Yeah I just heard it on the news this morning.

There is no tank in the world large enough to house an Orca whale. That's my take.

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Wheelhouse

The Georgia aquarium has a tank that's over 8 million gallons comfortably housing several beluga whales and whale sharks along with 500 other species.

One must keep in mind Sea World is in the entertainment business...not really the aquarium business.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

That sounds massive doesn't it?

But even that aquarium is only just over a half mile squared on the surface.

Belugas fully grown are half the size of Orcas and aren't as predatory, so that isn't a horrible situation for them.

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Wheelhouse

I'm held in captivity at my desk at work, and on my couch at home, without getting sufficient exercise and eating too much, yet I'm very happy.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

That's about a 102 foot cube. Doesn't seem that large, but Beluga whales are fairly small.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

while i dont wanna be that guy, the georgia aquarium enclosure is actually 6.2 million gallons. and two whale sharks died while in captivity within a year at that aquarium. 2 belugias did too, but thats different, as they were rescued from a small enclosure under a roller coaster in mexico.

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Yeah...it's friggin tiny....



/bigger than any tank I've ever seen an Orca in...

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Hold my beer and watch this...

well, im just saying its a huge difference between 8 million, and 6.2. impressive, yes. i love aquariums, for the record. home aquariums, and large collection aquariums. but i dont think whales should be included in aquariums.

but id rather see them in something like this, then forced to do shows in tiny enclosures.

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In terms of tanks, it's huge Cross.

But we're talking in terms relative to the animals that they house.

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Wheelhouse

I think a tank that size could house an orca no problemo...comfortably too.

The whale shark (pictured) is generally larger (sometimes twice as large) than an Orca...that tank has 2 whale sharks in it.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

True, but size isn't everything. You have to consider how fast these animals move, their exercise needs, their natural tendencies... there's a whole number of things.

Orcas are hunters. They're like lions of the ocean.

Whale sharks just lumber around and open their mouths to collect small particles.

Orcas need to haul ass. They get those urges. There isn't a tank large enough in the world to allow them to satisfy those energy needs and predatory instincts.

The proof is in the pudding. There have been ZERO recorded Killer Whale attacks on humans in the wild, whereas in captivity, it has happened over 20 times.

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Wheelhouse

Wishful thinking?

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

i was just going to say, orcas are fast moving, predatory animals, where as a whale shark reaches top speeds on 3.1 miles per hour. different personalities and such. also, wouldnt orcas kill other animals within their enclosure?

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I could brag about my junk to reply, but I think that's crossing the line.

Plus it's way funnier to just take the beating.

Well played, ETC. Well played.

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Wheelhouse

Very possible. Orcas have been known to kill all kinds of different prey in the wild.

Some live off fish, some specifically salmon, some sea lions, some seals... some sharks, some other whales... so on and so fourth.

They'll even eat birds.

The whales at sea world have learned that if they regurgitate their fish, sea gulls will drop onto the water where they can get after them.

Really smart animals.

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Wheelhouse

I'm thinking about these poor whales and analyzing away on the merits of keeping them in captivity, along with the dreadful killings. Next, I am reading about delicious recipes, and size being unimportant......
This is why I love you guys so much. For the most part, there isn't a topic I read on these forums, that I don't come away laughing and always enlightened.
You are the best! ALL of you!!

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Miss you Schony!!
Women are Angels
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly.........on a broomstick...
We are flexible like that ....

What's this "ALL of you", stuff?

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

Correlation does not equal causation.

I makes more sense that the number of humans attacked has a lot more to do with the Orcas proximity to tasty humans and not the size of the enclosure.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Sorry ETC...I, my mind.....I don't know what I was thinking....I meant YOU and only YOU....

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Miss you Schony!!
Women are Angels
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly.........on a broomstick...
We are flexible like that ....

My stomach hurts...I have to stop reading!!!

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Miss you Schony!!
Women are Angels
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly.........on a broomstick...
We are flexible like that ....