We often hear warnings to those who keep wild animals in captivity that these creatures are always going to respond to their natural instincts. Many people have experienced the  consequences in tragic ways. Although this problem has also been found among the sea life in theme parks, only in the last few years has it been forefront in the news. The documentary Blackfish exposes the reality of what could happen during such captivity.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite, a documentary filmmaker, has spent more than 12 years directing, producing and writing documentary programs for television networks including ESPN, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery and History. She became interested in the whales in captivity in 2010 when renowned SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was killed by Tilikum, a 12,000 pound orca.

“I remember fragments: something about a ponytail, something about her slipping and falling, and something about how this almost never happens because in these parks, the animals are happy and the trainers are safe,” Cowperthwaite said.

As a mother who had just taken her kids to SeaWorld, Cowperthwaite felt something was not right about this report. As a documentary filmmaker, she yearned to get the real story and immediately did her homework bringing on Manny Oteyza as the film’s producer. She conferred with Tim Zimmermann, who wrote a phenomenal article about the incident for Outside Magazine, and asked him to be an associate producer.

While watching the film, I slowly became sympathetic with the whales. How could I not when trainers from all over the country finally admitted these animals do not belong in captivity? Those in the film include: Samantha Berg, a SeaWorld ex-trainer speaking out about this situation; former SeaWorld trainer Jeff Ventre; Carole Ray; Dave Duffus, a trainer and whale expert; and Dean Gomersall, a 20-year trainer.

Many instances of whales in captivity attacking a trainer can be found on the internet, and several are actually shown and discussed in the film.

On March 4, 1987, 20-year-old SeaWorld San Diego trainer, Jonathan Smith, was grabbed by one of the park's 6-ton killer whales. The orca dragged the trainer to the bottom of the tank, carried him bleeding all the way back to the surface, and then spat him out. Smith gallantly waved to the crowd when a second orca slammed into him. He continued to pretend he was unhurt as the whales repeatedly dragged him to the bottom of the stadium pool. Smith was cut all around his torso, had a ruptured kidney and a six-inch laceration of his liver, yet he managed to escape the pool with his life.

On December 24, 2009, 29-year-old Alexis Martínez died during a Christmas Day rehearsal at the Loro Parque Park in Spain. The 14-year-old male orca, Keto, who was born at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida, reportedly rammed Martínez in the chest, rendering him unconscious. Martinez supposedly drowned before fellow trainers could rescue him.

On February 20, 1991, the three orcas that resided at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia (Haida II, Nootka IV, and Tilikum) killed a young part-time trainer named Keltie Byrne when she accidentally slipped and fell into the tank.

Jonathan Ingalls’ well-done cinematography often shocks with never-before-seen footage and riveting interviews with trainers and experts. Blackfish unveils the orca’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades, and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry. When you see grown men cry because of what part they have played in the whales’ captivity – it’s almost heart-breaking.

Although emotionally wrenching and not recommend for young children, Blackfish is a film we all need to see, for it helps us re-think our relationship with nature and how we have already learned so much from these highly intelligent and enormous fellow mammals – but, unfortunately, also how we may have not have been listening.

(Released by Magnolia Pictures and rated “PG-13” for mature thematic elements including disturbing and violent images.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.