Heartbreaking footage shows killer whale ‘trying to kill herself’

HEARTBREAKING footage shows a captive SeaWorld killer whale appearing to beach itself on a concrete slab following a show for tourists.

Alarming footage shows SeaWorld’s captive killer whale ‘try to commit suicide’. Picture: Dolphin Project.

A CAPTIVE SeaWorld killer whale appears to beach itself on a concrete slab following a show for tourists at a theme park in Tenerife.

The orca named Morgan was filmed lying motionless for more than 10 minutes by worried onlookers with fears the animal was trying to “commit suicide”.

The shocking film — taken at Loro Parque in Spain’s Canary Islands — has attracted huge criticism online, with renewed calls for the killer whales to be released back into the wild, reports The Sun.

Morgan — who lives at Loro Parque with five other orcas owned by SeaWorld — can be seen lying next to her tank as tourists leave the stadium.

The whale had just finished a show when she appeared to beach herself. One viewer, Efrat Cybulkiewicz, wrote: “Looks to me as if she’s trying to take her own life, I don’t blame her.”

Another added: “Shame on humans who exploit whales.”

If a killer whale is beached for too long the weight of their body — normally supported by the water’s buoyancy — can crush their internal organs and muscles. They can come ashore to hunt but do not spend long periods of time outside of the water.

The video was given to animal rights organisation The Dolphin Project by an activist.

“We cannot explain the reason for her behaviour,” the organisation said.

“Sadly, Morgan was still out of the water by the time the videographers had to leave.”

The film was taken at Loro Parque in Spain’s Canary Islands where SeaWorld owns all six whales. Picture: Dolphin Project.

Footage shot just weeks earlier appeared to show the same orca repeatedly banging her head against a metal gate in a desperate attempt to escape.

She appeared to be trying to get into a larger pool with a male orca called Tekoa, the Mail Online reports.

Speaking about that footage animal rights campaigner Helene Hesselager O’Barry said: “The orca is obviously in huge distress and rams its head forcefully against the metal gate in what seems to be an attempt to escape. This video shows the amount of stress and cruelty imposed on orcas as a result of confinement to small, barren tanks.”

But the park — which is popular with Brits — insisted: “The video published by the Dolphin Project on its website is a new attempt at manipulation through exaggeration and dramatisation of a completely normal situation in which there is no problem for the animals.”

Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian with PETA, said: “Every single orca that I observed had significant wearing on their teeth, specifically on the lower mandible.

“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 traumatise their teeth.”

Killer whales can come ashore to hunt but if they are beached for too long they can die. Picture: Dolphin Project.

SeaWorld — which owns all six whales at the park in Tenerife — has come under fire for the way orcas are treated in captivity.

In March this year the company announced it would immediately stop breeding killer whales, and soon stop making them perform theatrical tricks.

Orcas have been a centrepiece of the SeaWorld parks since shows at the Shamu stadium in San Diego became the main draw in the 1970s, helping to make SeaWorld a top tourist attraction.

But criticism over keeping them captive grew after an orca named Tilikum grabbed trainer Dawn Brancheau after a “Dine with Shamu” show and pulled her into the pool, killing her.

Her death in 2010 was highlighted in the film Blackfish and the parks saw visitor numbers plummet.

SeaWorld has been contacted for comment.

This story first appeared in The Sun.