who constantly stick their heads out of the water and open their mouths, much like baby birds who open their beaks as wide as they can to show they are hungry. Loro Parque is passing on this precise scene of human supremacy to its audiences. Spectators laugh and applaud while the upbeat music is playing, and trained orcas are paraded on a stage, and in no way do they leave the theater with a newfound respect for orcas. How could they? Loro Parque has made it quite clear they do not view the hunting powers of orcas as anything special. For this reason alone, they could never convey a message about respect for the ocean´s most powerful predators.

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Featured image: Orcas are among the most powerful predators on planet Earth, but years of confinement in a show stadium reduces them to powerless performers who constantly stick their heads out of the water and open their mouths, much like baby birds who open their beaks as wide as they can to show they are hungry. Credit: Helene O’Barry/Dolphin Project