Orcas Belong in the Wild

It’s been five days since I’ve arrived in Grundarfjörður and the three boat trips we have had so far already offered me some of the most intense and precious emotions of my life. They have also given me the confirmation of something I already knew, but now I know it in the bottom of my heart: orcas belong in the nature and holding them captive is the cruellest thing to do to them.

We were lucky enough to meet orca families at the beginning of the week, both in the morning and in the afternoon of the same day. We had spotted them from the coast the day before, and here they were still, traveling, feeding and playing in groups. They appeared in front of us, off the snowy coast of the Snæfellsjökull glacier, and continued their activities around the boat for several, wonderful minutes, visibly undisturbed by our presence. One orca mother was swimming with her calf beside her, maybe teaching it how to catch fish. These groups of orcas were definitely happy to be together. They didn’t seem to need anything else than simply being together. And free. Free to go wherever they chose.

On the following day, the weather conditions did not allow us to have a boat trip in the afternoon, so we decided to go and look for them from the coast, standing there for long moments despite the cold wind. And here they were again! Their blows first became visible in the distance, right before their distinct black fins started to dance at the surface, appearing and disappearing from our sight among the foamy waves. The big fins of the males were the most visible, but there were certainly females too, maybe even little calves. The most incredible thing suddenly happened, something we had definitely not expected: one of them breached twice in front of our eyes! Was it out of pure joy, playfulness…? In every case, this orca was free, happy, and happy to be free. It didn’t need to be taught tricks and to get fish out of a basket to express itself and to enchant us with its grace and beauty.

Like every other animal on the planet, orcas are born to be free. Holding them captive is both cruel and useless. The emotions one gets in front of the orca shows in some marine parks all over the world will never even compare to the excitement and wonder of witnessing their relations and behaviours in the wild.

Fighting against whale and dolphin captivity is a goal I intend to pursue, and I wish with all my heart to see the end of this cruel and despicable business. Marine parks don’t even have to close: they can simply adapt to the wishes and changes of mentalities of our societies, by stopping their orca and dolphin shows and replacing them with modern 3D animations, for example.

This fight is far from over and I sincerely believe Orca Guardians Iceland and Láki Tours can make a big difference, for encountering free orcas certainly makes it impossible to visit such marine parks again.