Every facility claims it is officially adequate, but none fully meets the requirements of this study. Don't be held captive to any illusions. They forage 20-50 miles a day in a home range of over 500 miles. Much of each individual's life history and personality is known from two and a half decades of intense study. Scientists need words like culture, dialect, and ceremony to describe the rich social and cognitive behaviors of these wild orcas.
Many captive orcas die unexpectedly, but necropsies find almost half die from bacterial infections.
Twenty-two orcas have died in U.S. facilities in the past decade. Ewok , J20, was born in 1981 and may live 80 years. In her clan, a female's mean life expectancy is 50.2 years, but five are now estimated to be over 60. Male mean life expectancy is 29.2 years, but they may live 50 years. After observing and practicing mothering skills, females in the wild usually have their first calf when 14 to 15 years old, although one orca was suspected of having her first calf when only eleven years old.