This documentary was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The premiere was at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 19th in 2013. The story is focused on the orca held by SeaWorld, called Tilikum, and the controversy revolving around the killer whales in captivity.
This particular orca is involved in the deaths of three people, including the death of Tilikums` trainer Dawn Brancheau. Allegedly, the reason for the attack on the trainer was the fact that she had her hair tied to a ponytail.
It was after the death of Dawn Brancheau, that Cowperthwaite began working on the documentary, expressing her doubts about the reasons for the attacks. She states that there has to be more to this story.
She examines the behavior of the orcas in captivity and compares the lifespan of the ones living in wilderness to the ones that are living in captivity. The documentary also contains an interview with the Sea World trainer, John Hargrove. He describes his experiences with the orcas in captivity, including the ones he had with Tilikum.
Watch this documentary and discover the behavioral patterns in captivated animals. The aggression that they display is rooted in the inability to live freely and the effects of the captivity are obvious.
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