I am currently in college studying psychology, with a focus on animal behavior. My goal is to graduate and work with a marine mammal rehibilitation program. Ever since I was younger, I have adored whales and dolphins. I do not agree that whales should be kept in captivity for entertainmnt purposes because they are so large, however I believe in captivity for animals who are injured or cannot be released back into the wild. I wrote this poem about the story of a whale "willy" who was taken from his family and placed in captivity, forced to perform tricks for people's entertainment. Thanks for reading!

Willy

Up in the cold Arctic,

In the ocean that’s blue,

Lives a small little orca

And his Family too

 

Compared to the others,

He was quite small,

For Willy was young,

And was not big at all

 

He liked to jump,

He loved to swim,

But being in his pod,

Is all that mattered to him.

 

But something strange happened,

One ordinary day.

Willy was captured,

And was taken away.

 

Away from his family,

He was quite scared.

Never has he been alone,

He was not at all prepared.

 

Orcas are social

Like humans are too.

Willy was lonely,

Because he had no one to talk to.

 

For there were other orcas,

But they could not play.

They were separated from each other

And were put on display.

 

He was forced to do tricks,

In order to get food,

But being in a small tank

Put Willy in a bad mood

 

Along came a girl

Who had only one wish

For Willy to be Free,

So he could go back and swim with the fish

 

During the night,

The little girl came,

She opened his tank

So he could return to the ocean again

 

Reunited in his pod,

Willy shouted with glee,

He jumped out of the water

Saying, “I’m finally free!”

 

In the big wide ocean

Is where orcas should be

Not stuck in a tank,

Performing for you and me.