The self-harming whale

Kiska, the self-harming whale

Animal rights protection

[해외특파원 1기 / 조준원 기자] A horrifying video has emerged, showing a killer whale repeatedly banging her head against the wall of an aquarium in an act of self-harm. The video has shocked the world and brought much needed awareness to animal mistreatment in aquariums all over the world. Her name is Kiska.

On September 10th, a video surfaced on Twitter showing a killer whale engaging in self-harm, repeatedly banging her head against the glass wall. This killer whale named Kiska, has been alone in the aquarium for over 40 years. The aquarium staff who filmed this video wanted to inform people of Kiska’s plight and show the cruel consequences  of animals held captive in artificial man-made environments. And as the video gained virality, many were shocked.

Kiska has lived in an aquarium since she was captured in 1979. During captivity, she gave birth to five cubs, all of whom died before 2011, leaving her in desolation. Experts point to these events as the root motivations to her acts of self-harm. 

These symptoms that Kiska are showing are also being observed in other killer whales who have been held in prolonged captivity. Some killer whales develop chronic stress and diseases which, in severe cases, lead to death. 

After the video was released, many began demanding the release of Kiska back into the ocean. 

The case of Kiska demonstrates that marine animals cannot live naturally in aquariums. According to statistics, 48% of dolphins have died in aquariums in South Korea over the past decade. In particular, the Beluga has an average lifespan of 30 to 50 years in the wild, being able to dive to depths of 700 meters. When held captive in a Korean aquarium, however, a Beluga whale died at the mere age of 12 due to the shallow 7-meters aquarium floor that placed tremendous stress on it. 

On October 15th, 1978, The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was introduced at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Article 2 of this declaration states that “every animal’s life has the right to be respected.” This begs the question: Are the lives of these dying marine animals in aquariums really respected?