Orca

Last weekend, I spent time with a couple of dolphins, seals, walruses and killer whales. Though I couldn't strike a meaningful conversation with any of them, we were in close proximity as they swam in man-made tanks. I was attracted to the killer whale(Orca) in particular, in fact "killer whale" is a misnomer. They belong to the dolphin family, the largest one at that. An appealing trait is their intelligence which is visible in their group hunting strategies(known to prey on blue whales, hence "killer whale"), their social structure, their methods of communication.
While it was indeed a memorable experience to watch these magnificent creatures swimming around in an environment where it is possible to watch them more closely, there is a price that is paid. A price paid by the orca himself. Under captivity, they are known to suffer from a condition called dorsal fin collapse. The water in the tanks lack sufficient pressure as compared to that of the ocean, which is supposedly required for the dorsal fin's development.
While developed nations have certainly reached a more humane way of treating animals in captivity, the truth will always remain. Captivity, no matter how humane, is unfair. These mute beings have a right to roam free in the wild, and shouldn't have found their way into this blog to be described as beautiful.