There’s a certain awe almost everyone feels when they encounter a dolphin, or some different whale species. Something so different, something that reaches so deep. There’s a special kind of wonder that awakens when you see them swimming, jumping, interacting with each other. And something even deeper still when they interact with a person, make eye contact, come close.
It’s hard to describe, but those moments don’t feel like meeting just another animal. There’s something more. Something almost human-like.
That human-ness might be what has created such a deep rift in how people view them. On one side are those who believe cetaceans don’t belong in human care, especially in pools. On the other side are those who believe we can create an environment worth living in, an environment where these animals can thrive, teach us, and connect with us in profound ways.
There’s truth to both sides. And that’s what I want to dive into today.
A Divide Fueled by Misinformation
There’s a big divide between people who work closely with cetaceans in zoological settings and those who want nothing more than for all of them to be released.
Part of this division comes from misinformation. In today’s world, everyone has access to the internet. But that doesn’t mean what’s shared is always true. Facts get twisted. Outdated or emotionally charged stories are repeated without context. And often, the individuals who care for these animals day in and day out are left out of the conversation entirely.
From Predator to Icon: The Orca Rebrand
Not everyone remembers the time before orcas were in human care. Back then, orcas were viewed much like great white sharks still are today: dangerous predators, mindless killers.
But that began to change with the arrival of the first orcas in captivity. People might remember Namu, the first orca captured by Ted Griffin, and how radically public perception shifted. When people saw orcas up close, saw them play, interact, bond, something changed fundamentally. They were no longer looked at as monsters. People realized they were intelligent, social beings.
While I do not support the wild capture of cetaceans, the individuals in human care today, many of whom were born under human care, are ambassadors for their species. They remind us what’s at stake. They teach us. They inspire us to care for a natural world that’s more fragile than ever.
What We’ve Learned Thanks to Cetaceans in Human Care
Without cetaceans in human care, our understanding of them would be decades behind. We have learned about their social bonds. Their complex language. Non-invasive research in zoological settings has advanced our knowledge about their health and physiology. We know a lot more today about their sleep, stress biomarkers, immune function, and this is just a small selection.
Millions of children and adults have learned so much more from making connections at marine parks. Connections textbooks can’t make come alive. Seeing a dolphin, or any other animals for that matter, making eye contact with them, changes people.
It builds empathy in a way documentaries rarely can.
The Sanctuary Conversation
There’s growing interest in marine mammal sanctuaries. In theory, these sound wonderful. Open sea pens where cetaceans can live in more natural environments, in rhythm with the ocean. But in practice, they are rarely feasible.
Most cetaceans in human care today were born in zoological environments. They’re used to people, daily enrichment, veterinary care, and safe, controlled habitats. Placing them in a vastly different setting, often colder, louder, and less predictable, can actually increase stress, not reduce it.
The few whales and dolphins that were taken from the wild are now elderly. Many are deeply bonded with their human caregivers. Moving them across continents, away from everything familiar, could be more harmful than helpful.
Would you put your grandmother in a wilderness survival scenario, just because, decades ago, she could have handled it?
What Love Really Means
To love something is to want what’s best for it. But we have to be honest about what that really means for each individual animal, not our romanticized idea of “the wild.”
The wild today is not untouched. It’s threatened. And we need advocates, both human and cetacean, to help protect what remains.
Because we protect what we understand.
And we understand what we connect with.